James M. McPherson

James M. McPherson, the George Henry Davis ’86 Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton University, is perhaps America’s foremost living Civil War scholar. Among his books are his one-volume history of the war, Battle Cry of Freedom, Lincoln and The Second American Revolution, and For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War, winner of the Lincoln Prize in 1998.

Articles by this Contributor

The Movies: Glory and the Larger Truth in Fiction |

Much of it was fictional, but "Glory" was one of the most powerful and accurate movies ever made about the Civil War Read >>

Why The Civil War Still Matters | Spring 2011

The nation's leading authority on the conflict explains why the Civil War still fascinates us Read >>

Showdown At Sumter | Winter 2010

Only hours after being sworn in, Lincoln faced the most momentous decision in presidential history Read >>

Lincoln As Commander In Chief | Winter 2009

Even though he had no military training, Lincoln quickly rose to become one of America’s most talented commanders Read >>

The Test Of Reconciliation | November/December 2001

The events of 9/11 were horrific, almost beyond comprehension. But when our nation was sorely tried before, it emerged stronger and better than before. Read >>

Gettysburg, 1862 | September 1999

A LEADING CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN CHANGES ONE SMALL HAPPENSTANCE—WHICH IN TURN CHANGES EVERYTHING Read >>

A War That Never Goes Away | March 1990

More than the Revolution, more than the Constitutional Convention, it was the crucial test of the American nation. The author of Battle Cry of Freedom, the most successful recent book on the subject, explains why the issues that fired the Civil War are as urgent in 1990 as they were in 1861. Read >>