--- product_id: 46766888 title: "Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War (A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era)" price: "$42.14" currency: USD in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/46766888-apostles-of-disunion-southern-secession-commissioners-and-the-causes-civil store_origin: US region: United States of America --- # Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War (A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era) **Price:** $42.14 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War (A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era) - **How much does it cost?** $42.14 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/46766888-apostles-of-disunion-southern-secession-commissioners-and-the-causes-civil) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Charles Dew’s Apostles of Disunion has established itself as a modern classic and an indispensable account of the Southern states’ secession from the Union. Addressing topics still hotly debated among historians and the public at large more than a century and a half after the Civil War, the book offers a compelling and clearly substantiated argument that slavery and race were at the heart of our great national crisis. The fifteen years since the original publication of Apostles of Disunion have seen an intensification of debates surrounding the Confederate flag and Civil War monuments. In a powerful new afterword to this anniversary edition, Dew situates the book in relation to these recent controversies and factors in the role of vast financial interests tied to the internal slave trade in pushing Virginia and other upper South states toward secession and war. Review: Required reading for American History students - Charles B. Dew’s Apostles of Disunion is a quick, concise, and fascinating book that delves into the primary causes of the Civil War. Dew is a professor of American history at Williams College and has written three additional books on topics such as the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the American South. Deeply rooted in primary sources, Dew draws on the words, letters, and speeches of not only the titular secession commissioners to form his thesis but also the words of Confederate leaders such as President Jefferson Davis and Vice President Alexander H. Stephens. While Dew provides all the necessary elements of his eventual thesis through the introduction and preceding chapters, he does not unveil his completely sequenced argument until the conclusion stating that “slavery and race were absolutely critical elements in the coming of the war” and that the Southern secession commissioners preached the looming threats of racial equality, race war, and racial amalgamation if the South did not secede (Dew, 2016, 58-59, 61). Before revealing his evidentiary sources to prove his thesis, the author first builds a solid foundation in the first chapter on why the argument is necessary. For example, the author writes that the American citizenship test states two possible correct answers for the causes of the Civil War: slavery or states’ rights and that both historians and the American public largely disagree on the causes of the war (Dew, 2016, 9, 12). As Dew shows, one of the issues that have exacerbated the disagreements surrounding this topic is that the same individuals who sought secession over racism and slavery, such as the secession commissioners and the Confederate leadership, walked back or ignored, many of their previous incendiary comments in later writings and speeches to present a revisionist history of the Confederate cause as an honorable, necessary movement to prevent aggression by the federal government (Dew, 2016, 17-18, 57-58). After building the foundation, Dew reveals that five of the lower Southern States appointed commissioners in 1860-1861 to preach the message of secession to the remainder of the slave states speaking in various venues such as state legislatures and state conventions and that the coverage given to them by the United States Department of War in the late 19th century is “clear indication” that the commissioners “were key players in the sequence of events leading up to the war” (Dew, 2016, 18-19). Mississippi’s commissioner to Georgia, William L. Harris, in speaking to the Georgia General Assembly denounced the Republicans in the Federal government stating that they “demand equality” between whites and blacks and that they would bring “freedom to the slave, but eternal degradation for you and us” (Dew, 2016, 24-25). These were not his thoughts alone, as secession commissioner Jacob Thompson wrote in an open letter to the North Carolina legislature that Republicans sought to destroy the government by perverting it “into an engine for the destruction of our domestic institutions and the subjugation of our people” and that slavery’s overthrow would bring “common humiliation and ruin” (Dew, 2016 26-27). Commissioner Alexander Hamilton Handy declared to the Maryland Institute Hall that “slavery was ordained by God and sanctioned by humanity” and the South would not allow their “beautiful cotton fields” to transform into “barren wastes” (Dew, 2016, 27-28). As shocking and offensive as these comments are, the deeper Dew gets into the book, the worse he reveals, proving his thesis even more. South Carolina Secession Commissioner Andrew Calhoun delivered impassioned and racist language about the Republican government seeking “to seduce the poor, ignorant, and stupid nature” of the slave to embrace freedom and to prevent it, a complete “disentanglement” was necessary (Dew, 2016, 33-34). Alabama secession commissioner Stephen Fowler Hale took it even further warning that the Federal government sought for the South’s women to be subject “to pollution and violation to gratify the lust of the half-civilized Africans” (Dew, 2016, 41, 43). Sadly, the above comments are only a part of the overwhelming primary source evidence that Dew provides to support his argument on slavery and racism. For such a small volume, the author packs it full of explosively overwhelming evidence that the Lost Cause interpretation of the Civil War is obvious mythology. Dew clearly and definitively proves his thesis. When considering the depth of his research and sources, there should be no debate on the cause of the Southern secession from the United States. Unfortunately, the author chooses to delve into divisive modern-day American politics in the 15th Anniversary update chapter which may detract some of his intended audience from his thesis in this important work of history. Regardless, Dew’s Apostles of Disunion is an illuminating read that should be mandatory for all students of American history. Review: Very informative of Southern Commissioners - Great book! Eye-opening look at the Southern Commissioners that I was never taught in school! