Jews and the Civil War: A Reader

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; Introduction -- Jews and slavery -- Jews and abolition -- Rabbis and the march to war -- Jewish soldiers during the Civil War -- The home front -- Jews as a class -- Aftermath. Review Quotes:"A wonderful book dealing with personal issues each of us as individuals may face. Well-written and absorbing reading with numerous case studies that rely on materials and insider accounts from the private papers of the justices, this is a book for the general public and specialists alike to savor."-Sheldon Goldman, University of Massachusetts, AmherstReview Quotes: "Jews and the Civil War is an invaluable one-stop compendium, an essential and illuminating trove, much needed as we launch the Civil War Sesquicentennial."-Harold Holzer, "Moment Magazine"Review Quotes:"In gathering together these widely scattered essays, Sarna and Mendelsohn reveal that we know much more than we ever thought we did about Jews and this great conflict. Just as the Civil War divided Americans, it divided Jews. Civil War buffs, historians, and anyone interested in the cataclysm which rent the nation will embrace this marvelous collection depicting how one group of Americans experienced that terrible time."-Pamela S. Nadell, Inaugural Patrick Clendenen Professor of History, American UniversityReview Quotes: "I predict that "Jews and the Civil War: A Reader" will very quickly become one of the definitive scholarly texts on the Jewish role in the Civil War. Any one of the seventeen articles could stand alone as a fascinating socio-cultural history of the period... Each article is assiduously researched and followed by detailed endnotes identifying the source of the information... I recommend this book to all readers who enjoy Jewish history. Many of the articles can easily serve as springboards for teachers of American and Jewish history who want to provide articles depicting the Civil War through memoirs, letters, diaries, rabbinical talks, and popular magazines as well as traditional historical sources."-Jewish Book World, Review Quotes: "'The Jews thus became for Grant and his harassed officers a convenient symbol of all the frustrations and annoyances with which they were contending, ' Stephen Ash writes in an essay in New York University Press' intriguing new anthology."-America's Civil War, Review Quotes: "Jews in the Civil War is an invaluable one-stop compendium, an essential and illuminating trove, much needed as we launch the Civil War Sesquicentennial."Review Quotes: ("I predict that "Jews and the Civil War: A Reader" will very quickly become one of the definitive scholarly texts on the Jewish role in the Civil War. Any one of the seventeen articles could stand alone as a fascinating socio-cultural history of the period... Each article is assiduously researched and followed by detailed endnotes identifying the source of the information... I recommend this book to all readers who enjoy Jewish history. Many of the articles can easily serve as springboards for teachers of American and Jewish history who want to provide articles depicting the Civil War through memoirs, letters, diaries, rabbinical talks, and popular magazines as well as traditional historical sources.")-(Jewish Book World), () Review Quotes: ("'The Jews thus became for Grant and his harassed officers a convenient symbol of all the frustrations and annoyances with which they were contending, ' Stephen Ash writes in an essay in New York University Press' intriguing new anthology.")-(America's Civil War), () Review Quotes: ("Jews and the Civil War is an invaluable one-stop compendium, an essential and illuminating trove, much needed as we launch the Civil War Sesquicentennial.")-(Harold Holzer), ("Moment Magazine") Review Quotes: ("An excellent volume which contains many of the most authoritative scholarly essays on American Jewry and the Civil War. The volume sheds historical light on a wide range of fascinating subjects including Jews and slavery, Jews and Abolition, Jews in the military, and much more. Readers will be especially grateful for the learned and insightful editorial introductions that serve as forewords to each of the thematic sections. All those interested in the Civil War will want to own a copy of this rich resource. It is truly a cornucopia of historical insight.")-(Gary P. Zola, ), (Professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and Executive Director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio) Review Quotes: ("In gathering together these widely scattered essays, Sarna and Mendelsohn reveal that we know much more than we ever thought we did about Jews and this great conflict. Just as the Civil War divided Americans, it divided Jews. Civil War buffs, historians, and anyone interested in the cataclysm which rent the nation will embrace this marvelous collection depicting how one group of Americans experienced that terrible time.")