Pictures of Southern Life, Social, Political, and Military.

** "Pictures of Southern Life, Social, Political, and Military" by William Howard Russell is a historical record that gives readers a look into the Southern states just before the Civil War. Russell shares what he saw and learned while travelling through the South, especially South Carolina and Georgia, showing what people thought about politics, society, and the military at the time. He focuses on the feelings people had about the North and their wish to become independent. The book kicks off with Russell in Charleston, South Carolina, right after it left the Union, where he talks to Southern men who really dislike the Northern states, blaming things on "Puritanism" and even wanting to go back to having a king like the British. Russell shows how much the North and South hated each other and how proud Southerners were of their land and how much they wanted to be free. He prepares to explore the social life, the war preparations, and the complicated feelings about slavery and states' rights. **