History of the Civil War (eBook)

James Ford Rhodes (1848–1927) was an American industrialist and historian renowned for his comprehensive writings on the United States during the nineteenth century, with a special focus on the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Rhodes ultimately turned to the world of scholarship after finding success in business. His dedication to historical study was marked by a fervent commitment to objectivity and reliance on primary source documentation, a practice that was particularly notable in his magnum opus, the seven-volume 'History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850 to the McKinley-Bryan Campaign of 1896,' a seminal work that earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1918. The most well-known among these volumes is 'History of the Civil War, 1861-1865' (1917), which remains a significant contribution to Civil War historiography. Rhodes' narrative approach and his dedication to detail reveal the literary style of the budding professional historiography of his time, characterized by a belief in the 'scientific history' movement, which advocated for history writing based on rigorous empirical evidence. His work reflects the transitional period in American historiography from a more romantic, narrative tradition to a professional scholarly practice.