"Loaded with provocative insights, this book is a well-argued answer to that persistent question: Why did Americans fight the Civil War." — America By the time John Brown hung from the gallows for his crimes at Harper's Ferry, Northern abolitionists had made him a "holy martyr" in their campaign against Southern slave owners. This Northern hatred for Southerners long predated their objections to slavery. They were convinced that New England, whose spokesmen had begun the American Revolution,...