TheCacophonyofPoliticschartsthetrajectoryoftheDemocraticPartyasthepartyofoppositionintheNorthduringtheCivilWar.Acomprehensiveoverview,thisbookrevealsthemyriadcomplicationsandcontingenciesofpoliticallifeintheNorthernstatesandexplainstheobjectivesofthenearlyhalfofeligibleNorthernvoterswhocastaballotagainstAbrahamLincolnin1864.Theparty’sfamousslogan“TheUnionasitwas,theConstitutionasitis“wasmeanttohavebroadappealandpromotesolidarityamongNorthernDemocratsbyinvokingtheircoreideologicalcommitmentstonationalism,lawandorder,tradition,andstrictconstruction.But,asJ.MatthewGallmanshows,thesloganwasapoorreflectionofthevolatile,fluid,messy,andimprovisationalrealityofpoliticallifeformenandwomen,acrossthepublicandprivatespheres.Democratsexperiencedthewarasacascadingseriesofdilemmas,forwhichtheirslogandidnotalwaysofferguidanceorresolution.OfferingadefinitiveaccountoftheDemocraticPartyintheNorth,TheCacophonyofPoliticsshowsthelimitsofideologyandthewaystheCivilWar--andthenatureofnineteenth-centurypoliticalculture--confoundedtheDemocrats’self-imageandexacerbatedtheirdivisions,especiallyoverthecentralissueofslavery.ANationDivided:StudiesintheCivilWarEra
