ePub A Brief History of Pirates and Buccaneers by Tom Bowling in History

Description

For the first time; readers will experience America’s gravest crisis through the eyes of the five former presidents who lived it. Author and historian Chris DeRose chronicles history’s most epic Presidential Royal Rumble; which culminated in a multi-front effort against Lincoln’s reelection bid; but not before:* John Tyler engaged in shuttle diplomacy between President Buchanan and the new Confederate Government. He chaired the Peace Convention of 1861; the last great hope for a political resolution to the crisis. When it failed; Tyler joined the Virginia Secession Convention; voted to leave the Union; and won election to the Confederate Congress.* Van Buren; who had schemed to deny Lincoln the presidency; supported him in his efforts after Fort Sumter; and thwarted Franklin Pierce's attempt at a meeting of the ex-Presidents to undermine Lincoln.* Millard Fillmore hosted Lincoln and Mary Todd on their way to Washington; initially supported the war effort; offered critical advice to keep Britain at bay; but turned on Lincoln over emancipation. * Franklin Pierce; talked about as a Democratic candidate in 1860 and ’64; was openly hostile to Lincoln and supportive of the South; an outspoken critic of Lincoln especially on civil liberties. After Vicksburg; when Jefferson Davis’s home was raided; a secret correspondence between Pierce and the Confederate President was revealed.* James Buchanan; who had left office as seven states had broken away from the Union; engaged in a frantic attempt to vindicate his administration; in part by tying himself to Lincoln and supporting the war; arguing that his successor had simply followed his policies. How Abraham Lincoln battled against his predecessors to preserve the Union and later to put an end to slavery is a thrilling tale of war waged at the top level of power.