Sherman's Other War: The General and the Civil War Press
Sherman's Other War: The General and the Civil War Press
Synopsis
Despite the passage of over a century, the question of press rights in wartime situations is very much today what it was during the Civil War. Marszalek finds throughout American history a recurring movement toward repression of the press, with Sherman's attitudes and practices only one of the most obvious examples. He also finds that press rights during wartime have often been governed by reactions to specific circumstances rather than treated as a constitutional issue. During Sherman's court-martial of reporter Thomas W. Knox after Vicksburg, the Constitution was never mentioned by either party; personal considerations were at issue.
Marszalek analyzes the constitutional ramifications of Sherman's antipress activities and demonstrates how such attitudes threaten American liberties.