In early 1861, two men traveled east to become American presidents – Jefferson Davis of the Confederate States of America and Abraham Lincoln of the United States of America. Each was thrown into the fire of crisis. With secessionist fever spreading across the country, plots and conspiracies put the political and military leaders on high alert. Would there be an eleventh-hour proposal for peace? Would violence erupt in Baltimore and Washington? And what would happen to Fort Sumter? Would the tension in Charleston Harbor hold, ease, or tighten to a breaking point?

Recommended Booklist
In addition to all be books from previous episodes, take a look at these… 

Adams, Charles. When in the Course of Human Events: Arguing the
Case for Southern Secession. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000.

Larson, Erik. The Demon of Unrest. New York: Crown Publishing, 2024.

Long, E.B., with Barbara Long. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1965. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.

Mitchell, Elizabeth. Lincoln’s Lie. Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2020.

Swanberg, W. A. First Blood: The Story of Fort Sumter. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1957.

Woodward, C. Vann, ed. Mary Chesnut’s Civil War. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981.

Season 1 Episode 6 – The Island in the Harbor

Breaking Nation: A Civil War Podcast is a production of Waveland Creative.
Host: Scott Holmgren
Check out our website at http://www.breakingnation.com