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Soldiers of Peace: Civl War Pacificism and the Post War Radical Peace Movement (North's Civil War, No. 22.) | 
| Author: Thomas Curran
Publisher: Fordham University Press
Category: Book
Buy New: $45.00
New (6) Used (7) from $24.00
Rating:  1 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 228
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 0823222101
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.712
EAN: 9780823222100
ASIN: 0823222101
Publication Date: January 1, 2003
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Historians have tended to dismiss pacifism and the peace movement of the Civil War era, arguing that most Americans believed in the war as an answer to the crisis of secession. This groundbreaking book offers a much needed new perspective on role played by pacifism during and after Civil War era. Thomas Curran focuses on the "perfectionist pacifists", a group of northerners whose views on Christian perfection and obligation forced them to take an extreme pacifist stance during the War. Curran tracks wartime opposition into the postwar years, when the perfectionists united to create the Universal Peace Union (UPU), Americas most radical peace organization of the late nineteenth century. In this respect, the UPU represented a continuation of the optimistic perfectionism found in the reform movements of the antebellum era, a sentiment that some historians have argued became a victim of the horrors of the Civil War and its aftermath. The UPU became involved in a range of causes, including Reconstruction, Native American rights, labor relations, and womens rights. Through the UPU the perfectionists sought to reform all aspects of society to their understanding of the laws of God--a continuation of the optimistic perfectionism found in the reform movements of the antebellum era. Although the UPU had successes during its forty-seven years of operation, it ultimately failed to achieve its idealistic agenda. In Currans fresh, insightful account, this story shines light on the limitations, often self-imposed, that many reform groups face in achieving their goals.
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| Customer Reviews:
Curran + Antebellum History = Tour de Force on Steroids November 27, 2003
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
These days, it seems like every two-bit charlatan with a piece of paper from Holeinthewall Junior College is spitting out a volume of drivel on this or that part of the late 19th century. No subject is more infested with these barely literate confidence men than Civil War & antebellum pacifism. Indeed, make barely a mention of Alexander Campbell or J.W. McGarvey on any campus in the country and you'll be swarmed by adjunct-professorial snake oil salesman in smoking jackets, peddling their intellecutally dubious wares.Well, gentleman, let's just say that there's a new sheriff in town, and it's time to come correct or face the consequences. His name is Thomas F. Curran, and he is not here to play games; rather, he is here to give the most thorough treatment of the Restoration movement yet produced. Stunningly well researched, yet presented in a thoughtful, cogent, and above all interesting way, Curran has acheived a Taoist balance in this volume that most academics couldn't dream of if you gave them a magic lamp with an extra genie thrown in. Move over, Messrs. De Groot, Murch, and West, this genre's pantheon just got a little bigger.
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