Union History

Fort Sumter is popularly remembered today as the first fighting of the Civil War, and a relatively painless battle at that, but much of the history before April 12 that led to the shelling of the fort is often overlooked. The Greatest Civil War Battles: The Battle of Fort Sumter comprehensively covers the events that led up to the battle, the fighting itself, and the aftermath of the battle. Accounts of the battle by important participants like P.G.T. Beauregard, Robert Anderson, and Abner Doubleday are also included.

William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857-March 8, 1930) was the twenty-seventh president of the United States (1909-1913) and later the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921-1930). He is the only person to have served in both of these offices. Riding a wave of popular support for fellow Republican Roosevelt, Taft won an easy victory in his 1908 bid for the presidency.

Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908-January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States (1963-1969), a position he assumed after his service as the 37th vice president (1961-1963). Johnson, a Democrat from Texas, served as a United States representative from 1937 to 1949 and as a United States senator from 1949 to 1961, including six years as Senate majority leader, two as Senate minority leader, and two as Senate majority whip.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856-February 3, 1924) was the twenty-eighth president of the United States, from 1913 to 1921, and leader of the progressive movement. Wilson induced a conservative Democratic Congress to pass a progressive legislative agenda, unparalleled until the New Deal in 1933. This included the Federal Reserve Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Farm Loan Act, and an income tax.

Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., July 14, 1913-December 26, 2006), was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and was the 40th vice president of the United States, serving from 1973 to 1974 under President Richard Nixon. He was the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, after Spiro Agnew resigned.

Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 - June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States; as such, he is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents. He was the winner of the popular vote for president three times - in 1884, 1888, and 1892 - and was one of the two Democrats (alongside Woodrow Wilson) elected to the presidency in the era of Republican political domination dating from 1861 to 1933.

In 1845, William Lloyd Garrison published this essay in his newspaper The Liberator. He stated that the rights of man are inherent and undeniable and called for Northern secession from the Union: "By the dissolution of the Union we shall give the finishing blow to the slave system.”

One of the most important news stories of the last two centuries comes to life in this "eyewitness account" of America's first Federal elections, the First Congress, and President Washington creating the Bill of Rights. In this swift-moving and colorful chronicle, written by St. John as though he were an on-the-scene reporter, listeners will discover how Congressman James Madison became, in the formative months of the new Republic, the power behind Washington in the executive branch...

Though Germany was technically Russia’s ally, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had no delusions that they were friends. Instead, he used this time to build up his forces for what he saw as an inevitable invasion.

A companion audiobook to the provocative award-winning Civil War film of the same name, Union Bound is a powerful story of one man who understood what slavery is all about and who risked everything to do the right thing - to save his country, to free slaves. It is a story of compassion, resolve, and unity against a common evil. It is a story of our past to encourage us to be resolute today.

George P. McClelland, a member of the 155th Pennsylvania Infantry in the Civil War, witnessed some of the war’s most pivotal battles during his two and a half years of Union service. Throughout his time at war, McClelland wrote to his family, keeping them abreast of his whereabouts and aware of the harrowing experiences he endured in battle. McClelland’s letters offer fresh insights into camp life, battlefield conditions, perceptions of key leaders, and the mindset of a young man who faced the prospect of death nearly every day of his service.

What does Brexit do to our sense of history? On the basis that you cannot map the future if you have no sense of the past, Cambridge professor of international history and best-selling author of The Long Shadow sets out his profound, multicultural interpretation of the many Island Stories that make up Britain’s history. On 23 June 2016 the British electorate voted to leave the European Union. The margin was narrow (4 percent) yet decisive. Out meant out, but nobody in the governing class had a clue where the country was actually going: there was no exit strategy.

In 1921, after six years of unrelenting war and revolution, Russia was in ruins. The economy had collapsed, the country was ravaged by disease and starvation claimed the lives of millions. People were so desperate for food that there were reports of cannibalism, reports that were revealed to be horribly accurate. Remarkably, it was a young American aid worker who uncovered the truth, and, even more remarkably, it was the US-backed charity that had sent him to Russia that would save Lenin’s fledgling government by feeding his people.