1861: the lost peace

Foreword

Prelude: New Year's Day in the United States

Part I: 1856. The promise of America ; The stain

Part II: The beginning. The senator ; The mad prophet ; The assemblyman ; The decision ; The boundless future of America ; The dilemma

Part III: The unraveling. The spark ; The soldier ; The counterattack ; Martyrdom ; The aftermath ; Debate ; Lincoln ; The election ; Secession and Buchanan

Part IV: The tug toward peace. Crittenden 1: The hope ; Crittenden 2: The great compromise ; The forts ; War at Sumter? ; Washington and dissolution ; The new confederation ; To Washington

Part V: Peace or dissolution?. The peace conference ; Weighty decisions ; Inauguration

Part VI: The lost of peace of 1861. Sumter ; The fate of war ; It begins

Part VII: Turning point. The end of an era

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

A note on sources

Index.