How "United" was the United States of America before and after the Civil War?

The Civil War was a defining moment in our history. It's not just because the North won and slavery was abolished in the South.

The struggle for the Union is as alive today as it was in Lincoln's time. The intense differences of opinion between North and South about the role of slavery in the nation eventually brought the South to secede from the Union to protect its economic interests. But those in the North, loyal to the Constitution and a united America, resisted the demands of the South, which led to the Civil War. It was a conflict of irreconcilable differences that nearly cost us our democracy

Struggle for the Union: Connecting the Causes and Conflicts of the American Civil takes a deep dive into social history, looking at what people thought about the war at the time.

Some questions the book makes you consider:

Why did the Civil War happen? Was it about slavery? Or states' rights?

Why did the Union lose so many battles until Grant took command?

Why did the Battle of Gettysburg cause the most casualties of any single battle in U.S. history?

How important was Grant's defeat of the fortress at Vicksburg, Mississippi?

How did Grant win the battles against Robert E. Lee in 1864 and gain his surrender at Appomattox, ending the war?

How did Sherman's March through Georgia break the will of the Confederates?

There are still pockets of resistance to embrace fully integrated African Americans into our social order, but in order to heal, it is vital we understand the political differences that led a nation to fight against its own countrymen.