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #45,402 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #71 in U.S. Civil War History #330 in U.S. State & Local History #3,924 in Politics & Social Sciences (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 584 Reviews | ## Images ![Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War (A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61O90WMQakL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Required reading for American History students *by M***Z on January 27, 2024* Charles B. Dew’s Apostles of Disunion is a quick, concise, and fascinating book that delves into the primary causes of the Civil War. Dew is a professor of American history at Williams College and has written three additional books on topics such as the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the American South. Deeply rooted in primary sources, Dew draws on the words, letters, and speeches of not only the titular secession commissioners to form his thesis but also the words of Confederate leaders such as President Jefferson Davis and Vice President Alexander H. Stephens. While Dew provides all the necessary elements of his eventual thesis through the introduction and preceding chapters, he does not unveil his completely sequenced argument until the conclusion stating that “slavery and race were absolutely critical elements in the coming of the war” and that the Southern secession commissioners preached the looming threats of racial equality, race war, and racial amalgamation if the South did not secede (Dew, 2016, 58-59, 61). Before revealing his evidentiary sources to prove his thesis, the author first builds a solid foundation in the first chapter on why the argument is necessary. For example, the author writes that the American citizenship test states two possible correct answers for the causes of the Civil War: slavery or states’ rights and that both historians and the American public largely disagree on the causes of the war (Dew, 2016, 9, 12). As Dew shows, one of the issues that have exacerbated the disagreements surrounding this topic is that the same individuals who sought secession over racism and slavery, such as the secession commissioners and the Confederate leadership, walked back or ignored, many of their previous incendiary comments in later writings and speeches to present a revisionist history of the Confederate cause as an honorable, necessary movement to prevent aggression by the federal government (Dew, 2016, 17-18, 57-58). After building the foundation, Dew reveals that five of the lower Southern States appointed commissioners in 1860-1861 to preach the message of secession to the remainder of the slave states speaking in various venues such as state legislatures and state conventions and that the coverage given to them by the United States Department of War in the late 19th century is “clear indication” that the commissioners “were key players in the sequence of events leading up to the war” (Dew, 2016, 18-19). Mississippi’s commissioner to Georgia, William L. Harris, in speaking to the Georgia General Assembly denounced the Republicans in the Federal government stating that they “demand equality” between whites and blacks and that they would bring “freedom to the slave, but eternal degradation for you and us” (Dew, 2016, 24-25). These were not his thoughts alone, as secession commissioner Jacob Thompson wrote in an open letter to the North Carolina legislature that Republicans sought to destroy the government by perverting it “into an engine for the destruction of our domestic institutions and the subjugation of our people” and that slavery’s overthrow would bring “common humiliation and ruin” (Dew, 2016 26-27). Commissioner Alexander Hamilton Handy declared to the Maryland Institute Hall that “slavery was ordained by God and sanctioned by humanity” and the South would not allow their “beautiful cotton fields” to transform into “barren wastes” (Dew, 2016, 27-28). As shocking and offensive as these comments are, the deeper Dew gets into the book, the worse he reveals, proving his thesis even more. South Carolina Secession Commissioner Andrew Calhoun delivered impassioned and racist language about the Republican government seeking “to seduce the poor, ignorant, and stupid nature” of the slave to embrace freedom and to prevent it, a complete “disentanglement” was necessary (Dew, 2016, 33-34). Alabama secession commissioner Stephen Fowler Hale took it even further warning that the Federal government sought for the South’s women to be subject “to pollution and violation to gratify the lust of the half-civilized Africans” (Dew, 2016, 41, 43). Sadly, the above comments are only a part of the overwhelming primary source evidence that Dew provides to support his argument on slavery and racism. For such a small volume, the author packs it full of explosively overwhelming evidence that the Lost Cause interpretation of the Civil War is obvious mythology. Dew clearly and definitively proves his thesis. When considering the depth of his research and sources, there should be no debate on the cause of the Southern secession from the United States. Unfortunately, the author chooses to delve into divisive modern-day American politics in the 15th Anniversary update chapter which may detract some of his intended audience from his thesis in this important work of history. Regardless, Dew’s Apostles of Disunion is an illuminating read that should be mandatory for all students of American history. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very informative of Southern Commissioners *by H***B on August 31, 2026* Great book! Eye-opening look at the Southern Commissioners that I was never taught in school! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ It is a fairly quick and interesting read. It does add yet more support against the "Lost Cause" notion. *by M***G on February 20, 2012* The main premise of this book is the Secession Commissioners (SC), "[T]he lower South...appointed commissioner to other slave states and instructed them to spread the secessionist message across the entire region. These commissioners often explained in detail why their states were exiting the Union, and they did everything in their power to persuade laggard slave states to join the secessionist cause." (Dew 2001) Dew takes forty speeches and public letters from the Secession Commissioners to show, not in his words, but in the words of the men who were sent all over the south in late 1860 and early 1861 to gather all the states they could to break away from the union. The commissioners were charged by their respective states to make an appeal for secession throughout the South, which they did, without ambiguity. They were quite clear on the reasons the Southern states needed to break away. There were comments about honor and an oppressive North filled with Black Lincoln Republicans, but it was what those Black Lincoln republicans were going to do with the South if they got their way. They were going to destroy slavery and create equality between Blacks and Whites. Amalgamation and equality was their stated fear. The greatest portion of the book is when Dew uses the speeches and letters from the same Commissioners that used vitriolic race baiting fear mongering during the turbulent times before the Civil War's onset, to show the developed amnesia in their rhetoric after they lost. It is almost as if they had no concept that their previous speeches, and letters would be kept for posterity. First they (the Commissioners) speak of the how slavery is the only way for the White man to interact with the inferior Negro, four years later..."The Lost Cause". Do not take my word for it, borrow the book, buy the book, read the book for yourself. The author has notes and an index. Use the references and read the full speeches. Charles Dew, Apostles of Disunion, (Virginia : University of Virginia Press, 2001), chap. 5. ## Frequently Bought Together - Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War (A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era) - Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma: The American Portraits Series - Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/46766888-apostles-of-disunion-southern-secession-commissioners-and-the-causes-civil](https://www.desertcart.us/products/46766888-apostles-of-disunion-southern-secession-commissioners-and-the-causes-civil) --- *Product available on Desertcart United States of America* *Store origin: US* *Last updated: 2026-10-05*