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The War Before the War
- Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
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Publisher's summary
"Excellent...stunning." (Ta-Nehisi Coates)
The devastating story of how fugitive slaves drove the nation to Civil War.
A New York Times Notable Book Selection
Winner of the Mark Lynton History Prize
Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
A New York Times Critics' Best Book
For decades after its founding, America was really two nations—one slave, one free. There were many reasons why this composite nation ultimately broke apart, but the fact that enslaved black people repeatedly risked their lives to flee their masters in the South in search of freedom in the North proved that the "united" states was actually a lie. Fugitive slaves exposed the contradiction between the myth that slavery was a benign institution and the reality that a nation based on the principle of human equality was in fact a prison-house in which millions of Americans had no rights at all. By awakening Northerners to the true nature of slavery, and by enraging Southerners who demanded the return of their human "property", fugitive slaves forced the nation to confront the truth about itself.
By 1850, with America on the verge of collapse, Congress reached what it hoped was a solution - the notorious Compromise of 1850, which required that fugitive slaves be returned to their masters. Like so many political compromises before and since, it was a deal by which white Americans tried to advance their interests at the expense of black Americans. Yet the Fugitive Slave Act, intended to preserve the Union, in fact set the nation on the path to civil war. It divided not only the American nation, but also the hearts and minds of Americans who struggled with the timeless problem of when to submit to an unjust law and when to resist.
The fugitive slave story illuminates what brought us to war with ourselves and the terrible legacies of slavery that are with us still.
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Critic reviews
“[A] sweeping and fascinating book . . . a long, festering story of political disunion, mapped through many voices. . . . Delbanco writes lyrically . . . and with a genuine sense of tragedy . . . The War Before the War presents a clear narrative of the legal and political history of [how], self-tortured by the slavery question, a ‘nation’ descended into disunion.”—David Blight, New York Review of Books
“A valuable book, reflective as well as jarring . . . Delbanco, an eminent and prolific scholar of American literature, is well suited to recounting . . . the most violent and enduring conflict in American history.”—Sean Wilentz, New York Times Book Review
“Delbanco . . . excavates the past in ways that illuminate the present. He lucidly shows [how] in the name of avoiding conflict . . . the nation was brought to the brink and into the breach. This is a story about compromises—and a riveting, unsettling one at that.”—Jennifer Szalai, New York Times
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- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 21 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The first of a multivolume history of Lincoln as a political genius - from his obscure beginnings to his presidency, his assassination, and the overthrow of his post-Civil War dreams of Reconstruction. This first volume traces Lincoln from his painful youth, describing himself as "a slave", to his emergence as the man we recognize as Abraham Lincoln.
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I Can't Wait for Volume II!
- By NC-N-NC on 06-14-16
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Written Out of History
- The Forgotten Founders Who Fought Big Government
- By: Mike Lee
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In the earliest days of our nation, a handful of unsung heroes - including women, slaves, and an Iroquois chief - made crucial contributions to our republic. They pioneered the ideas that led to the Bill of Rights, the separation of powers, and the abolition of slavery. Yet their faces haven't been printed on our currency or carved into any cliffs. Instead they were marginalized, silenced, or forgotten - sometimes by an accident of history, sometimes by design.
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Interesting American History- not the usual stuff
- By Marie on 06-19-17
By: Mike Lee
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John Marshall
- The Man Who Made the Supreme Court
- By: Richard Brookhiser
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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The life of John Marshall, founding father and America's premier chief justice. In 1801, a genial and brilliant Revolutionary War veteran and politician became the fourth chief justice of the US. He would hold the post for 34 years (still a record), expounding the Constitution he loved. Before he joined the Court, it was the weakling of the federal government, lacking in dignity and clout. After he died, it could never be ignored again.
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Excellent Biography
- By Jean on 12-14-18
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The Road to Disunion Volume II
- Secessionists Triumphant, 1854-1861
- By: William W. Freehling
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 25 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The extreme fringe in the South took charge, first in South Carolina and Mississippi, but then throughout the lower South, sounding the drum roll for secession. This is the first book to fully document how this decided minority of Southern hotspurs took hold of the secessionist issue and drove the South out of the Union. William Freehling provides compelling profiles of the leaders of this movement. Throughout the narrative, he evokes a world of fascinating characters and places as he captures the drama of one of America's most important - and least understood - stories.
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Very Informative
- By Paul D. Stancil on 09-13-19
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Black Reconstruction in America
- By: W. E. B. Du Bois, David Levering Lewis
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 37 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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This pioneering work was the first full-length study of the role black Americans played in the crucial period after the Civil War, when the slaves had been freed and the attempt was made to reconstruct American society. Hailed at the time, Black Reconstruction in America has justly been called a classic.
