A Disease in the Public Mind - A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War

Jul 30, 2026

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A Disease in the Public Mind examines the Civil War through the origins and persistence of antislavery and proslavery political cultures, treating public belief as a driving force behind national conflict. The work frames the war as both America’s greatest triumph and its deepest tragedy, emphasizing the immense human cost and the uncertainty of casualty totals. It explores key figures and turning points that shaped emancipation’s meaning and momentum, tracing how ideas and power struggles culminated in war and its aftermath.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages372

Reading Time15 h 37 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

Prologue: John Brown’s Raid

Chapter 1 Slavery Comes to America

Chapter 2 Slavery’s Great Foe—and Unintended Friend

Chapter 3 The First Emancipation Proclamation

Chapter 4 One Head Turning into Thirteen

Chapter 5 The Forgotten Emancipator

Chapter 6 Thomas Jefferson’s Nightmare

Chapter 7 New England Preaches—and Almost Practices—Secession

Chapter 8 How Not to Abolish Slavery

Chapter 9 New England Rediscovers the Sacred Union

Chapter 10 Another Thomas Jefferson Urges Virginia to Abolish Slavery

Chapter 11 The Abolitionist Who Lost His Faith

Chapter 12 Abolitionism Divides and Conquers Itself

Chapter 13 Enter Old Man Eloquent

Chapter 14 The Slave Patrols

Chapter 15 The Trouble with Texas

Chapter 16 Slave Power Paranoia

Chapter 17 From Uncle Tom to John Brown

Chapter 18 The Real Uncle Tom and the Unknown South He Helped Create

Chapter 19 Free Soil for Free (White) Men

Chapter 20 The Whole World Is Watching

Chapter 21 An Ex-President Tries to Save the Union

Chapter 22 The Anguish of Robert E. Lee

Chapter 23 The End of Illusions

Chapter 24 The Third Emancipation Proclamation

Chapter 25 The Hunt After the Captain

Epilogue: Lincoln’s Visitor

[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) A DISEASE IN THE PUBLIC MIND [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) A Disease Public Mind A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF WHY WE FOUGHT THE CIVIL WAR Thomas Fleming DA CAPO PRESS A Member of the Perseus Books Group New York [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Copyright © 2013 by Thomas Fleming All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information, address Da Capo Press, 44 Farnsworth Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02210. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fleming, Thomas J. A disease in the public mind : a new understanding of why we fought the Civil War / Thomas Fleming. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-306-82201-8 (e-book) 1. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Causes. 2. Slavery—Political aspects—United States—History—19th century. 3. Antislavery movements—United States—History—19th century. 4. Political culture—United States—History—19th century. 5. New England—Relations—Southern States. 6. Southern States—Relations—New England. 7. United States—Politics and government—1815–1861. 8. United States—History—1815–1861—Biography. I. Title. E459 .F55 2013 973.7'11—dc23 2012045309 Published by Da Capo Press A Member of the Perseus Books Group [www.dacapopress.com](www.dacapopress.com) Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases [in the U.S. by](in the U.S. by)[ ](in the U.S. by)[corporations](corporations), institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail [special.markets@perseusbooks.com](special.markets@perseusbooks.com). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) To Alice—For Everything. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) To see this country happy is so much the wish of my soul, nothing on this side of Elysium can be placed in competition with it. —GEORGE WASHINGTON We are truly to be pitied. —THOMAS JEFFERSON If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart. —ABRAHAM LINCOLN [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) CONTENTS Preface PROLOGUE John Brown’s Raid CHAPTER 1 Slavery Comes to America CHAPTER 2 Slavery’s Great Foe—and Unintended Friend CHAPTER 3 The First Emancipation Proclamation CHAPTER 4 One Head Turning into Thirteen CHAPTER 5 The Forgotten Emancipator CHAPTER 6 Thomas Jefferson’s Nightmare CHAPTER 7 New England Preaches—and Almost Practices—Secession CHAPTER 8 How Not to Abolish Slavery CHAPTER 9 New England Rediscovers the Sacred Union CHAPTER 10 Another Thomas Jefferson Urges Virginia to Abolish Slavery CHAPTER 11 The Abolitionist Who Lost His Faith CHAPTER 12 Abolitionism Divides and Conquers Itself CHAPTER 13 Enter Old Man Eloquent CHAPTER 14 The Slave Patrols CHAPTER 15 The Trouble with Texas CHAPTER 16 Slave Power Paranoia CHAPTER 17 From Uncle Tom to John Brown CHAPTER 18 The Real Uncle Tom and the Unknown South He Helped Create CHAPTER 19 Free Soil for Free (White) Men CHAPTER 20 The Whole World Is Watching CHAPTER 21 An Ex-President Tries to Save the Union CHAPTER 22 The Anguish of Robert E. Lee CHAPTER 23 The End of Illusions CHAPTER 24 The Third Emancipation Proclamation CHAPTER 25 The Hunt After the Captain EPILOGUE Lincoln’s Visitor Acknowledgments Notes Index [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) PREFACE The Civil War freed almost four million Americans from the humiliationsand oppressions of slavery. It is undoubtedly one of America’s greatest triumphs. As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of thi

FAQs

Why does the book treat the Civil War as both triumph and tragedy?

The book presents the war as freeing nearly four million Americans from slavery while also stressing the massive anguish and grief inflicted on those engulfed by the conflict.

What does the preface say about Civil War casualty estimates?

It notes that long-accepted killed-in-action figures were later reassessed, with historians proposing higher totals and considering wounded men who died later, potentially reaching about one million for both sides combined.

How does the book frame public belief in relation to why the war happened?

It approaches the conflict by focusing on political culture and public mindsets, linking the causes and momentum of emancipation to how ideas about slavery and abolition shaped actions and events.

Jul 30, 2026

Upload by Patrick