Contested Loyalty: Debates over Patriotism in the Civil War North

Situational and wartime constructions of Patriotism and Loyalty shaped American discourse and actions throughout the Civil War. While most of the scholarly work on Civil War Era nationalism has focused on southern identity and Confederate nationhood, the essays in this volume examine the variable, fluid constructions of these concepts in the Civil War Era North. These urgent constructions of patriotism and loyalty were intimately tied with the emergence of a new Union nationalism, the effects of which were extensive and touched on religion, military mobilization, war work, benevolence, partisan politics, dissent, resistance, and more.