Amiable Scoundrel

Amiable Scoundrel PDF Author: Paul Kahan
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1612348149
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
From abject poverty to undisputed political boss of Pennsylvania, Lincoln’s secretary of war, senator, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a founder of the Republican Party, Simon Cameron (1799–1889) was one of the nineteenth century’s most prominent political figures. In his wake, however, he left a series of questionable political and business dealings and, at the age of eighty, even a sex scandal. Far more than a biography of Cameron, Amiable Scoundrel is also a portrait of an era that allowed—indeed, encouraged—a man such as Cameron to seize political control. The political changes of the early nineteenth century enabled him not only to improve his status but also to exert real political authority. The changes caused by the Civil War, in turn, allowed Cameron to consolidate his political authority into a successful, well-oiled political machine. A key figure in designing and implementing the Union’s military strategy during the Civil War’s crucial first year, Cameron played an essential role in pushing Abraham Lincoln to permit the enlistment of African Americans into the U.S. Army, a stance that eventually led to his forced resignation. Yet his legacy has languished, nearly forgotten save for the fact that his name has become shorthand for corruption, even though no evidence has ever been presented to prove that Cameron was corrupt. Amiable Scoundrel puts Cameron’s actions into a larger historical context by demonstrating that many politicians of the time, including Abraham Lincoln, used similar tactics to win elections and advance their careers. This study is the fascinating story of Cameron’s life and an illuminating portrait of his times. Purchase the audio edition.

Amiable Scoundrel

Amiable Scoundrel PDF Author: Paul Kahan
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1612348149
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 385

Get Book Here

Book Description
From abject poverty to undisputed political boss of Pennsylvania, Lincoln’s secretary of war, senator, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a founder of the Republican Party, Simon Cameron (1799–1889) was one of the nineteenth century’s most prominent political figures. In his wake, however, he left a series of questionable political and business dealings and, at the age of eighty, even a sex scandal. Far more than a biography of Cameron, Amiable Scoundrel is also a portrait of an era that allowed—indeed, encouraged—a man such as Cameron to seize political control. The political changes of the early nineteenth century enabled him not only to improve his status but also to exert real political authority. The changes caused by the Civil War, in turn, allowed Cameron to consolidate his political authority into a successful, well-oiled political machine. A key figure in designing and implementing the Union’s military strategy during the Civil War’s crucial first year, Cameron played an essential role in pushing Abraham Lincoln to permit the enlistment of African Americans into the U.S. Army, a stance that eventually led to his forced resignation. Yet his legacy has languished, nearly forgotten save for the fact that his name has become shorthand for corruption, even though no evidence has ever been presented to prove that Cameron was corrupt. Amiable Scoundrel puts Cameron’s actions into a larger historical context by demonstrating that many politicians of the time, including Abraham Lincoln, used similar tactics to win elections and advance their careers. This study is the fascinating story of Cameron’s life and an illuminating portrait of his times. Purchase the audio edition.

Amiable Scoundrel

Amiable Scoundrel PDF Author: Paul Kahan
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1612348475
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
From abject poverty to undisputed political boss of Pennsylvania, Lincoln's secretary of war, senator, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a founder of the Republican Party, Simon Cameron (1799-1889) was one of the nineteenth century's most prominent political figures. In his wake, however, he left a series of questionable political and business dealings and, at the age of eighty, even a sex scandal. Far more than a biography of Cameron, Amiable Scoundrel is also a portrait of an era that allowed--indeed, encouraged--a man such as Cameron to seize political control. The political changes of the early nineteenth century enabled him not only to improve his status but also to exert real political authority. The changes caused by the Civil War, in turn, allowed Cameron to consolidate his political authority into a successful, well-oiled political machine. A key figure in designing and implementing the Union's military strategy during the Civil War's crucial first year, Cameron played an essential role in pushing Abraham Lincoln to permit the enlistment of African Americans into the U.S. Army, a stance that eventually led to his forced resignation. Yet his legacy has languished, nearly forgotten save for the fact that his name has become shorthand for corruption, even though no evidence has ever been presented to prove that Cameron was corrupt. Amiable Scoundrel puts Cameron's actions into a larger historical context by demonstrating that many politicians of the time, including Abraham Lincoln, used similar tactics to win elections and advance their careers. This study is the fascinating story of Cameron's life and an illuminating portrait of his times.

