1864 The American Conflict leading to the U. S. Civil War - Very Rare

by Horace Greeley, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 Matched Set

The American Conflict is a very early history of events leading up to the U. S. Civil War. 

Greeley was not a friend of Grant or Lincoln but opposed slavery and supported the cause of the American Civil War.

Out of this passion grew his two volumes -The American Conflict - which is a history of events leading up to the Civil War as well as a history of the war itself from the side of the Union point of view.

American Conflict, by powerful New York publisher Greeley, is an important contemporary history of the war steeped in the emphatic ideals of slavery and freedom.

In the first of these two handsomely illustrated volumes, Greeley records his version of the entire history of the nation from 1776 to the second year of the Civil War. The second volume analyzes the final three years of the war and includes substantial material on emancipation and the crushing of the rebellion. 

Greeley traces the seeds of the war and includes a large cache of public documents and speeches to make his case.

Failed compromise is the predominating theme. 

Composed during the war, the work is particularly notable for the presentation of predictions about the years to come, particularly regarding the slavery question.  

A fair and certainly honest history of the events, American Conflict is still important to Civil War scholars. Besides offering extensive accounts of battlefield events, Greeley traced compassionately the troubled story of African Americans.

Greeley’s furnishing of bail for Jefferson Davis after the war brought a storm of abuse upon him and killed the sale of his book.

Thousands of subscriptions were cancelled, and even early editions are scarce.