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A well researched, excellently written, and remarkably clever book. It should be required reading for any scholar interested in the Northern home front or the construction of American nationalism.... A delight to read. - Civil War History ""The issues raised in Lawson's book - changing and contested definitions of loyalty, patriotism, nationalism - seem as fresh and relevant today as they were during the Civil War years.... An important contribution."" - American Historical Review ""An original and important study of how a new nation was forged out of American ideologies, cultural practices, and institutions that helped win the Civil War."" - David W. Blight, author of Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory ""An original, provocative and compelling book [written] with a rare intelligence and much eloquence."" - Journal of American History ""A landmark work and the best I have seen on nationalism in the North."" - Mark E. Neely, Jr., author of The Union Divided: Party Conflict in the Civil War North ""Highly recommended."" - Civil War News ""A finely-crafted study that adds significantly to our understanding of how the War for the Union changed America's understanding of itself. Deserves a wide audience."" - George M. Fredrickson, author of The Inner Civil War

Melinda Lawson is visiting assistant professor of history at Union College in Schenectady, New York.