
A Press Divided
Newspaper Coverage of the Civil War
David B. Sachsman(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 30. September 2014
Book
Hardback
418 pages
978-1-4128-5466-5 (ISBN)
Description
A Press Divided provides new insights regarding the sharp political divisions that existed among the newspapers of the Civil War era. These newspapers were divided between North and South, and also divided within the North and South. These divisions reflected and exacerbated the conflicts in political thought that caused the Civil War and the political and ideological battles within the Union and the Confederacy about how to pursue the war. In the North, dissenting voices alarmed the Lincoln administration to such a degree that draconian measures were taken to suppress dissenting newspapers and editors, while in the South, the Confederate government held to its fundamental belief in freedom of speech and was more tolerant of political attacks in the press. This volume consists of eighteen chapters on subjects including newspaper coverage of the rise of Lincoln, press reports on George Armstrong Custer, Confederate women war correspondents, Civil War photojournalists, newspaper coverage of the Emancipation Proclamation, and the suppression of the dissident press. This book tells the story of a divided press before and during the Civil War, discussing the roles played by newspapers in splitting the nation, newspaper coverage of the war, and the responses by the Union and Confederate administrations to press criticism.
Reviews / Votes
"American newspapers have been divided since their first appearance in the colonies in 1690. The Civil War intensified the sharp political divisiveness, which lasted well into Reconstruction. Newspapers were divided between North and South and within the North and the South, and they served as an outlet for editors to openly support their causes. Papers on both sides feared that the power of the press would subvert national unity. Editors on both sides were arrested, and hundreds of newspapers were suppressed. In discussing matters related to newspapers and the Civil War, the authors (all Civil War scholars) of these 18 essays treat such topics as the Missouri crisis, Lincoln and the Southern press, newspapers and the rise and election of Lincoln, Civil War cartoons, 'Copperhead Christians,' female war correspondents, Confederate nationalism, and the First Amendment. Sachsman (communication and public affairs, Univ. of Tennessee, Chattanooga) has put together a volume that will be an enlightening read for Civil War scholars and enthusiasts and for those interested in the history of the 19th-century press...Highly recommended." - R. Ray, Choice MagazineMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Inc
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
703 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4128-5466-5 (9781412854665)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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E-Book
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E-Book
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Person
David B. Sachsman is a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA, where he holds the George R. West, Jr. Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs. His books include Sensationalism and The Civil War and the Press.
Content
Preface, Introduction, Part I: Splitting a Nation, Part II: Covering the Conflict, Part III: Dissension and Suppression North and South, About the Editor, List of Contributors, Illustrations, Index