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Tap, Bruce. ListingsIf you cannot find what you want on this page, then please use our search feature to search all our listings. Click on Title to view full description
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Tap, Bruce. OVER LINCOLN'S SHOULDER: THE COMMITTEE ON THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR.
University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, 1998.
319 pp, large 8vo (9 1/2" H), hard cover in dust jacket. ISBN 0700608710 "Shortly after the beginning of the Civil War, Congress established the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War to investigate such matters as military contracts, trade wit h the enemy, treatment of the wounded, and the causes of Union defeat. But its greatest efforts were directed toward a more vigorous war effort - endorsing emancipation, the use of black soldiers, and the appointment of fighting generals - lead i n g President Lincoln to fear that this watchdog committee would become little more than an 'engine of agitation'. (It) generated controversy throughout the war, and its legacy sparks debate even today over whether it invigorated or hampered the U ni on war effort. In the wake of both critical and sympathetic appraisals, Bruce Tap now offers the first history of the committee's activities, focusing on the nature of its power and influence on military policy in order to show conclusively wha t t he u ltimate impact really was. Tap presents solid evidence, including examples of contact between Congress and the military, to show that the committee produced little good and no small amount of harm. The committee's principal members en tert aine d s im plistic notions about warfare that led to rash judgments about its conduct and because its goals were congruent with Republican ideology, its principal criterion in evaluating military leadership was adherence to antislavery beliefs . As a re sult , ( it) polarized Congress and the army, limited strategic options, demoralized the Union's top generals, and inflated the reputations of incompetent soldiers. As Tap demonstrates, it was in many ways a serious impediment to the wa r effo rt, du e not to its fanatacism or vindictiveness, as some historians have suggested, but rather to its members' total ignorance of military matters. (This book) is a revisionist account that corrects prevailing images of the relationship be tween R epublic an pol itic ans and the army during the Civil War. By examining the conflict between Congress's constitutional right to investigate and the impropiety of its actions, the book raises questions that are applicable today about the abi lity of legislat ive bod ies t o function in areas where specialized knowledge is required." Light wrinkling at bottom of spine. Dust jacket has a few areas of very light edge wrinkling, 1 1/2" tear at top of front hinge - archivally repaired, lig ht rubbi ng. Very Good+/V ery Go od
Price:
17.50 USD
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