The Continental Monthly, Vol 2, No 6, December 1862: Devoted to Literature and National Policy

In Short

This issue of The Continental Monthly, published in December 1862, offers a rich snapshot of a nation in turmoil. Through political essays, personal memoirs, travelogues, fiction, poetry, and period advertisements, its contributors argue over Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation strategy, examine the economics of slavery and Northern labor, and critique foreign perceptions of the war. Alongside these weighty national debates sit lighthearted satire, reflections on European universities, nature writing, and tragic romance. It remains a valuable historical artifact because it captures the raw, unedited intellectual and cultural pulse of Northern society at a pivotal moment in American history.

The Story

The volume opens with a firm, analytical defense of President Lincoln’s gradual emancipation and colonization proposals, framing them as a divine and practical path toward resolving the nation's greatest crisis. The author contrasts slow, constructive national reform with the catastrophic swiftness of divine destruction, warning that while sudden military emancipation may become a harsh necessity for stubborn rebel states, a measured policy protects the country from financial ruin and social collapse. This economic argument expands into an examination of Southern geography and climate, asserting that free labor and the eventual abolition of slavery would unleash unprecedented agricultural and commercial prosperity across the region, particularly in vast states like Texas.

From high political strategy, the journal turns toward civic duty and military preparedness. A reflective essay on the Northern draft argues that peacetime luxury has eroded the citizen’s sacred obligation to defend the nation. It calls for a permanent revival of the military spirit and a rigorous reform of the militia system, lamenting how educated elites have shirked their duties. Broadening its scope beyond American shores, the issue presents a critical travel memoir observing student life at Cambridge University, detailing how permissive credit systems and predatory tradesmen lure young men into staggering debt and ruinous lawsuits.

The focus shifts again to human drama through serialized fiction and personal narratives. In a stormy seaside tale, a young man hazards his life in a frantic water rescue, only to discover that the woman he loves cared only for her dog, prompting him to flee in bitter despair to his forgiving aunt. Another writer offers a lyrical meditation on the Norse myth of the Ash tree, comparing Northern mythologies of ice with Southern traditions of fire. Meanwhile, a Northern visitor records his tense interactions with aristocratic South Carolina secessionists, observing their casual cruelty, their fierce ideological conviction, and their paternalistic defenses of human bondage.

As the issue nears its conclusion, political advocacy returns with a fiery letter from Horace Greeley, who warns that any compromise with the Confederacy will result in a predatory, slaveholding empire that destroys American democracy. The journal concludes with lighter, varied selections: a humorous satirical piece on the fashionable excesses of "Ye New Yorke Younge Ladye," poignant poetry about grief and heroic resolve, editorial notices, and back-matter advertisements pitching cure-all patent pills and fertile Illinois farmland.

How It Unfolds

The case for gradual emancipation The issue opens by evaluating Lincoln’s policy of compensated manumission, arguing that gradual, systematic reform aligns with divine providence and protects the nation's fragile economy.

The call to civic military duty An essay on the Union draft reminds readers that every citizen owes military service, urging a permanent cultural shift toward discipline and proper national defense.

Critiquing English university life A travelogue explores Trinity College, Cambridge, exposing how unchecked credit systems and predatory merchants drive wealthy young students into financial ruin.

Romance and bitter disappointment A dramatic fictional piece follows a young man who risks his life in a water rescue, only to realize his beloved was saving her pet dog, driving him away in heartbreak.

Observing Southern society A Northern traveler describes an uncomfortable dinner with South Carolina aristocrats, illustrating their intense devotion to secession and their blind rationalizations of slavery.

A warning against compromise Horace Greeley delivers a stern political forecast, arguing that failure to defeat the Confederacy will result in an aggressive, corrupt slave empire that consumes the continent.

Satire, verse, and commerce The volume closes with a light satire on New York fashion, patriotic and elegiac poetry, and commercial advertisements for cure-all medicines and Western railway lands.

The People

• The Union Political Essayist: A legalistic and strategic thinker who advocates for Lincoln’s gradual emancipation plan. He wants to preserve the Union, eradicate slavery without bankrupting the treasury, and see free labor transform the American South.
• The Disillusioned Northern Traveler: A perceptive observer who travels through both England and the antebellum South. He seeks to understand foreign cultures and Southern attitudes, but grows deeply critical of English university indulgence and South Carolinian aristocratic arrogance.
• George: A headstrong, emotional young romantic in a piece of popular fiction. He seeks the affection of his cousin Dora, but is driven to bitter anger and sudden departure when he realizes his dangerous rescue effort was spent saving her pet dog rather than earning her love.
• Horace Greeley: The prominent Union editor and political commentator who fiercely opposes any peace negotiations with the Confederacy. He seeks total military victory, fearing that any concession will destroy free republic institutions and empower a predatory slave aristocracy.

In Its Own Voice

"God works out the destiny of nations by no sudden or spasmodic action. His great and beneficent changes are generally slow and gradual..."

An essayist reflects on the theological and historical necessity of gradual policy when guiding a nation through systemic crisis.

"I mean I shall never see you again, aunty. God bless you, I'm going away."

A heart-broken young man bids a hasty farewell to his aunt after a humiliating misunderstanding with the woman he loves.

"We must and shall conquer, and save the civilized world from a scourge more baleful than any Alaric or Attila."

Horace Greeley urges Northern readers to maintain their resolve in the war against the Confederacy.

What It's Really About

Beneath its varied collection of essays, stories, and poems, this volume is fundamentally about a society attempting to define its moral identity during a war for its existence. It wrestles with the true price of freedom, the duties of democratic citizenship, and the structural sins of slavery. The political entries argue over whether national salvation requires patient moderation or radical, sweeping change. Meanwhile, the literary pieces reflect a culture seeking distraction and moral grounding amidst chaos, exploring human vanity, heartbreak, and spiritual endurance. Ultimately, the collection asks how a nation can rebuild its laws, its culture, and its soul while actively torn apart by civil war.

Why Read It Today

This volume offers modern readers an unfiltered, real-time window into the American mind during December 1862—a crucial turning point when the Civil War shifted from a struggle over national unity to a crusade against slavery. Rather than reading history through the polished lens of retrospective analysis, you experience the anxieties, biases, and hopes of nineteenth-century writers as events unfolded around them. It feels remarkably immediate and varied, jumping rapidly from high-stakes constitutional debates to light observational humor and melodramatic romantic fiction.

The issue does present distinct challenges for a contemporary reader. The prose can be dense and formal, filled with lengthy legal arguments, archaic references, and period-specific political jargon. Several entries reflect the deeply ingrained racial prejudices and paternalistic attitudes of the nineteenth century, which can be jarring to modern sensibilities. Furthermore, the abrupt shifts between severe wartime commentary and trivial period advertisements require a flexible reader. Yet for anyone fascinated by American history, vintage literature, or political philosophy, it remains an absorbing and authentic slice of mid-nineteenth-century print culture.