A review by afreema3
Scorpion's Sting: Antislavery and the Coming of the Civil War by James Oakes
Read for my course on the American Radical Tradition
It was interesting, but my one problem Prof. Oakes' book is that he constantly refers to Radical Republicans and Radical antislavery Politicians, but never really explains why they were radical. Here is a quote that made me realize this, "But for Giddings and most antislavery politicians including radicals like Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens" pg. 155. Throughout the book Oakes says something along the lines "radicals like so-and-so and Thaddeus Stevens" or "radicals like Thaddeus Stevens and so-and-so" but he never explains who Stevens is or what makes him a radical compared to Lincoln. I may have missed something, but I find it weird that Oakes does not state this or even state who Thaddeus Stevens was, even though he quotes him in the first chapter. This book is definitely meant for people that are familiar with the time period and the History of American political antislavery. I know who Thaddeus Stevens is because he was the congressman for my home of Lancaster, I've visited his house, know people that went/go to Thaddeus Stevens College as well as visited the campus, and watched Tommy Lee-Jones portray him in Lincoln, but if you don't have the connection to Stevens then the constant reference to "the radical Thaddeus Stevens" would be confusing. Thaddeus Stevens is just one example of a multitude of names that appear throughout the book with no context.
I guess I'm somewhat bugged by this because my professors would definitely take points off for not giving context to a name I just randomly throw in. I was in class discussing Eugene Debs and other prominent Socialist and Union activists and was stopped in the middle of my sentence by my professor telling me to explain who Eugene Debs was.
I will just say though that this book was extremely informative and interesting, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Civil War history or pre-Civil War history. I was just bugged by the constant name drop and never the context.
It was interesting, but my one problem Prof. Oakes' book is that he constantly refers to Radical Republicans and Radical antislavery Politicians, but never really explains why they were radical. Here is a quote that made me realize this, "But for Giddings and most antislavery politicians including radicals like Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens" pg. 155. Throughout the book Oakes says something along the lines "radicals like so-and-so and Thaddeus Stevens" or "radicals like Thaddeus Stevens and so-and-so" but he never explains who Stevens is or what makes him a radical compared to Lincoln. I may have missed something, but I find it weird that Oakes does not state this or even state who Thaddeus Stevens was, even though he quotes him in the first chapter. This book is definitely meant for people that are familiar with the time period and the History of American political antislavery. I know who Thaddeus Stevens is because he was the congressman for my home of Lancaster, I've visited his house, know people that went/go to Thaddeus Stevens College as well as visited the campus, and watched Tommy Lee-Jones portray him in Lincoln, but if you don't have the connection to Stevens then the constant reference to "the radical Thaddeus Stevens" would be confusing. Thaddeus Stevens is just one example of a multitude of names that appear throughout the book with no context.
I guess I'm somewhat bugged by this because my professors would definitely take points off for not giving context to a name I just randomly throw in. I was in class discussing Eugene Debs and other prominent Socialist and Union activists and was stopped in the middle of my sentence by my professor telling me to explain who Eugene Debs was.
I will just say though that this book was extremely informative and interesting, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Civil War history or pre-Civil War history. I was just bugged by the constant name drop and never the context.