What caused the Civil War? A House Divided presents a fresh and balanced interpretation that challenges the view of slavery as a largely artificial or symbolic issue in the conflict between two incompatible societies. This book traces the growth of bitter sectional discord in the years after 1848, when the acquisition of new American territories rekindled old controversies over the expansion of slavery. A series of compromises forestalled the crisis of secession but increasingly divided the country along slavery's lines. - Publisher.

The American people at mid-century -- The legacy of the Mexican War -- A hell of a storm -- And the war came -- Call to arms -- The war at home -- The blue and the gray -- The destruction of slavery -- Looking ahead : wartime reconstruction -- Bibliographical essay.