"In this brilliant new look at the destruction of slavery during the American Civil War, Oakes reveals how the U.S. abolitionist movement relied not only on high-minded moral suasion but also on the small-bore legalistic strategy of the Republican Party."
Walter Russell Mead - Foreign Affairs "Oakes argues that Lincoln, from the moment of his inauguration, began using every political and military means at his disposal to wipe out slavery forever."
Howell Raines - Washington Post "This remarkable book offers the best account ever written of the complex historical process known as emancipation. The story is dramatic and compelling, and no one interested in the American Civil War or the fate of slavery can afford to ignore it."
Eric Foner, author of The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery "Freedom National provides the best account we have of the process of emancipation and the ultimate abolition of slavery, on the ground in the South and in the halls of power at Washington. It also makes clear that from the beginning, nearly all participants recognized that the central issue of the war was slavery and that its likely outcome was a new birth of freedom."
James M. McPherson, author of War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861—1865 "Brilliant in analysis and compelling in argument, this is now the book to read on how slavery died."
Library Journal "A masterful piece of scholarship…A must-read book for anyone seeking a greater understanding of the complicated and politically charged nature of emancipation."
Robert I. Girardi - Washington Independent Review of Books "An absorbing look at the complex process of emancipation and the forces behind the incentives and threats—and the war—that eventually led to the end of slavery in the U.S."
Booklist