Opinion: These torchlit young marchers helped to save American democracy

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5. Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force That Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War

8 recent Civil War history books by UVA authors
By Sam Grossman

Civil War history has always been a UVA strength, especially as home to the Nau Center devoted to the subject. These recent works by alumni and faculty may teach even the most avid history buffs something new about this complex, pivotal era.

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Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force That Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War (2024)
By Jon Grinspan (Grad ’12, ’13)



In his new book, Smithsonian political history curator Jon Grinspan explores a little-known antislavery youth movement. It began during the 1860 presidential election when a few young Northerners appeared as bodyguards for antislavery stump speakers. They called themselves the Wide Awakes and would go on to “form companies and elect officers, don uniforms and organize rallies, vote for Lincoln and then fight for him,” Grinspan writes. Mostly composed of white and Black working-class Americans in their 20s, the group became polarizing. To some, the Wide Awakes represented a powerful movement rising up against slavery. To others, they were an alarming paramilitary group. Wide Awake explores themes such as free speech, protest and violence that have remained relevant to American democracy ever since.