Christopher Lyle McIlwain's Books

Civil War Alabama

By: Christopher Lyle McIlwain

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In fascinating detail, Civil War Alabama reveals the forgotten breadth of political opinions and loyalties among white Alabamians during the antebellum period. The book offers a major reevaluation of Alabama's secession crisis and path to war and destruction.

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Page Count

452

Publisher

University of Alabama Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0817318941

ISBN 13

9780817318949

Civil War Alabama

By: Christopher Lyle McIlwain

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Civil War Alabama

By: Christopher Lyle McIlwain

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N/A

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Page Count

452

Publisher

University of Alabama Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0817318941

ISBN 13

9780817318949

1865 Alabama

From Civil War to Uncivil Peace

By: Christopher Lyle McIlwain

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1865 Alabama

From Civil War to Uncivil Peace

By: Christopher Lyle McIlwain

A detailed history of a vitally important year in Alabama history The year 1865 is critically important to an accurate understanding of Alabama's present. In 1865 Alabama: From Civil War to Uncivil Peace Christopher Lyle McIlwain Sr. examines the end of the Civil War and the early days of Reconstruction in the state and details what he interprets as strategic failures of Alabama's political leadership. The actions, and inactions, of Alabamians during those twelve months caused many self-inflicted wounds that haunted them for the next century. McIlwain recounts a history of missed opportunities that had substantial and reverberating consequences. He focuses on four factors: the immediate and unconditional emancipation of the slaves, the destruction of Alabama's remaining industrial economy, significant broadening of northern support for suffrage rights for the freedmen, and an acute and lengthy postwar shortage of investment capital. Each element proves critically important in understanding how present-day Alabama was forged. Relevant events outside Alabama are woven into the narrative, including McIlwain's controversial argument regarding the effect of Lincoln's assassination. Most historians assume that Lincoln favored black suffrage and that he would have led the fight to impose that on the South. But he made it clear to his cabinet members that granting suffrage rights was a matter to be decided by the southern states, not the federal government. Thus, according to McIlwain, if Lincoln had lived, black suffrage would not have been the issue it became in Alabama. McIlwain provides a sifting analysis of what really happened in Alabama in 1865 and why it happened--debunking in the process the myth that Alabama's problems were unnecessarily brought on by the North. The overarching theme demonstrates that Alabama's postwar problems were of its own making. They would have been quite avoidable, he argues, if Alabama's political leadership had been savvier.

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Page Count

377

Publisher

University of Alabama Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0817319530

ISBN 13

9780817319533

The Million-Dollar Man Who Helped Kill a President

George Washington Gayle and the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

By: Christopher McIlwain

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The Million-Dollar Man Who Helped Kill a President

George Washington Gayle and the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

By: Christopher McIlwain

George Washington Gayle is not a name known to history. But it soon will be. Forget what you thought you knew about why Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. No, it was not mere sectional hatred, Booth’s desire to become famous, Lincoln’s advocacy of black suffrage, or a plot masterminded by Jefferson Davis to win the war by crippling the Federal government. Christopher Lyle McIlwain, Sr.’s Untried and Unpunished: George Washington Gayle and the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln exposes the fallacies regarding each of those theories and reveals both the mastermind behind the plot, and its true motivation. The deadly scheme to kill Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward was Gayle’s brainchild. The assassins were motivated by money Gayle raised. Lots of money. $20,000,000 in today’s value. Gayle, a prominent South Carolina-born Alabama lawyer, had been a Unionist and Jacksonian Democrat before walking the road of radicalization following the admission of California as a free state in 1850. Thereafter, he became Alabama’s most earnest secessionist, though he would never hold any position within the Confederate government or serve in its military. After the slaying of the president Gayle was arrested and taken to Washington, DC in chains to be tried by a military tribunal for conspiracy in connection with the horrendous crimes. The Northern press was satisfied Gayle was behind the deed—especially when it was discovered he had placed an advertisement in a newspaper the previous December soliciting donations to pay the assassins. There is little doubt that if Gayle had been tried, he would have been convicted and executed. However, he not only avoided trial, but ultimately escaped punishment of any kind for reasons that will surprise readers. Rather than rehashing what scores of books have already alleged, Untried and Unpunished offers a completely fresh premise, meticulous analysis, and stunning conclusions based upon years of firsthand research by an experienced attorney. This original, thought-provoking study will forever change the way you think of Lincoln’s assassination.

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344

Publisher

Casemate Publishers

Published Date

ISBN 10

1611213959

ISBN 13

9781611213959

The Million-Dollar Man Who Helped Kill a President

George Washington Gayle and the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

By: Christopher McIlwain

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The Million-Dollar Man Who Helped Kill a President

George Washington Gayle and the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

By: Christopher McIlwain

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

344

Publisher

Casemate Publishers

Published Date

ISBN 10

1611213959

ISBN 13

9781611213959

Book's by Christopher Lyle McIlwain

Civil War Alabama

Civil War Alabama

Civil War Alabama

Civil War Alabama

1865 Alabama

1865 Alabama

The Million-Dollar Man Who Helped Kill a President

The Million-Dollar Man Who Helped Kill a President

The Million-Dollar Man Who Helped Kill a President

The Million-Dollar Man Who Helped Kill a President

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