From the Gracchi to Nero

From the Gracchi to Nero PDF Author: H.H. Scullard
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000527247
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 395

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Book Description
From the Gracchi to Nero is an outstanding history of the Roman world from 133 BC to 68 AD. Fifty years since publication it is widely hailed as the classic survey of the period, going through many revised and updated editions until H.H. Scullard’s death. It explores the decline and fall of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Pax Romana under the early Principate. In superbly clear style, Scullard brings vividly to life the Gracchi’s attempts at reform, the rise and fall of Marius and Sulla, Pompey and Caesar, society and culture in the late Roman Republic, the Augustan Principate, Tiberius and Gaius, Claudius and Nero, and economic and social life in the early Empire.

The Black Heavens

The Black Heavens PDF Author: Brian R. Dirck
Publisher:
ISBN: 0809337029
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
"Drawing upon extensive recent historical studies regarding death, funerals, and mourning during the Civil War era as well as primary sources, The Black Heavens provides a realistic view of Lincoln as he encountered death. Avoiding the sentimentalization and excessive psychoanalyzing that has characterized much of the historical (and fictional) writing on the subject, this book carefully situates Lincoln within the social, cultural, and political contexts of death and mourning in his time"--

100 Must-read Books for Men

100 Must-read Books for Men PDF Author: Stephen E. Andrews
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1408135876
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
What do men like to read? This latest title in the successful 100 Must-read series provides a rich crop of selected reads of eternal fascination to men everywhere. With 100 titles fully featured and over 500 recommended, there is something for everyone, from the macho to the sentimental, sex, drugs and rock and roll, old age, childhood, power, seduction, courage and adventure. Written by two experienced male booksellers and writers, the selection draws from a wide range of genres: crime, thrillers, cult classics, classics, biography and non-fiction. Deftly researched with the male audience in mind, this book is an enabling tool for extending your range of reading. A lengthy introduction examines mens attitudes to reading, the differences between male and female reading tastes, the varying ways in which the sexes use/respond to language and how this is reflected in their choices of reading matter. Books featured include: Crash by J. G. Ballard, Junkie by William S. Burroughs, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse, Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian, The Book of Dave by Will Self, Touching the Void by Joe Simpson and Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.

The Assault on Elisha Green

The Assault on Elisha Green PDF Author: Randolph Paul Runyon
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813152402
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
On June 8, 1883, Rev. Elisha Green was traveling by train from Maysville to Paris, Kentucky. At Millersburg, about forty students from the Millersburg Female College crowded onto the train, accompanied by their music teacher, Frank L. Bristow, and the college president, George T. Gould. Gould grabbed the reverend by the shoulder and ordered him to give up his seat. When Green refused, Bristow and Gould assaulted him until the conductor intervened and ordered the assailants to stop or he would throw them off of the train. Friends advised Green to take legal action, and he did, winning his case against his assailants in March 1884, though with only token compensation. The significance of this case lies not only in the prevailing justice of the 1800s, but also in the fact that a black man won a lawsuit against two white men. In The Assault on Elisha Green: Race and Religion in a Kentucky Community, historian Randolph Paul Runyon recounts one man's pursuit of justice over violence and racism in the nineteenth century. He tells the story of Green's life and follows the network of relationships that led to the event of the assault. Tracing these three men's lives brings the reader from the slavery era to the eve of the First World War, from Kentucky to New Mexico, from Covington to the Kentucky River Palisades, with particular focus on Mason and Bourbon Counties. In this engagingly written tale, Runyon masterfully interweaves background information with the immediacy of the harrowing attack and its aftermath, revealing the true character of the primary actors and the racial tensions unique to a border state.

