Apostle of Union: A Political Biography of Edward Everett by Matthew Mason

Abstract

Reviewed by: Apostle of Union: A Political Biography of Edward Everett by Matthew Mason Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai (bio) Apostle of Union: A Political Biography of Edward Everett. By Matthew Mason. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2016. Pp. 448. $39.95 cloth; $38.99 ebook) History has not always been kind to statesman, orator, and vice presidential candidate Edward Everett. "[Even] well-informed general readers," historian Matthew Mason writes in Apostle of Union, "have only a vague recollection of Everett as the stodgy orator who rambled on for hours at Gettysburg before Abraham Lincoln took the stage" (p. 2). Scholars have regarded him as a "craven and unpopular" doughface politician (pp. 2–3). Mason argues that prior perceptions of Everett fail to capture the critical importance of politically moderate Unionists. This engaging political biography adds to the growing body of research, which seeks to examine the influence of the "Union cause" (a term coined by historian Gary W. Gallagher). While many scholars have emphasized causes more likely to resonate with modern readers, such as emancipation, others have sought to understand what contemporaries meant by the term "Union." Mason situates this biography within the literature by historians who "take sectional moderates seriously" as opposed to those whose work "disproportionately focused on Americans who espoused extreme proslavery and (especially) antislavery views" (p. 3). [End Page 126] Born in 1794 and dying in January 1865, Everett's life spanned a transformative and topsy-turvy period in American history. He became attached to the myth of George Washington and sharpened his admiration into a political philosophy aimed at preserving what the founders had endowed. He occupied multiple positions in both the state and federal governments. Trying to chart a moderate course, Everett found himself lambasted by both pro- and antislavery forces. Frustrated by the fractious nature of politics in the 1850s, Everett considered his post-political career and wondered in a diary entry, "Can a good citizen be justified in refusing public life in consequences of the dangers & disgusts which attend it?" (p. 154). That desire to serve encapsulates Everett in a nutshell. He channeled his oratorical skills and talents into his celebrated speech, "The Character of Washington." Everett donated the proceeds from his speeches to help preserve Mount Vernon, believing the location to be a sacred spot that could bind a divided people's sentiments to the Union. But even his attempt at crafting a unifying national origin story led to criticism from those who claimed he either emphasized slavery too much or too little. History could be a more treacherous terrain than politics. But therein also lay its power to inflame passions and motivate action as demonstrated by the millions who fought for their competing visions of the nation's past and its future course. Mason successfully charts Everett's political evolution. He places the seemingly mundane procedures of legislative speeches and motions into context, deftly noting how events shaped Everett's calculations. He might have included more from Everett's diaries and provided a lengthier comparison between Everett and Abraham Lincoln. Both men seemed to have similar ideas about the Union, unionists, and slavery's fate. But this is Everett's book and such qualms are trivial. They, in no way, diminish the value and importance of this masterful work. General readers will find the volume timely as it considers how a dedicated patriot tried to steer a unifying course in the midst of divisive times. In the end, one feels pity for Everett, the forlorn idealist who dreamed of a united America that never was and, as of [End Page 127] this writing, has yet to be. Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai KANISORN WONGSRICHANALAI is an assistant professor of history at Angelo State University. He is the author of Northern Character: College-Educated New Englanders, Honor, Nationalism, and Leadership in the Civil War Era (2016). Copyright © 2018 Kentucky Historical Society