How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America

This is an excellent book and the Introduction was one of the most energizing and eye opening short reads I have had in a very long time. Heather Richardson describes the political structure of the pre-Civil War South as an oligarchy maintained by White Supremacy and the oppression of women. Though the North won the Civil War, the politics of the South thrived and moved West. Though we may think of the West as dominated by individualism, as in the iconic cowboy, it was actually dominated by big businesses such as railroads and mining. Though the West adopted an antigovernment philosophy, it relied heavily on federal investments for its development. The takeover of West by the pre-Civil War governing philosophy of the South lasted until the beginning of the 20th century when the more progressive policies of Teddy Roosevelt, and later by Franklin Roosevelt, became dominant. These policies included a role for government in promoting the general welfare, and particularly in funding major infrastructure projects. After WW II these policies, values, and philosophy became a national liberal consensus. Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater were the first Republican presidential candidate to try to break this consensus, but they failed. However, when Nixon ran for a second time and won the presidency he did what he could to end the liberal consensus and promote movement conservatism, which is the pre-Civil War governing philosophy in a modern garb. But it was not until Reagan that oligarchy, white supremacy, and the oppression of women got their champion. That was the moment when workers start seeing less and less in terms of wages and benefits, and the extraordinarily wealthy saw more and more. Not surprisingly, during the 21st century workers began to notice their shrinking piece of the economic pie. Of course, Republican politicians blamed the effects of their economic and tax policies on Democrats, minorities, immigrants and women. Then they changed the topic and focused on easy to understand social issues. What is surprising is how many workers bought this nonsense. What the author does so elegantly is connect the cultural, political, economic, and historical dots between the pre-Civil War period and the present day. Many people have commented on the similarities between the decades leading up to the Civil War and our current era, but Heather Richardson has created a narrative where these similarities come alive.

I rate this book at five stars because it is well written and makes a persuasively articulated argument. In fact, the correct rating should be 4.5 because there are occasional passages where the passion of Cox's ideology results in overstatement. These instances are few and far between, however; Cox lays out the political pressures behind a culture that has always struggled to live up to its founders ideals. The founders themselves failed to live up to them; so it is hardly a stretch to imagine that the country as a whole would engage in this endless struggle. In the United States and worldwide, the brutal reality persists: political and economic ideologies that sound beautiful in theory and are based on scientific reasoning, often fail to underestimate the malign power of human nature which bends toward the drive of a few to assume control over the many. Marxism is a case in point; it is viable only as a theoretical construct. As for fascism, it doesn't even pretend to ideological control; it is simply the naked pursuit of power for its own sake.

You don't have to be familiar with her Letters from an American to appreciate this historian's lessons, all carefully footnoted. This book is a must read TODAY! Oh, and you will never watch old Westerns on TV the same way again.

"How The South Won The Civil War" is a really well written and very interesting book about American History with accompanying political, sociological, and economic analysis. I purchased both the Kindle and audiobook and read an listened simultaneously. I value and enjoyed every aspect of this book. The book is of medium length and is highly readable.The book contains a fair amount of actual history that may provide a good deal of objective American history to some readers. This objective information is, as far as I could tell, accurate. At a minimum this may enhance a reader's knowledge of American history. As an amateur history buff who has read a good deal of history books, it is more than fair to say that I still learned a fair amount from this book.I also found the analysis of the historical information very interesting. Analysis of course ends up being a matter of opinion. Again, I did learn a good deal and was provided with a lot of fuel for thought, I wish to state that I ended up agreeing with a good deal of the analysis. I was grateful for all of the analysis regardless of whether I agreed with all that of it or not. All of the information is worthy of contemplation.At the risk of over simplification, the author's position is that although the nation was founded on the proposition of equality for all, the reality is that the system was rigged to favor a white male oligarchy both before and after the Civil War. This is not equally for all. It is also not equality for all white males. I happen to feel that there is a lot to be said for this position. Speaking for myself, I feel that I was often "tone deaf" to this position in my youth. The problem that I,personally witness is that every attempted solution I witness the endsv up merely replacing one form of waste and corruption for another, well intended or not...In summary, I really liked this book and am glad that I read it. I do feel that the author has a definite viewpoint which is very worthy of consideration. There were some times that I felt I was being lectured. I do not dismiss any part of this book. I do think there is more than one way to look at some of this information. I need to think about it. But of course, that was why I read it. Thank You for taking the time to read this review.

Package arrived in good order, No complaints.

Absolute garbage

A brilliant chronicle of US history, illustrating how the racism and classism have been integral to the Nation’s psyche since the Mayflower.

2020年の米国大統領選の違和感の正体がバッサリと斬られて解説されています。「自由で平等なアメリカのデモクラシー」と刷り込まれてきたので淡々と紹介される米国政治のダークサイドの史実が強烈でした。強烈すぎて途中で暗澹たる気分になります。今回の米国選挙戦で、次のような素朴な疑問を持った人にお勧めです。・リンカーンの共和党なのになぜデモクラシーを傷つけているのか？・なぜ白人優越主義者が奴隷解放で戦った共和党を支持しているのか？・熱烈なトランプ支持者はなぜカウボーイハットに南軍の旗なのか？・なぜ共和党は減税にこだわり、「民主党政権は社会主義」と叫ぶのか？独立宣言と憲法に埋め込まれたパラドックスが問題の根源であり、南北戦争後、デモクラシーと寡頭政治の綱引きは150年以上続いている。とてもインパクトのある解説で、米国に対する見方が変わりました。日本語訳で早く読みたいです。

Eye opening! Accurate. Detailed. Well written Dr Richardson. I now follow Dr Richardson on FB, a Utube and sub stack. I have gained a wealth of knowledge from her. Well worth the read if you are unfamiliar with US Political History. You will be amazed at how history really does repeat itself!