Gotham at War: New York City, 1860-1865Gotham at War is an accessible, entertaining account of America's biggest and most powerful urban center during the Civil War. New York City mobilized an enthusiastic but poorly trained military force during the first month of the war that helped protect Washington, D.C., from Confederate capture. Its strong financial support for the national government may well have saved the Union. New York served as a center for manpower, military supplies, and shipbuilding. And medically, New York became a center for efforts to provide for sick and wounded soldiers. Yet, despite being a major Northern city, New York also had strong sympathy for the South. Parts of the city were strongly racist, hostile to the abolition of slavery and to any real freedom for black Americans. The hostility of many New Yorkers to the military draft culminated in one of the greatest of all urban upheavals, the draft riots of July 1863. Edward K. Spann brings his experience as an urban historian to provide insights on both the varied ways in which the war affected the city and the ways in which the city's people and industry influenced the divided nation. This is the first book to assess the city's contributions to the Civil War.Gotham at War examines the different sides of the city as some fought to sustain the Union while others opposed the war effort and sided with the South. This unique book will entertain all readers interested in the Civil War and New York City. About the AuthorEdward K. Spann is professor emeritus of history at Indiana State University. He is a specialist in nineteenth-century history and urban history. Spann has authored a number of books, including The New Metropolis: New York City 1840-1857 and Ideals and Politics: New York Intellectuals and Liberal Democracy, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. |
Contents
THE ROAD TO WAR 18601861 | 5 |
PATRIOTISM IN ACTION 1861 | 21 |
WAR ON THE SEA | 35 |
THE BUSINESS OF SUPPLY | 49 |
MOBILIZATION FOR REAL | 61 |
TENDER MERCIES | 75 |
A DEMOCRATIC WORLD | 87 |
RIOTS AND RELIEF | 97 |
REBUILDING PROSPERITY | 139 |
WEALTH AND ITS EXCEPTIONS | 149 |
A THREATENING WORLD | 159 |
THE POLITICS OF WAR AND PEACE | 169 |
THE MANPOWER BUSINESS | 181 |
VICTORY AND BEYOND | 191 |
A WORLD RESTORED | 203 |
| 207 | |
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Common terms and phrases
abolitionists African American April army attack August battle blockade bounty Broadway brokers Brooklyn Navy Yard Bull Run Catholic city's Civil clothing Confederacy Confederate conscription declared Democratic Party Draft Riots early East River effort election emancipation enlisted especially Fernando Wood Fire Zouaves force Fort Sumter Frederick Law Olmsted George Opdyke George Templeton Strong German Gotham Greeley Herald hope Horace Greeley hospitals immigrants important Irish Brigade ironclad ISBN Journal of Commerce July labor Lincoln administration March Mayor ment merchants metropolis Metropolitan military million months needed November organized Papers patriotic peace percent police political population port prosperity racist rebel recruits relief reported Republican September Seventh Regiment ships Sixty-ninth slavery society soldiers soon South Southern steamer Street Sumter supply Tammany Tammany Hall tion trade Tribune troops Union units University Press USSC victory vote wartime women Wood York City York's Yorkers Zouaves
Popular passages
Page vi - John G. Selby. Virginians at War: The Civil War Experiences of Seven Young Confederates (2002). Cloth ISBN 0-8420-5054-X Paper ISBN 0-8420-5055-8 Edward K. Spann. Gotham at War: New York City, 1860-1865 (2002). Cloth ISBN 0-8420-5056-6 Paper ISBN 0-8420-5057-4 AnneJ.
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