Comprised of 17 essays, this book is divided into four chapters: "A Nation Divides: The Causes of the Civil War," "Early Battlefield Victories and the Prospect of European Intervention Fuel the South's Hope for Independence," "The North Gains the Advantage," and "A Changed Nation."
The causes of the Civil War : an overview / Patrick Gerster and Nicholas Cords
Slavery caused the Civil War / Don E. Fehrenbacher
Differing geographic conditions intensified the rift between North and South / D.W. Meinig
Grant and Lee represented two distinct cultures / Bruce Catton
President Jefferson Davis developed a grand strategy for winning the Civil War / Joseph L. Harsh
Victory at Bull Run sustains the Confederate cause / Geoffrey C. Ward, Ric Burns, and Ken Burns
A second victory at Bull Run offers the prospect of European intervention on behalf of the South / Howard Jones
Victory at Fredericksburg brings the South close to independence / J.G. Randall and David Donald
Turning points in the war : the Battle of Antietam and emancipation / James M. McPherson
Freeing the slaves and enrolling them in the Union Army spurred the North to victory / William L. Barney
The Battle of Vicksburg destroyed the Confederacy / James R. Arnold
General Ulysses S. Grant turned the tide of the war / T. Harry Williams
Why the North won the Civil War / Phillip Shaw Paludan
The United States becomes one nation / Jay Winik
Democracy was the victor in the Civil War / James A. Rawley
The Civil War caused a national power shift / James M. McPherson
The Civil War prompted the development of big technology and big business / Robert Penn Warren.