-(Pamela S. Nadell), (Inaugural Patrick Clendenen Professor of History, American University) Review Quotes:.".. A thorough summary of the trajectory of current case law on the legal regulation of U. S. citizens' intimate lives. . . . A valuable introduction to increasingly important and salient legal questions about the constitutional limits on the state's ability to shape intimate lives in the United States."-" Political Science Quarterly ", Review Quotes:"Despite the controversial content of many of the cases, Mr. Ball maintains an air of bemused detachment and does not openly take sides. This is not a polemic. With few exceptions, the prevailing tone is light and scholarly. The goal is to illuminate, not to persuade."-"New York Law Journal", Review Quotes:.".. A worthy assessment of the law of intimate association and personal decision-making. For those intrigued by the Court's human side, Ball provides a sufficient glimpse without raising the curtain on its realm of privacy that the justices have strived to protect."-"Trial", Review Quotes:"In this truly fascinating and spellbinding work, Ball tells many tales." -"Choice", Review Quotes:"An excellent volume which contains many of the most authoritative scholarly essays on American Jewry and the Civil War. The volume sheds historical light on a wide range of fascinating subjects including Jews and slavery, Jews and Abolition, Jews in the military, and much more. Readers will be especially grateful for the learned and insightful editorial introductions that serve as forewords to each of the thematic sections. All those interested in the Civil War will want to own a copy of this rich resource. It is truly a cornucopia of historical insight."-Gary P. Zola, Professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and Executive Director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, OhioTable of Contents: Preface -- Introduction: Before Korn: A Century of Jewish Historical Writing about the American Civil War / Adam Mendelsohn -- Overview: The War between Jewish Brothers in America / Eli N. Evans -- Part I. Jews and Slavery -- 1. Jews and New Christians in the Atlantic Slave Trade / Seymour Drescher -- 2. Jews and Negro Slavery in the Old South, 1789-1865 / Bertram W. Korn -- Part II. Jews and Abolition -- 3. Revolution and Reform: The Antebellum Jewish Abolitionists / Jayme A. Sokolow -- 4. The Abolitionists and the Jews: Some Further Thoughts / Louis Ruchames -- Part III. Rabbis and the March to War -- 5. Isaac Mayer Wise and the Civil War / Sefton D. Temkin -- 6. Baltimore Rabbis during the Civil War / Isaac M. Fein -- Part IV. Jewish Soldiers during the Civil War -- 7. Divided Loyalties in 1861: The Decision of Major Alfred Mordecai / Stanley L. Falk -- 8. Jewish Confederates / Robert N. Rosen -- 9. From Peddler to Regimental Commander in Two Years: The Civil War Career of Major Louis A. Gratz / Jacob Rader Marcus -- Part V. The Home Front -- 10. Eugenia Levy Phillips: The Civil War Experiences of a Southern Jewish Woman / David T. Morgan -- 11. Shifting Veils: Religion, Politics, and Womanhood in the Civil War Writings of American Jewish Women / Dianne Ashton -- Part VI. Jews as a Class -- 12. Shoddy Antisemitism and the Civil War / Gary L. Bunker, John J. Appel -- 13. Jewish Chaplains during the Civil War / Bertram W. Korn -- 14. That Obnoxious Order / John Simon -- 15. Civil War Exodus: The Jews and Grant's General Order No. 11 / Stephen V. Ash -- Part VII. Aftermath -- 16. The Post-Civil War Economy in the South / Thomas D. Clark -- 17. Candidate Grant and the Jews / Joakim Isaacs -- For Further Reading -- Index -- About the Editors. Biographical Note: Jonathan D. Sarna is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University and Chief Historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History. He has written, edited or co-edited more than twenty-five books, including "American Judaism: A History," winner of the "Jewish Book of the Year" award from the Jewish Book Council.

Contributor Bio:  Sarna, Jonathan D Prof. Jonathan D. Sarna is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University and director of its Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program. He is author of American Judaism: A History, winner of the National Jewish Book Award, among other books. Contributor Bio:  Mendelsohn, Adam Adam Mendelsohn is Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of the Center for Southern Jewish History and Culture at the College of Charleston.