Written by an impartial British observer of the so-called "irrepressible conflict" of 1861-1865, this volume traces the causes of the disruption of the Union to the inherent cultural, philosophical, and economic differences between North and South. He exposes the dangerous fanaticism of the New England Abolitionists and demonstrates the fallacies of the Northern arguments against the lawfulness of secession. Even though staunchly anti-slavery, the author concludes that "England is the natural ally of the South." This book had a profound influence on the great Charles Dickens, and went through several editions in just four months, also being translated into French and German.