The essays in Approaching Civil War and Southern History span William J. Cooper, Jr.’s scholarly career. Initially published between 1970 and 2012, the essays range widely across a broad spectrum of Civil War and southern history, offering an array of interpretations from one of the field’s foremost historians. Although Cooper is known for his many books on southern political history in the nineteenth century, these essays illustrate some of his lesser known interests. They appear in chronological order and each essay includes a new introduction in which Cooper explains its genesis and purpose.