It was no coincidence that the Civil War occurred during an age of violent political upheaval in Europe and the Americas. Grounding the causes and philosophies of the Civil War in an international context, Andre M. Fleche examines how questions of national self-determination, race, class, and labor the world over influenced American interpretations of the strains on the Union and the growing differences between North and South. Setting familiar events in an international context, Fleche enlarges our understanding of nationalism in the nineteenth century, with startling implications for our understanding of the Civil War. Confederates argued that European nationalist movements provided models for their efforts to establish a new nation-state, while Unionists stressed the role of the state in balancing order and liberty in a revolutionary age. Diplomats and politicians used such arguments to explain their causes to thinkers throughout the world. Fleche maintains that the fight over the future of republican government in America was also a battle over the meaning of revolution in the Atlantic world and, as such, can be fully understood only as a part of the world-historical context in which it was fought.
Andre M. Fleche is assistant professor of history at Castleton State College, USA.
"The Revolution of 1861 has much to recommend; it combines clear writing with a successful argument for an international interpretation of the war." -- West Virginia History "[This book] will provoke much thought among scholars of nationalism in nineteenth-century America." -- Journal of American Studies "A wide-ranging and thought-provoking reconsideration of America's bloodiest conflict. Fleche is to be commended for making it much more difficult for future scholars to view the Civil War through a narrow national lens." -- North Carolina Historical Review "Essential reading for anyone interested in placing the American Civil War in broader international patterns of ideology and politics." -- Journal of American History "Fleche's sparkling new book comes during the sesquicentennial as a welcome harbinger of a new international interpretation of the Civil War. Smoothly written, well-grounded in primary sources, and cogently argued." -- The Historian "Makes a great contribution by showing us how the Civil War functioned not as the culmination of history but as an instrument for Americans and Europeans who dared to make nationalism safe for the world." -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society "Offers a wonderful point of departure for future studies of nationalist rhetoric in the Civil War era. As historians continue to discuss the war and its various manifestations, hopefully Fleche's work will be one of many that will place the war in its proper international context." -- Bowtied and Fried "This book is a welcome addition to a small but rapidly expanding shelf in the massive library of the Civil War." -- Journal of Southern History "This study demonstrates that there are still fertile fields of inquiry about a much-studied war. Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries." -- CHOICE
