Historians have tended to dismiss pacifism and the peace movement of the Civil War era, arguing that most Americans believed in the war as an answer to the crisis of secession. This groundbreaking book offers a much needed new perspective on role played by pacifism during and after Civil War era. Thomas Curran focuses on the "perfectionist pacifists," a group of northerners whose views on Christian perfection and obligation forced them to take an extreme pacifist stance during the War. Curran tracks wartime opposition into the postwar years, when the perfectionists united to create the...

Examining humor in depictions of the Civil War from the war years to the present, this review covers a wide range of literature, film and television in historical context. Wartime humor served as a form of propaganda to render the enemy and their cause laughable, but also to help people cope with the human costs of the conflict. After the war many authors and, later, movie and television producers employed humor to shape its legacy, perpetuating myths and stereotypes that became ingrained in American memory. Giving attention to the stories behind the stories, the author focuses on what people...