Liberty, Virtue, and Progress: Northerners and Their War for the Union (North's Civil War, No 3)

concentrating On Ideology And Cultural Values, Liberty, Virtue, And Progress Explores The Motivations That Casued Northerners To Fight America's Civil War. Arguing For The Primary Significance Of Ideals And Cultural Values In Defining A War, The Book Examines The Opinions Of Both The Northern Soldier And Civilian About The Meaning Of The Civil War In Terms Of Defining American Nationalism, The Character Of The American People, And The Future Of Free Government. The Book Addresses The Intellectual And Social Elites Of Northern Society, But Gives A New Emphasis To The Opinions Of The Common Man On The Subject And Ideology Of The War. in Addition To Identifying And Discussing The Ideas And Cultural Values That Played A Role In Motivation, Hess Looks At How The Experience Of War (battlefield Death And Suffering) Interacted With That Ideology. Contrary To The Commonly Held Belief That War Is Disruptive To Pre-war Ideals, Hess Argues That Northern Soldiers And Civilians Made A Conscious Effort To Use Ideology As A Tool With Which To Retain Their Faith In Ideas. Liberty, Virtue, And Progress Is Based On Extensive Research In Both Published And Unpublished Sources. booknews Argues That Ideology And Culture Were Major Motivations For The North In The Civil War, Looking At Values Held By Soldiers And Civilians Of The North, Such As Self-government, Democracy, And Individualism. Contends That While Ideology Changed Little During The War, Dramatic Shifts In Ideology Occurred After The War, Due To Changes In Society And The Economy. This Second Edition Contains A New Introduction, In Which The Author Sharpens His Argument In Light Of Studies That Have Appeared Over The Past Nine Years. Annotation C. By Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. Earl Hess has constructed the first comprehensive study of its kind to deal with Northern soldiers and civilians, with intellectual and social elites and with the masses. Drawing on published and unpublished sources including letters, diaries, and memoirs, he asserts that Northerners used ideology as a tool to retain their faith in their ideas. Northern values - self-government, democracy, individualism, egalitarianism, and self-control - were at the basis of American society. These values, shared by citizens both in and out of uniform, were instrumental in promoting a consensus and provided a commonly understood language that served to explain the Southern rebellion and why it was important for Unionists to crush it. Hess contends that, contrary to commonly held interpretations of war as disruptive of prewar ideals - that war produces disillusionment, cynicism, and bitterness - the Northerners' determination resulted in little change in ideology throughout even the worst of the war. He also suggests that the real change in ideology occurred after the war, due to changes in the economy and society Annotation Concentrating on ideology and cultural values, Liberty, Virtue, and Progress explores the motivations that casued Northerners to fight America's Civil War. Arguing for the primary significance of ideals and cultural values in defining a war, the book examines the opinions of both the Northern soldier and civilian about the meaning of the Civil War in terms of defining American nationalism, the character of the American people, and the future of free government. The book addresses the intellectual and social elites of Northern society, but gives a new emphasis to the opinions of the common man on the subject and ideology of the war. In addition to identifying and discussing the ideas and cultural values that played a role in motivation, Hess looks at how the experience of war (battlefield death and suffering) interacted with that ideology. Contrary to the commonly held belief that war is disruptive to pre-war ideals, Hess argues that Northern soldiers and civilians mad Traces the influence of nationalism on the willingness of Northerners to fight in the Civil War