By: Kelsey S. Johnston
Baltimore, Maryland
December 16, 2024
A video of author Edward "Ted" McClelland discussing his new book,
"Chorus of the Union: How Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas Set Aside Their Rivalry to Save the Union" with Lincoln Group of DC members, is now available on the Lincoln Group's YouTube channel.
"Chorus of the Union" tells how President Lincoln and Illinois Senator Douglas, long bitter rivals, came together to try to prevent the Civil War. Even before the election of 1860, Douglas realized that his campaign for president as the nominee of one faction of a hopelessly divided Democratic Party was doomed. With Lincoln's election in 1860, Douglas saw the threat posed by the secessionist cries of the south and campaigned in vain to convince voters to accept the Republican Lincoln as president. He continued to travel extensively to make his case until his death in June 1861. He was only 48.
During his presentation to the group, McClelland read an impactful section of "Chorus of the Union." The author then entertained questions about Douglas' mindset before his death, hypothesized about how Douglas would have reacted to such outcomes of the war, as the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery, and discussed Douglas' place in the modern historical zeitgeist.
McClelland is a writer for Chicago magazine and has authored several other books. His topics include Barack Obama's early political career, the epic General Motors sit-down strike of 1937, and Midwestern regional dialects.
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