Volume 1 of the series beginning with the end of the Mexican War and ending with the Civil War. Highly detailed, with extensive citations. Basic premise - Civil War was inevitable due to the underlying cause of Slavery. States Rights were merely a justification for continuing the practice of slavery, and thus a red herring. ( )

Reading my way through the magnificent Nevins' Ordeal of the Union and was struck by this paragraph" “Alongside the dominant traits of individualism, materialism, and optimism ran a fourth characteristic in which Americans took uncritical pride, their democracy. Few men paused to reflect that the four attributes were not wholly harmonious; that even in Jefferson’s day a conflict between equality and liberty had been visible. In both economic and political spheres, individualism and materialism were allying themselves to place fetters on democracy. Admiration of wealth, love of power, and the tradition of free economic enterprise led naturally to the growth of plutocracy” (p 51)

How little has changed, and now we seem to be revisiting South Carolina and the Nullification Crisis of 1832.

1779 Ordeal of the Union Volume I Fruits of Manifest Destiny 1847-1852, by Allan Nevins (read 2 May 1983) This is an excellent book, which I found simply absorbing and really flawless. It is the first volume of Nevins' work on the period 1847 to 1861, and goes up to 1852. It starts with the end of the Mexican War, and with a sure touch and clear scholarship, tells the story. On May 15, 1976, I read The Impending Crisis 1848-1861, by David M. Potter Completed by Don E. Fehrenbacher (Book of the Year) (Pulitzer History prize in 1977), which covered the same period of U.S. history, and it was the best book I read in 1976. This Nevins' book is just as outstanding in my mind, even though it was published in 1947, and may be outdated somewhat. But I found it simply stupendous. The first chapter tells of the moment of victory in Mexico. Chapter 2 surveys the social status of the country in 1847--really not too edifying, of course. Chapter 3 is entitled "Culture of the Masses." Chapter 4 is "The Pulse of Reform" and considers temperance, women's rights, and anti-slavery strivings. Then the philosophical theories of government are considered, and the government surveyed. In 1848 Taylor was elected, and this election is the subject of Chapter 6. Chapter 7--The Gathering Quarrel--lays the scene leading to the Compromise of 1850, and the next four chapters tell the story and its aftermath in the best possible way--a simply enthralling account, not able to be bettered: historical wilting at its best as far as I am concerned. The next three chapters consider slavery, and while I have never been interested in black history, I found these chapters extremely enlightening. Really, I never before had read such illuminating accounts of what slavery really meant. The final chapter touches on foreign affairs and the volume ends: "The U.S., everyone agreed, was to be a mighty place in the world. But could it first settle the most imperative of its own social and economic problems?" This book treads not unknown territory and yet it was all supremely absorbing: a period of history I find most enthralling. I should have read this long ago, but for sheer enjoyable reading I have found nothing to match this in a long time. I found flaws in other Nevins' books, but I can find no flaw in this book. This book and Volume II won the Bancroft Prize and the Scribner Centenary prize. ( )

An excellent, if rather lengthy, look at this part of the 1850s of the USA leading up to the Civil War. Lots of detail provided, of especial interest were the direct quotes from newspapers of the period. About the only downside is that almost too much detail is given to the average reader. It got rather confusing to follow the congressional debates. ( )