Library Guides: America's Wars, Causes of: Civil War

Terminology

Civil War
War between the States
War of Northern Aggression
War of Southern Independence
War for the Union
Second American Revolution
War of the Rebellion
War of the Great Rebellion
Freedom War (African-American)
The American Civil War (England)
War of Secession (in several European languages)
United States -- History -- Civil War -- 1861-1865 (LCSH)

Tip: In contemporary documents especially in the South the terms "property" and "servants" tend to appear in discussions and debates rather than the terms "slaves" and "slavery."

Reference Sources

The American Civil War by Steven E. Woodworth
Call Number: General Collection E 456 .A447 1996
ISBN: 0313290199
Publication Date: 1996-12-09
The first guide to Civil War literature to appear in nearly 30 years, this book provides the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and informative survey and analysis of the vast body of Civil War literature.
The Encyclopedia of Civil War Usage by Webb Garrison; Cheryl Garrison (As told to)
Call Number: General Collection E 468.9 .G373 2001
ISBN: 1581821867
Publication Date: 2001-04-21
There are few systematic guides to the language used by the generation that fought the American Civil War. In the 150 years since the great conflict, our language has changed, and as meanings have become obscure or lost, links with this vibrant past have dissolved and much of that which had meaning to our forefathers no longer has the same meaning to us.
Historical Dictionary of the Civil War by Terry Jones
Call Number: 10th Floor Reading Room E 468 .J777 2011
ISBN: 9780810878112
Publication Date: 2011-07-15
The Civil War was the most traumatic event in American history, pitting Americans against one another, rending the national fabric, leaving death and devastation in its wake, and instilling an anger that has not entirely dissipated even to this day, 150 years later. This updated and expanded two-volume second edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Civil War relates the history of this war through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on persons, places, events, institutions, battles, and campaigns. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Civil War.
Historical Dictionary of United States Diplomacy, 1776-1861 by Debra Jean Allen
Call Number: General Collection E 183.7 .A445 2012
ISBN: 9780810861862
Publication Date: 2012-09-13
Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War by Patricia L. Faust (Editor)
Call Number: 10th Floor Reading Room E 468 .H57 1986
ISBN: 0061812617
Publication Date: 1986-11-01
With over 1,000 illustrations and maps, this is the most complete reference ever produced on the Civil War.
Atlas of the Civil War by Steven E. Woodworth; Kenneth J. Winkle; James M. McPherson (Foreword by)
Call Number: 10th Floor Reading Room E 468 .W754 2004
ISBN: 0195221311
Publication Date: 2004-12-02
Offering the clearest and most comprehensive examination of the conflict that transformed the United States, the Atlas of the Civil War reveals the full dimensions of this historic confrontation.

Search Suggestions

Books, Videos, etc.

For books, etc. held by Notre Dame analyzing the causes of the Civil War use:

ND Catalog
Advanced Search
Subject
Is (exact)
and enter:
- United States History Civil War, 1861-1865 Causes

For books, etc. providing contemporary (1845-1890) opinion & analysis use:

ND Catalog
Advanced Search
ANY
Contains
and enter:
- ("United States" OR america*) AND ("Civil War" OR "War between the States") AND (cause* OR origin OR origins)
Limit results (on left) to:
- 1845 to 1890
Use "facets" (left column) to further narrow results

For materials held by other libraries:

Repeat search in WorldCat

Articles

For scholarly articles:

In one or more of the recommended article databases
Do a "keyword" search for:
- ("United States" OR america*) AND ("Civil War" OR "War between the States") AND (cause* OR origin OR origins)
If retrieval is too great or too small,
- limit search terms to title, subject or abstract,
- adjust search by adding or removing or modifying search terms, and/or
- limiting search results to "peer reviewed" or "refereed" articles.

For contemporaneous popular opinion & analysis (1845-1890):

In one or more of the recommended article databases

Do a "keyword" search for:
- ("United States" OR america*) AND ("Civil War" OR "War between the States") AND (cause* OR origin OR origins)
Limit results to:
- 1845-1890
If retrieval is too great or too small,
- limit search terms to title, subject or abstract,
- adjust search by adding or removing or modifying search terms

Tip: Do not truncate (use the *) with origin. This will retrieve "original" material dealing with the actual conduct of the war rather than its causes. Therefore it may produce many irrelevant records.

Primary Sources

Voices from the Gathering Storm by Glenn M. Linden (Compiled by)
Call Number: General Collection E 415.7 .V65 2001
ISBN: 0842029982
Publication Date: 2001-08-01
Voices from the Gathering Storm explains the dramatic change in thinking about the nature and value of the American Union from 1846 to 1861 which impelled citizens from 11 southern states to declare independence and the remaining 22 states to fight the bloodiest war in the nation's history.
Disunion! the coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859 by Elizabeth R. Varon
Publication Date: 2008
In the Hands of Strangers by Robert Edgar Conrad
Call Number: General Collection E 441 .I49 2001
ISBN: 027102089X
Publication Date: 2001-03-07
In the Hands of Strangers is a collection of sixty-seven documents by writers and witnesses from the past, both black and white, that offer perspectives on the trade and movement of slaves. Many elucidate the long-standing discord between North and South over the issue of slavery. Documents are divided into three parts that cover the African slave trade, the internal U.S. slave trade, and the series of conflicts and crises that led to the Civil War.
Prologue to Sumter; the beginnings of the Civil War from the John Brown Raid to the surrender of Fort Sumter, woven into a continuous narrative. by Philip Van Doren Stern
Call Number: General Collection E 436 .S839
Publication Date: 1961
Ordeal of the Union by Allan Nevins
Call Number: General Collection E 415.7 .N417
Publication Date: 1947
At the Precipice by Shearer Davis Bowman
ISBN: 9780807895672
Publication Date: 2010-10-04
Focuses on the different ways in which Americans, North and South, black and white, understood their interests, rights, and honor during the late antebellum years.
The Politics of Dissolution by Marshall L. DeRosa (Editor); Marshall DeRosa (Editor)
Call Number: General Collection E 459 .D37 1998
ISBN: 1560003499
Publication Date: 1997-01-30
This collection of late antebellum U.S. Senate speeches exemplifies the official statements of the public men from the South, North, and West as they struggled with the questions of national identity and the right of self-government within the context of the rule of law.
The origin of the late war traced from the beginning of the Constitution to the revolt of the Southern States. by George Lunt
Publication Date: 1866