David B. Sachsman is a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA, where he holds the George R. West, Jr. Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs. His books include Sensationalism and The Civil War and the Press.

• Preface, Introduction, Part I: Splitting a Nation, Part II: Covering the Conflict, Part III: Dissension and Suppression North and South, About the Editor, List of Contributors, Illustrations, Index

"American newspapers have been divided since their first appearance in the colonies in 1690. The Civil War intensified the sharp political divisiveness, which lasted well into Reconstruction. Newspapers were divided between North and South and within the North and the South, and they served as an outlet for editors to openly support their causes. Papers on both sides feared that the power of the press would subvert national unity. Editors on both sides were arrested, and hundreds of newspapers were suppressed. In discussing matters related to newspapers and the Civil War, the authors (all Civil War scholars) of these 18 essays treat such topics as the Missouri crisis, Lincoln and the Southern press, newspapers and the rise and election of Lincoln, Civil War cartoons, 'Copperhead Christians,' female war correspondents, Confederate nationalism, and the First Amendment. Sachsman (communication and public affairs, Univ. of Tennessee, Chattanooga) has put together a volume that will be an enlightening read for Civil War scholars and enthusiasts and for those interested in the history of the 19th-century press...Highly recommended." - R. Ray, Choice Magazine