In his interview on Civil War Talk Radio, Dr. Thomas Lowry mentioned a school of thought that Rebeldom lost the war for wont of a two-party system. Don't know what work he was referring to - it's an intriguing point. But am more intrigued by Mark Neely's new book that suggests the Union was nearly done in by two-party politics. Bravo, Mark Neely.[in his descriptions of] the excesses of party patronage, the impact of wartime elections, the highly partisan press, and the role of the loyal opposition, Neely deftly dismantles the argument long established in Civil War scholarship that the survival of the party system in the North contributed to its victory.
[Photo: Bill Blair (assumed, l) and Mark Neely (r).]
