As his state's and country's constitutions were being "reconstructed" by the sole authority of Yankee cannon and bayonet, Alexander Stephens predicted that both North and South would eventually realize that "The cause of the South is the cause of us all."
Alexander Stephens |
Although a strong advocate of state rights, Stephens had argued and voted against secession in Georgia's convention, and had accurately predicted the devastation of the War Between the States. After serving as Vice-President of the Confederate States of America, he devoted himself to restoring goodwill between the sections, writing history, and arguing for the "inestimable right ... of local self-government." His predictions of the increased centralization and growth of government power have been chillingly accurate, and his analysis of their cause is of great importance to freedom-loving Americans in any age.
Stephens' private life was as remarkable as his public, and although not well known, he deserves to be counted among the greatest of American statesmen, orators, and even heroes. This collection contains every public-domain document by or about him and his brother Linton that we are aware of.
Robert Toombs |
The robust and tempestuous Robert Toombs is a stark contrast with the frail and even-tempered Stephens, but the two Georgians were close friends and associates. Stephens asserts that but for a misunderstanding at the election, Toombs would probably have been the President of the Confederate States of America, instead of Jefferson Davis. Instead, he spent the war as Secretary of State and Brigadier General. After the war, he escaped prison by fleeing the country. After returning, he refused to apply for the restoration of his civil rights, and proudly remained unreconstructed. He was a remarkable businessman, lawyer, orator and statesman. While Stephens remained optimistic about the future, believing that Americans would eventually come to their senses, Toombs had almost no interest in getting along with the post-War order, nor in persuading others to his view. Consequently and regrettably, the body of work by him is a great deal smaller.
The following is a list of the content. Where the book is available, we have included a link to it for immediate download. All files are published in the Adobe® Acrobat® Portable Document Format (PDF), which retains the look and feel of a tangible book, with precise page formatting and the ability to print a hardcopy on your local printer. In order to view PDF documents, you must have a PDF viewer. The most popular of these is the Adobe Acrobat® Reader, which is freely available. Click here to download the Adobe Acrobat® Reader.
(June 28, 2015) Some of the material below does not currently meet our quality control standards. It may include minor errors in content or formatting, and references to indexes that are not included. This is the result of changes to production methods that have been in progress for years, but that remain incomplete. Due to current events, we have decided to release this material anyway, with apologies, and with the assurance that we will continue to try to correct these deficiencies as resources allow.
The following is a list of works that we would like to publish as part of this collection, but which are not yet in the public domain, listed in chronological order:
This content is suitable for both the casual and serious student of the War Between the States. One of the consequences of the War Between the States is the federalization of our educational system. Even children of the South are taught to be ashamed of their patriot fathers. Stephens thoroughly and methodically debunks the dizzying array of myths about the War. For those who were taught that the War was waged by the North to free the slaves, please ask yourselves the following questions:
If these questions interest you, this content is must-have material.
Click here to take a Quiz on the War Between the States.