Wide Awake

The Forgotten Force That Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War

By: Jon Grinspan

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Bloomsbury presents Wide Awake by Jon Grinspan, read by Sean Pratt.

“Excellent."—Wall Street Journal

A propulsive account of our history’s most surprising, most consequential political club: the Wide Awake anti-slavery youth movement that marched America from the 1860 election to civil war.

At the start of the 1860 presidential campaign, a handful of fired-up young Northerners appeared as bodyguards to defend anti-slavery stump speakers from frequent attacks. The group called themselves the Wide Awakes. Soon, hundreds of thousands of young White and Black men, and a number of women, were organizing boisterous, uniformed, torch-bearing brigades of their own. These Wide Awakes—mostly working-class Americans in their twenties—became one of the largest, most spectacular, and most influential political movements in our history. To some, it demonstrated the power of a rising majority to push back against slavery. To others, it looked like a paramilitary force training to invade the South. Within a year, the nation would be at war with itself, and many on both sides would point to the Wide Awakes as the mechanism that got them there.

In this gripping narrative, Smithsonian historian Jon Grinspan examines how exactly our nation crossed the threshold from a political campaign into a war. Perfect for readers of Lincoln on the Verge and The Field of Blood, Wide Awake bears witness to the power of protest, the fight for majority rule, and the defence of free speech. At its core, Wide Awake illuminates a question American democracy keeps posing, about the precarious relationship between violent speech and violent actions.

©2024 Jon Grinspan (P)2024 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

A Movement Time Forgot

This book reminds us of the importance of people in the streets. It gives us a sense of what will take to stop fascism in our time.

Revelatory and bound to shift the paradigm

For many, the story of the Wide Awakes, their campaign of 1860 and t
all that followed after will be like a missing puzzle piece that finally completes the overall tableau of the American Civil War

Interesting account

This is a deeply-researched book about the Wide-Awakes, who were so prominent in the year 1860. I've read about them numerous times in other books about that year's election, about Lincoln, and about the lead up to the Civil War, but until this book there hasn't been anything in depth about them.

But they were famous and the topic of nationwide conversation during that election year. This book shows the good and some bad about a group of mostly working class young progressive men who helped get Lincoln elected while horrifying Southerners. I learned a lot, including that in 1860, almost nobody -- even ardent abolitionists --believed slavery would be eradicated in their lifetimes. That the Wide-Awakes were even a little responsible for that belief being wrong gives them an honorable place in history. Well-narrated by Sean Pratt.

Well told story of a forgotten movement

A compelling tale of a forgotten movement that shaped American politics then and now. I picked this up after reading Grispan's Age of Acrimony and liked this one better. It dispells the surface level truths we're told of the Civil War to tell of a more granular uprising. It also brings understanding to what made the MAGA movement work and its potential influence today.
Fantastic narration. The narrator captures the tones and emotions that colored the quotes and sentiments of people at the time. Providing story to historical accounts.
The book contributed greatly to my knowledge of American history, political violence, and the forces that shaped the Civil War. Definitely recommend.

Amazing we never learned this in school!

The gripping story of a grass-roots movement that played a critical role in electing Lincoln and then disappeared from modern history books. I couldn’t put it down! The relevance to our own troubled times is astounding. Well-written and well-read—a great listen!