America's original sin : slavery from 1619-1790
A struggle to the death : war cannot be separated from ideology, politics, or religion
I hate them with perfect hatred : religion, ideology, and modern war
They shall be your bond-men forever : human beings as property
The privilege of belonging to the superior race : slavery and national expansion
A gross violation of a sacred pledge : collapse of the Whig Party
I will be heard! : religion, ideology, and the abolitionist movement
An institution sanctioned by God : Southern religious support of slavery
The triumphs of Christianity rest on slavery : holy warriors at the forefront
With God as our champion : the Confederate union of church and state
They have closed the heavy doors : the Dred Scott decision
Portents hang on all the arches of the horizon : the bloody battle for Kansas
General Jackson is dead : the Lecompton constitution controversy
Cuba must be ours : fire-eaters and filibusters spread slavery
The final kingdom has arisen : hubris and fanaticism bring on the war
The South will never submit : Lincoln and the choice for secession and war
Whom the gods intend to destroy : the madness of Southern extremists
The heather is on fire : politics, religion, and war
Sound the loud timbrel : the Emancipation Proclamation
I knew what I was fighting for : Black soldiers in the Civil War and after
Reconstruction and redemption : the failure to win the peace
The failure of will : Reconstruction's end and return to white rule
A new religion : the noble Confederacy and the lost cause
Epilogue: The past is always present.
