PART I.--THE CAUSES OF THE WAR

Introduction 3

I. A Public, Not a Civil War 13

II. The Growth of the National Idea 19

III. The "Irrepressible Conflict" 37

IV. The Annexation of Texas 58

V. The Compromise of 1850 71

VI. Uncle Tom's Cabin 107

VII. The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, The Kansas-Nebraska Bill and Squatter Sovereignty 112

VIII. The Kansas War--The Dred Scott Decision--John Brown's Exploit at Harper's Ferry 122

IX. The Election of 1860 138

X. The Birth of War 147