{"product_id":"wide-awake-the-forgotten-force-that-elected-lincoln-and-spurred-the-civil-war-9781639730643","title":"Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force That Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA propulsive account of our history's most surprising, most consequential political club: the Wide Awake anti-slavery youth movement that marched America from the 1860 election to civil war.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt the start of the 1860 presidential campaign, a handful of fired-up young Northerners appeared as bodyguards to defend anti-slavery stump speakers from frequent attacks. The group called themselves the Wide Awakes. Soon, hundreds of thousands of young White and Black men, and a number of women, were organizing boisterous, uniformed, torch-bearing brigades of their own. These Wide Awakes--mostly working-class Americans in their twenties--became one of the largest, most spectacular, and most influential political movements in our history. To some, it demonstrated the power of a rising majority to push back against slavery. To others, it looked like a paramilitary force training to invade the South. Within a year, the nation would be at war with itself, and many on both sides would point to the Wide Awakes as the mechanism that got them there. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this gripping narrative, Smithsonian historian Jon Grinspan examines how exactly our nation crossed the threshold from a political campaign into a war. Perfect for readers of \u003ci\u003eLincoln on the Verge \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eField of Blood\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWide Awake \u003c\/i\u003ebears witness to the power of protest, the fight for majority rule, and the defense of free speech. At its core, \u003ci\u003eWide Awake\u003c\/i\u003e illuminates a question American democracy keeps posing, about the precarious relationship between violent rhetoric and violent actions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bloomsbury Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/14\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781639730643\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.25h x 6.12w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal Prepub Alert\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2023 pg. 16\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Jon Grinspan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43766854484149,"sku":"9781639730643","price":27.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_d62286c8-d4de-41e1-8d7f-352d42e0a470.jpg?v=1710819330","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/wide-awake-the-forgotten-force-that-elected-lincoln-and-spurred-the-civil-war-9781639730643","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}