Heather Cox Richardson is Associate Professor of American History, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This is a welcome and well-written study. It is political rather than economic history, charting the evolution of particular measures without resort to models or econometrics. The outline of the story is familiar. During the Civil War Congress launched politics of lasting importance: a government guaranteed inconvertible currency, a high tariff with protection, the National Banking, Pacific Railroad, and Homestead Acts. This book takes up each topic in turn…and analyses their often complex legislative history… The principal sources are the Congressional Globe, Executive Documents, Miscellaneous Documents, and congressional reports, but they are buttressed by wide knowledge of other contemporary printed and manuscript records. A very useful historiographical essay is included in the bibliography. In all, this is a model monograph on a significant subject.

• The cares of your country are a paramount duty - the Republicans in 1861; now is the time for making money, by honest contracts, out of the government - war bonds; a centralization of power, such as Hamilton might have eulogized as magnificent - monetary legislation; directing the legislation of the country to the improvement of the country - tariff and tax legislation; a large crop is more than a great victory - agricultural legislation; it was statesmanship to give treeless prairies value - the transcontinental railroad; see that all their blessings are the result of their own labour - republicans and slavery.

Heather Cox Richardson is Associate Professor of American History, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This is a welcome and well-written study. It is political rather than economic history, charting the evolution of particular measures without resort to models or econometrics. The outline of the story is familiar. During the Civil War Congress launched politics of lasting importance: a government guaranteed inconvertible currency, a high tariff with protection, the National Banking, Pacific Railroad, and Homestead Acts. This book takes up each topic in turn…and analyses their often complex legislative history… The principal sources are the Congressional Globe, Executive Documents, Miscellaneous Documents, and congressional reports, but they are buttressed by wide knowledge of other contemporary printed and manuscript records. A very useful historiographical essay is included in the bibliography. In all, this is a model monograph on a significant subject.

• The cares of your country are a paramount duty - the Republicans in 1861; now is the time for making money, by honest contracts, out of the government - war bonds; a centralization of power, such as Hamilton might have eulogized as magnificent - monetary legislation; directing the legislation of the country to the improvement of the country - tariff and tax legislation; a large crop is more than a great victory - agricultural legislation; it was statesmanship to give treeless prairies value - the transcontinental railroad; see that all their blessings are the result of their own labour - republicans and slavery.