The Cambridge History of the American Civil War: Volume 2, Affairs of the State

The Cambridge History of the American Civil War: Volume 2, Affairs of the State PDF Author: Aaron Sheehan-Dean
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108601642
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1136

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Book Description
This volume explores the political and social dimensions of the Civil War in both the North and South. Millions of Americans lived outside the major campaign zones so they experienced secondary exposure to military events through newspaper reporting and letters home from soldiers. Governors and Congressmen assumed a major role in steering the personnel decisions, strategic planning, and methods of fighting, but regular people also played roles in direct military action, as guerrilla fighters, as nurses and doctors, and as military contractors. Chapters investigate a variety of aspects of military leadership and management, including coverage of technology, discipline, finance, the environment, and health and medicine. Chapters also consider the political administration of the war, examining how antebellum disputes over issues such as emancipation and the draft resulted in a shift of partisan dynamics and the ways that people of all stripes took advantage of the flux of war to advance their own interests.

Civil War Witnesses and Their Books

Civil War Witnesses and Their Books PDF Author: Gary W. Gallagher
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807176362
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Civil War Witnesses and Their Books: New Perspectives on Iconic Works serves as a wide-ranging analysis of texts written by individuals who experienced the American Civil War. Edited by Gary W. Gallagher and Stephen Cushman, this volume, like its companion, Civil War Writing: New Perspectives on Iconic Texts (2019), features the voices of authors who felt compelled to convey their stories for a variety of reasons. Some produced works intended primarily for their peers, while others were concerned with how future generations would judge their wartime actions. One diarist penned her entries with no thought that they would later become available to the public. The essayists explore the work of five men and three women, including prominent Union and Confederate generals, the wives of a headline-seeking US cavalry commander and a Democratic judge from New York City, a member of Robert E. Lee’s staff, a Union artillerist, a matron from Richmond’s sprawling Chimborazo Hospital, and a leading abolitionist US senator. Civil War Witnesses and Their Books shows how some of those who lived through the conflict attempted to assess its importance and frame it for later generations. Their voices have particular resonance today and underscore how rival memory traditions stir passion and controversy, providing essential testimony for anyone seeking to understand the nation’s greatest trial and its aftermath. CONTENTS: “From Manassas to Appomattox: James Longstreet’s Memoir and the Limits of Confederate Reconciliation,” Elizabeth R. Varon “A Modern Sensibility in Older Garb: Henry Wilson’s Rise and Fall of the Slave Power and the Beginnings of Civil War History,” William Blair “‘The Brisk and Brilliant Matron of Chimborazo Hospital’: Phoebe Yates Pember’s Nurse Narrative,’” Sarah E. Gardner “George McClellan’s Many Turnings,” Stephen Cushman “Maria Lydig Daly: Diary of a Union Lady 1861–1865,” J. Matthew Gallman “John D. Billings’s Hardtack and Coffee: A Union Fighting Man’s Civil War,” M. Keith Harris “One Widow’s Wars: The Civil War, Reconstruction, and the West in Elizabeth Bacon Custer’s Memoirs,” Cecily N. Zander “Proximity and Numbers: Walter H. Taylor Shapes Confederate History and Memory,” Gary W. Gallagher

A Preface to Morals

A Preface to Morals PDF Author: Walter Lippmann
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 0878559078
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
After an eloquent and moving analysis of what he sees as the disillusion of themodern age, Lippmann posits as the central dilemma of liberalism its inability to find an appropriate substitute for the older forms of authority-- church, state, class, family, law, custom--that it has denied. Lippmann attempts to find a way out of this chaos through the acceptance of a higher humanism and a way of life inspired by the ideal of "disinterestedness" in all things. In his new introduction to the Transaction edition, John Patrick Diggins marks "A Preface "to "Morals, "originally published in 1929, as a critical turning point in Lippmann's intellectual career. He also provides an excellent discussion of the enduring value of this major twentieth-century work by situating it within the context of other intellectual movements.

Flight of the Eagle

Flight of the Eagle PDF Author: Conrad Black
Publisher: Signal
ISBN: 0771013728
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 948

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Book Description
A strategic history of the United States by the bestselling author of biographies of Roosevelt and Nixon In this magisterial new history of the United States, spanning from the New World through the outcome of the 2012 presidential election, acclaimed writer and historian Conrad Black examines the rise of the world's supreme power, its recent decline, and its ultimate strengths and future, and the contributions of leading figures, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, Harry S Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, and Ronald Reagan.