Book Review

Canada and the United States

William C. Davis admits in his preface that this book was not intended as a full biography of either Robert Toombs or Alexander H. Stephens. Rather, he explains, it is "a 'biography' of their friendship" (p. x). Toombs and Stephens were both Georgians, born two years apart and coming of age together in the Jacksonian-era South. They were a study in contrasts: Toombs, born to wealth, brash, impulsive, egotistical, physically imposing; Stephens, born poor, of diminutive stature, sickly, thoughtful, and scholarly. But the two men met as young rural lawyers in 1835, and their friendship lasted, with only brief interruptions, for the next fifty years. Davis's book follows them from their days in the Georgia legislature to the U.S. House of Representatives, where they became leading figures in the drama that led to the Civil War. Although both were Whigs, Stephens became a leading "cooperationist," or opponent of secession, in 1860, whereas Toombs was outspoken in his support for southern independence. Their differences led to a brief estrangement during the secession crisis, but once the Confederacy was a reality, they mended their fences. Both played leading roles in the formation of the Confederate government. Toombs became secretary of war and later a brigadier general, while Stephens was elected Confederate vice president. For most of the war, the two friends were united by their bitter opposition to Confederate president Jefferson Davis.

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