Apostle of Union

“[An] eloquent biography. . . . A solid choice for American history buffs and those with a penchant for politics in the antebellum era.” — Library Journal starred review

“Explores in full Everett’s life in politics, with special concentration on his stances on weighty national issues related to slavery and Union.” — Civil War Books and Authors

“Highly recommended for both a general and an academic audience.” — Gettysburg Magazine

“Decisively restores the political significance of Everett. . . . Political historians and scholars of culture and nationalism will learn much from this superbly crafted, intensely researched, engagingly written, and thoughtful book.” — Journal of American History

“Brings Everett back into focus with the fullest political biography of Everett since 1925.” — Journal of Southern History

“Anyone who thinks traditional political history is dead should read Matthew Mason’s magnificent biography of Edward Everett. Deeply researched and skillfully written." — New England Quarterly

“Matthew Mason has written a critical book on a key figure in the pantheon of nineteenth-century politics. This is a well-crafted, well-written account of a seeming paradox: why was a conciliatory, doughface Whig invited to speak with Lincoln at Gettysburg in 1863? In answering this question, Mason opens a window onto a wide swath of public opinion in the 1850s and 1860s. Apostle of Union will be an essential contribution to the new and the classic literature on the origins of the American Civil War.” — John Brooke, The Ohio State University

“This is an excellent, revelatory, and rare scholarly work that operates at many levels and in ways that give us new perspectives on events, people, and sectional issues that remain problematic for historians. By looking at a political moderate, Mason tells us as much about extremists North and South as he does about Everett’s sense of political compromise and moderation. By arguing that slavery (or antislavery) was a persistent, consistent, and divisive political issue in national politics and political discourse, Mason gives us a much better sense of the shifting nature of the spirit and persistence of Unionism from the early Republic to the sectional crisis.” — Michael A. Morrison, Purdue University