{"product_id":"wide-awake-jon-grinspan-9781639730643","title":"Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force That Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A gifted writer.\"-Eric Foner, \u003ci\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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 \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 speech and violent actions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jon Grinspan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1639730648\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781639730643\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bloomsbury Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/14\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.47lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.50h x 6.49w x 1.15d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal Prepub Alert\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2023 pg. 16\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2024","brand":"Jon Grinspan","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44583902675199,"sku":"9781639730643","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_46aa35b6-cf7b-4350-a085-4fc284d9f036.jpg?v=1701884159","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/wide-awake-jon-grinspan-9781639730643","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}