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The textbook you should have had in high school.
- By Saleh on 05-06-18
By: W. E. B. Du Bois, and others
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Mr. Jefferson's Hammer
- William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy
- By: Robert M. Owens
- Narrated by: Doug McDonald
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Often remembered as the president who died shortly after taking office, William Henry Harrison remains misunderstood by most Americans. Before becoming the ninth president of the United States in 1841, Harrison was instrumental in shaping the early years of westward expansion. Robert M. Owens now explores that era through the lens of Harrison’s career, providing a new synthesis of his role in the political development of Indiana Territory and in shaping Indian policy in the Old Northwest.
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Title = Truth in Advertising
- By William Jenks on 06-18-19
By: Robert M. Owens
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The First Congress
- How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government
- By: Fergus M. Bordewich
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The First Congress was the most important in US history, says prizewinning author and historian Fergus Bordewich, because it established how our government would actually function. Had it failed - as many at the time feared it would - it's possible that the United States as we know it would not exist today.
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Compelling
- By Jean on 03-05-18
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Without Precedent
- Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times
- By: Joel Richard Paul
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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No member of America's founding generation had a greater impact on the Constitution and the Supreme Court than John Marshall, and no one did more to preserve the delicate unity of the fledgling United States. From the nation's founding in 1776 and for the next 40 years, Marshall was at the center of every political battle. As Chief Justice of the United States - the longest-serving in history—he established the independence of the judiciary and the supremacy of the federal Constitution and courts.
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Scholarly and Accessible
- By Diana Black Kennedy on 03-01-18
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The Slave's Cause
- A History of Abolition
- By: Manisha Sinha
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 30 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Received historical wisdom casts abolitionists as bourgeois, mostly white reformers burdened by racial paternalism and economic conservatism. Manisha Sinha overturns this image, broadening her scope beyond the antebellum period usually associated with abolitionism and recasting it as a radical social movement in which men and women, black and white, free and enslaved, found common ground in causes ranging from feminism and utopian socialism to anti-imperialism and efforts to defend the rights of labor.
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Thorough, convincing and haunting
- By Roger on 07-23-17
By: Manisha Sinha
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Jacksonland
- President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross, and a Great American Land Grab
- By: Steve Inskeep
- Narrated by: Steve Inskeep
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Jacksonland is the thrilling narrative history of two men - President Andrew Jackson and Cherokee chief John Ross - who led their respective nations at a crossroads of American history. Five decades after the Revolutionary War, the United States approached a constitutional crisis. At its center stood two former military comrades locked in a struggle that tested the boundaries of our fledgling democracy. Jacksonland is their story.
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Fantastic and Thoughtful
- By Elizabeth Westbrook on 05-05-16
By: Steve Inskeep
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Andrew Jackson
- His Life and Times
- By: H.W. Brands
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 25 hrs and 57 mins
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The extraordinary story of Andrew Jackson—the colorful, dynamic, and forceful president who ushered in the Age of Democracy and set a still young America on its path to greatness—told by the bestselling author of The First American.
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Very Thorough
- By Eric on 02-07-06
By: H.W. Brands
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Reconstruction
- A Concise History
- By: Allen C. Guelzo
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The era known as Reconstruction is one of the unhappiest times in American history. It succeeded in reuniting the nation politically after the Civil War but in little else. Conflict shifted from the battlefield to the Capitol as Congress warred with President Andrew Johnson over just what to do with the South. Johnson's plan of Presidential Reconstruction, which was sympathetic to the former Confederacy, would ultimately lead to his impeachment and the institution of Radical Reconstruction.
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Very Well Done
- By Rob Welch on 08-20-21
By: Allen C. Guelzo
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Redemption
- The Last Battle of the Civil War
- By: Nicholas Lemann
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A century after Appomattox, the civil rights movement won full citizenship for black Americans in the South. It should not have been necessary: by 1870 those rights were set in the Constitution. This is the story of the terrorist campaign that took them away.
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A good accouting of the post Civil War suffering
- By KMB Consumer on 08-10-07
By: Nicholas Lemann
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Frederick Douglass
- Prophet of Freedom
- By: David W. Blight
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi
- Length: 36 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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As a young man, Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) escaped from slavery in Baltimore, Maryland. He was fortunate to have been taught to read by his slave owner mistress, and he would go on to become one of the major literary figures of his time. He wrote three versions of his autobiography over the course of his lifetime and published his own newspaper. His very existence gave the lie to slave owners: with dignity and great intelligence, he bore witness to the brutality of slavery.
