The Enemy Within

Smith (history, McNeese State U.) shows how Northerners during the Civil War period responded to political corruption involving government contracting, power-hungry generals, sex scandals, and the cotton trade. In his analysis of the political culture of the era, he notes that citizens of the period believed that the misuse of power and patronage by the nation's rulers corrupted the virtue of the nation and led to tyranny. The author argues that these fears, such as the fear of a mythical class of nouveaux riche war profiteers, stemmed from anxiety over economic changes, modernization, and immigration. He contends that by understanding the importance of corruption to Northerners of the period, we can understand the values and beliefs central to Americans of the era, especially their attitudes toward republicanism and masculinity. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Michael Thomas Smith is Assistant Professor of History at McNeese State University and the author ofA Traitor and a Scoundrel: Benjamin Hedrick and the Cost of Dissent.