The Approaching Fury: Voices of the Storm, 1820-1861
by Stephen B. Oates
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Biographer and historian Stephen B. Oates tells the story of the coming of the American Civil War through the voices and perspectives of thirteen principal players in the drama, from Thomas Jefferson and Henry Clay in the Missouri crisis of 1820 down to Stephen A. Douglas, Jefferson Davis, and Abraham Lincoln in the final crisis of 1861. This innovative approach shows the crucial role that perception of events played in the sectional hostilities that pushed the United States irreversibly show more toward a national calamity. Nat Turner, William Lloyd Garrison, John C. Calhoun, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, George Fitzhugh, John Brown, and Mary Boykin Chesnut also provide perspectives. Each character takes a turn onstage, narrating critical events in which he or she was a major participant or eyewitness. For the dramatic monologues, Oates draws on the actual words of his speakers--in letters, speeches, interviews, recollections, and other recorded utterances--and then simulates how, were they reminiscing aloud, they would describe these events in which they were the principal actors or witnesses. All the events and themes reflect the historical record. show lessTags
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26+ Works 3,358 Members
Stephen B. Oates was a Civil War historian and biographer. He was born in Pampa, Texas on January 6, 1936. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, receiving a bachelor's degree (1958), earned a Master of Arts degree (1960), and was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (1969). From 1968 to 1997, he taught history and biography at the University of show more Massachusetts, Amherst. He wrote over 17 books which included, To Purge This Land with Blood: A Biography of John Brown (1970); The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion (1975); With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln (1977); Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1982); and A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War (1994). Dr. Oates was an adviser for the Ken Burn's Civil War series (1990). Stephen B. Oates died from pancreatic cancer on August 20, 2021 at his home in Amherst, Massachusetts. He was 85. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1997
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 973.5 — History & geography History of North America United States Jacksonian Era (1809-1837)
- LCC
- E338 .O25 — History of the United States United States Revolution to the Civil War, 1775/1783-1861 By period Early nineteenth century, 1801/1809-1845 General
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 244
- Popularity
- 133,786
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.91)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook
- ISBNs
- 6
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 2
