Goodheart’s chapter on Ben Butler and his “contrabands” stands as the highlight of the book. CROFTS WINTER 2011 77 be,” Butler resolved “I shall hold your negroes as contraband of war” (302, 314). “I am under no constitutional obligations to a foreign country, which Virginia now claims to DANIEL W. In another part of Virginia, at Fortress Monroe, Benjamin Butler, a Massachusetts Democrat turned political general, endeared himself to a contingent of “bleeding hearts” under his command by refusing to return runaway slaves to their owner. Just a month later, as he led his “Zouaves” into Alexandria, Virginia, Ellsworth was shot down-and Lincoln devastated. In mid-April, immediately after Confederates assaulted Fort Sumter, Elmer Ellsworth, a young man befriended by Lincoln, rushed to New York City and organized a regiment of firemen to defend the Union. The crumbling structure of North-South amity could not survive the outbreak of war. They therefore allowed Lucy Bagby, who had fled from her Virginia owner, to be returned to captivity. But others in Garfield’s home city of Cleveland, Ohio, sought to show the South that they were “true and loyal to the Constitution” (116). Articulating values held by a generation of young northerners, Garfield spoke out against “aristocratic privilege” and opposed any compromise with the South (94). One of his lead characters is twenty-nine-year old James Garfield, an obscure college professor turned politician who soon would become a warrior and eventually a president. Biography provides the scaffolding for Goodheart’s thesis. Our intuition, however, may be an imperfect guide.

It makes intuitive sense to us that our likeminded predecessors saw things as we now do. From the perspective of the early twenty-first century, slavery appears the essential catalyst for North-South antagonism and its abolition the most meaningful aspect of the conflict.

These views will undoubtedly find a receptive audience. They finally grasped that emancipation was necessary. Having long blinded themselves to the obvious, northerners awoke in 1860 to take on the task at hand. Goodheart uses his writing and research prowess to drive home a core idea: the Civil War was “a war against slavery, even before it began” (19). His book provides fresh perspective on the incredible chain of events triggered by Abraham Lincoln’s election as president in November 1860. When he delves into a topic, he does so with authority. Moreover, the writing is grounded on impressive research. Crofts A nyone who seeks to find out why people in the free states resolved to fight will welcome 1861: The Civil War Awakening. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:ħ6 OHIO VALLEY HISTORY Review Essay Adam Goodheart and the North’sWar for Freedom Daniel W.

1861 by adam goodheart