| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.3

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to the AHR online. About 295 words from this article are provided below; about 729 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the American Historical Association, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time. AHA members can go to the AHA individual membership section to locate their member numbers.
If you are not a member of the American Historical Association, you can:: • Join the AHA and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the American Historical Review.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the American Historical Review (104.3-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the American Historical Review.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.3 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Canada and the United States

Mark Grimsley and Brooks D. Simpson, editors. The Collapse of the Confederacy. (Key Issues of the Civil War Era.) Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 2001. Pp. 201. $47.50.

The editors of this collection of essays explain that, unlike previous works that have analyzed Confederate defeat within the context of why the South lost the war, this one "focuses instead on the final months of the Confederacy's life and examines the perceptions and decisions of the people who lived through that period" (p. 1). In essence, this book offers close looks at various aspects of the war's termination from a Confederate perspective. 1

In the opening essay, Steven E. Woodworth discusses "The Last Function of Government: Confederate Collapse and Negotiated Peace." Woodworth sees the debate among the Confederacy's leaders over seeking negotiated peace as a war of personalities. On one side stood such characters as Alexander Stephens, William Holden, and Joseph Brown: rebels within the Confederacy, anti-Jefferson Davis, and proponents of seeking a peaceful end to the conflict. Neither separately nor together did they wield enough power to get their way. On the other side was Jefferson Davis, resolute to the end, whose devotion to the Confederacy's ultimate success, no matter how fruitless the task, endeared him to many and brought fear to his opponents. Woodworth concludes that the majority of southern whites stood with Davis in opposing peace that would bring reunion and end slavery. Davis's position meant "only conquest" could decide the war, and in the long view of history, "it was better that way" (p. 36). No doubt it was better for the future of the reunited states. But the impact of Confederate tenacity as a southern legacy has been far less positive. . . .

There are about 729 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.