Overview

From the final bloody battles of the Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the role of freed slaves and Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Americans faced a remarkable range of critical issues in 1865. In this illumi­nating collection, prominent historians of nineteenth-century America offer insightful overviews of the individuals, events, and issues that together made 1865 one of the most momentous years in American history. Following an intro­duction by renowned Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer, nine new essays explore the end of the Civil War, Lincoln’s death, and the start of the tentative peace. Topics include the sending of the Thir­teenth Amendment to the states for ratification, General Ulysses S. Grant’s crucial last thrusts against Robert E. Lee and Lincoln’s management of the over­all war effort, Lincoln’s meeting with Confederate emissaries who sought to reverse the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln’s second inaugural address, and Lincoln’s dramatic April 4 walk through Richmond. Turning to Lincoln’s assassination, essays examine Booth’s organizational efforts leading up to the events of that fateful day and the trial of the assas­sination conspirators. Other chapters cover the African American experience in the final year of the war and the use of the visual arts to preserve the life and legacy of the martyred president. With appendixes that include a close look at Lincoln’s activities and writings from January 1 through April 14 and other pertinent materials, this thoughtful col­lection provides an engaging evaluation of one of the most pivotal years in the evolution of America.

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9780809334018

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Reviews

1865: America Makes War and Peace in Lincoln's Final Year contains an impressive series of essays by well-known Lincoln scholars. Edited by Harold Holzer and Sara Vaughn Gabbard, this collection offers new insights into not just Lincoln but also the often neglected last days of the war. --Jean H. Baker, Goucher College The year 1865 was a pivotal moment--perhaps the pivotal moment--in American history, and no one played a more prominent role in it than Abraham Lincoln. These engaging essays by ten leading historians of the Civil War era thoughtfully examine many of the events of that year, both the familiar and the forgotten, through the prism of the martyred president's words and deeds. All who read this volume will be rewarded with a fascinating portrayal of that remarkable year of triumph and tragedy. --Stephen V. Ash, author of A Year in the South: 1865 Harold Holzer and Sara Vaughn Gabbard give us a vivid look at one of the most significant years in American history. In fascinating detail the volume's authors write about final battles of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln's important work toward a just and lasting peace, why he was assassinated, and how Lincoln's image changed after his brutal death. --Jay Winik, author of April 1865: The Month That Saved America and The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800

Author Information

Harold Holzer, senior vice president for external affairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation, is the author, coauthor, editor, or coeditor of forty-six books about Abraham Lincoln, most recently Exploring Lincoln: Great Historians Reappraise Our Greatest Pres­ident and The Civil War in 50 Objects. He has published six books with SIU Press. Sara Vaughn Gabbard, executive director of Friends of the Lincoln Col­lection of Indiana, is the editor of Lincoln Lore. She and Holzer coedited Lincoln and Freedom: Slavery, Emancipation, and the Thirteenth Amendment and 1863: Lincoln’s Pivotal Year, and she and Joseph R. Fornieri coedited Lincoln’s America, 1809–1865.

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