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The sound of rollerskating in sand
- By Rico X Ludovici on 02-06-19
By: David W. Blight
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What listeners say about The War Before the War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Christopher J. Voight
- 01-13-24
Outstanding research, beautiful prose. 
Painful story because it tells a sad tale of centuries long greed, the plunder of Africa, the real cause of the American Civil War in great detail, and the legacy it leaves the present day .
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- DAP
- 04-17-20
Wow!
As a black American who has been confused about exactly why the civil war was fought. This book was the most concise account of what really happened that I’ve ever heard. It cleared up some myths and solidified some long held beliefs. It was so emotionally draining to hear the way my ancestors were treated. And to hear the unabashed truth of the feeling that persist in America to this day. Was absolutely mind blowing and should stand as a lesson to us all. If we don’t learn from our past mistakes we are doomed to repeat them. So much of what I see today in modern politics I thought was unique. Now I see is nothing more then the status quo that’s existed from America’s inception. There are those who felt America was theirs. And that black people are only fit to live in a permanent second class. This book spelled it out in spectacular fashion. The hatred, cruelty and injustice that white America inflicted upon my ancestors. While all the while fighting for it’s own freedom. And claiming to be a nation of laws that believes in God. Is the most jaw dropping hypocritical thing I have ever witnessed. Caste pride is a powerful drug that enables its partakers to justify anything. As long as the end result is they maintain a playing field. That mostly benefits them and that they can maintain strict control over. Unbelievably a vast portion of this country will even follow a demigod. Down the road to ruin if they think they and only they will remain in absolute power.
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- THOMAS ODONNELL
- 09-12-22
Learned a lot about that time when slavery existed
Notable personalities of the day were conflicted about slavery...or were quite decided. Very good read (listen). Don't think I'll think of Daniel Webster the same after learning of his duplicity in the Fugitive Slave Law.
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- Alex
- 01-31-22
An excellent accounting of a historical tragedy
Andrew Delbanco's novel is one of the finest accounts of the horrors of slavery and how that institution propelled America towards civil war. Told in a narrative format that is as gripping as it shocking, Ari Fliakos does an excellent job of bringing Delbanco's story to life, and his pitch-perfect tone conveys the author's implicit lamentations on the era in a way that few narrators could match.
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- John
- 06-13-22
an excellent narrative and analysis
an excellent narrative and analysis of the years preceding the Civil War and beyond
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- Brian
- 07-25-21
Should be required reading in US
There are so many parallels to the dynamics of contemporary south/north rural/urban US. It had me thinking often of complicity with environmental destruction and mass extinction.
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- Chris Beebe
- 04-26-22
Filled in a huge gap in history for me
Liberal from the Northeast here. Slavery, bad. South, bad. This book didn't change that perspective drastically, but the moral and legal tussle, and gradual conflict was exquisitely unfolded in this book. The American Experiment is by no means perfect, and looking in the rear view mirror can be frustrating and very embarrassing, but the detail here helps make some sense of why war was inevitable. Great read.
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- MB
- 09-06-20
I would give this 100 stars if I could
We all know how slavery has woven its way through our history into our present day tensions, but there has never been a more detailed, vivid account of the years leading up to the civil war. I learned so much. I became obsessed with listening to this book. I had to keep coming back. I’m sad that the book is over because I want to hear more about this.
I loved how first-hand accounts were woven into meticulously researched vignettes. It’s a beautiful and brilliant book that expands our understanding of a complex subject.
I’ve raved about this book to everyone I know. If you think you know the history leading to the civil war, you’ll still learn so much. You must listen to this book!
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- sayNOtoMOMjeans
- 08-18-20
difficult, but necessary, history to understand
I came across this book as I was looking for literature to help me understand America's complex relationship with race. In particular, I recognized in knowledge gap in how our country transitioned from its original Union under the articles of confederation to a growing country ready to fight A-war largely great based on a State's rights to own another group of people.
Just of this book is that the fugitive slave laws served as a wedge that drove the slave owning states and the free states further and further apart. of course, the impetus for the civil war took decades to gain. traction. this book tells the story of the systematic efforts by individual states and statesmen to both protect their property and avoid complicity in what others felt was an abomination.
In between the politics the book describes true examples of how the laws directly impacted enslaved individuals and families and the efforts made to keep them enslaved.
this is a story worth knowing and reading. the more history I read the more room for improvement I realize our country has to make. I'm encouraged that we are a more equitable and just country than we were in 1776, 1787, 1820, 1850, 1865, or even 1968.
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- David
- 05-12-24
Prior to the civil war
I found it interesting and I met new characters that had not been addressed in my other readings.
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