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Title: Nothing but politics
Review: Having read Michael Holt's book The Poltical Crisis of the 1850s, I am astonished at his dismissal of slavery as a major cause for the American civil war. Holt briefly addresses the slavery argument, but only as a counterpoint to his own thesis. For Holt, it is not slavery but rather the actions and misdeeds of politicians who ultimately bring about war. Certainly politics and policy-makers steered the nineteenth century to 1861, but a handful of men did not alone divide America. To point to Abraham Lincoln's presidential election and the Southern states subsequent succession as an indication that poltics explain the coming of the civil war (as Holt does) is like blaming World War II on the assassin of the Austrian archduke. Precipitants are all too often confused for causes. Holt does provide great insight into the politcal dynamism of the nineteenth century, but ultimately falls short of a persuasive argument.
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