Defining duty in the Civil War : personal choice, popular culture, and the Union home front /

The Civil War thrust Americans onto unfamiliar terrain, as two competing societies mobilized for four years of bloody conflict. Concerned Northerners turned to the print media for guidance on how to be good citizens in a war that hit close to home but was fought hundreds of miles away. They read nov...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Gallman, J. Matthew (James Matthew) (Author)
Format:	Book
Language:	English
Published:	Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, [2015]
Series:	Civil War America (Series)
Subjects:	United States > History > Civil War, 1861-1865 > Social aspects. National characteristics, American > History > 19th century. Nationalism > United States > History > 19th century. Patriotism > United States > History > 19th century. Northeastern States > Social conditions > 19th century. Political culture > United States > History > 19th century. Political culture > Northeastern States > History > 19th century. Duty.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: only bread and the newspaper we must have
Part I. On fools, hypocrites, and scoundrels
Striped pants and empty heads: the fools, swells, and jesters of the Civil War
Don't you think it is time you took off that uniform? Shoulder straps and faux soldiers
Your diamonds may flash gaily, but there's blood on them: a shoddy aristocracy
Part II. On duty, cowardice, and citizenship
Our duty: sacrifice and citizenship
No man of honor shall shrink from running his chance: Federal conscription and individual obligations
The woman hides her trembling fear: good wives and selfless volunteers
Will they fight? Should they fight? African Americans and citizenship in wartime
Conclusion: We are coming Father Abraham: patriotism and choice.