The Great Democracies - A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Volume IV

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Acknowledgements

Introduction

PREFACE

BOOK I - RECOVERY AND REFORM

CHAPTER ONE - THE VICTORY PEACE

CHAPTER TWO - CANNING AND THE DUKE

CHAPTER THREE - REFORM AND FREE TRADE

CHAPTER FOUR - THE CRIMEAN WAR

CHAPTER FIVE - PALMERSTON

CHAPTER SIX - THE MIGRATION OF THE PEOPLES

CHAPTER SEVEN - THE MIGRATION OF THE PEOPLES

BOOK II - THE GREAT REPUBLIC

CHAPTER EIGHT - AMERICAN EPIC

CHAPTER NINE - SLAVERY AND SECESSION

CHAPTER TEN - THE UNION IN DANGER

CHAPTER ELEVEN - THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST RICHMOND

CHAPTER TWELVE - LEE AND MCCLELLAN

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - CHANCELLORSVILLE AND GETTYSBURG

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - THE VICTORY OF THE UNION

BOOK III - THE VICTORIAN AGE

CHAPTER FIFTEEN - THE RISE OF GERMANY

CHAPTER SIXTEEN - GLADSTONE AND DISRAELI

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - AMERICAN “RECONSTRUCTION”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - AMERICA AS A WORLD POWER

CHAPTER NINETEEN - HOME RULE FOR IRELAND

CHAPTER TWENTY - LORD SALISBURY’S GOVERNMENTS

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR

ENDNOTES

INDEX

SUGGESTED READING

Copyright © 1958 by The Right Honourable Sir Winston Churchill,

K.G. O.M. C.H. M.P.

This edition published by Barnes & Noble, Inc., by arrangement with

Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc.

Introduction and Suggested Reading © 2005

by Barnes & Noble, Inc.

This 2005 edition published by Barnes & Noble, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any

means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or

otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.

Maps by James Macdonald

ISBN-13: 978-0-7607-6860-0

ISBN-10: 0-7607-6860-9

eISBN : 978-1-41142878-2

Printed and bound in the United States of America

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I DESIRE TO RECORD MY THANKS AGAIN TO MR F. W. DEAKIN AND

Mr G. M. Young for their assistance before the Second World War in the

preparation of this work; to Professor Asa Briggs of Leeds University, to Mr

Maldwyn A. Jones of Manchester University, and to Mr Maurice Shock of

University College, Oxford, who have since helped in its completion; and to Mr

Alan Hodge, Mr Denis Kelly, Mr Anthony Montague Browne and Mr C. C.

Wood. I have also to thank many others who have kindly read these pages and

commented upon them.

For permission to include a quotation from The Oxford History of the United

States acknowledgment is due to the Oxford University Press.

INTRODUCTION

THE GREAT DEMOCRACIES, THE FOURTH VOLUME OF WINSTON

Churchill’s A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, was the last volume in

his long literary career. This fact by itself, however, would make it unworthy of

study. What makes it valuable is that it serves as a distillation of Churchill’s

political thinking and vision, especially in regards to his belief that there existed

fundamental ties, cultural and political, among the English-speaking peoples. As

a work of history, this volume covers the period from the end of the Napoleonic

Wars in 1815 to the end of the South African or Boer War in 1902, and explores

the development of six English-speaking societies: Great Britain, Australia, New

Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and the United States as they advance towards

democracy. Churchill’s emphasis, however, is on Great Britain and the United

States as central to progress and freedom in the world and the essential unity

between the two societies. Readers aware of the current “special relationship”

between Great Britain and the United States will find in Churchill’s treatment of

nineteenth-century Anglo-American history the origins of this relationship.

Moreover, reading this volume will also introduce to readers aspects of

Churchillian philosophy that guided his actions as a participant in world affairs.

Two, in particular, should be stressed at the outset. First, Churchill had a

concrete philosophy of historical change: He believed in the inexorable progress

of mankind and that this progress was best guided by peaceable change and

reform in society rather than by violent revolution. Second, underscoring

Churchill’s romantic temperament as a man attracted by action and adventure, he

believed in the active role played by “great men” in which the outcome of events

is determined by the heroism and courage of individuals. Finally, readers will

see narrative and philosophy are presented in The Great Democracies through

Churchill’s considerable writing skill. This skill included allusiveness, subtle

insight into human character, a briskness in pace, a shrewd use of analogy and

simile, and an ability to be vivid and to stimulate the reader.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) is best remembered as one of the leading

political figures of the twentieth century. Through a long political career that

extended from 1900 to 1964, he achieved high-level positions in the British

Cabinet, including serving as First Lord of the Admiralty during both World

Wars as well as Chancellor of the Exchequer (a rough equivalent to the