The American Civil War of 1861-65 is Greek tragedy writ large. Beginning in 1619, when the first colonists land in Virginia, Prelude to War painstakingly shows how slavery was built into the fabric of American society. Author Robert Drane traces the events that make the Civil War inevitable, beginning with the U.S. Constitution's declaration, ratified in 1788, that Africans are three-fifths of a free individual, officially sanctioning slavery. The 1819 Tallmadge Amendment signals the North's intent to block the expansion of slavery - a threat to southern wealth based on new plantations, sales of cotton, and the "auction value" of "bred slaves." With "Manifest Destiny," the Mexican-American War in 1856, and the expansion west, the South and North grow further apart with the South's contention that slavery should expand into the new territory. In 1860, with the election of Abraham Lincoln, the south will secede, paving the way for the beginning Civil War at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.

With primary source material, first-hand accounts, archival maps and photographs, Robert Drane creates a rich tapestry embracing the sounds of Negro Spirituals, the cries of those enslaved, the efforts of Black clergy and activists to secure freedom and respect; the small band of white abolitionists whose missions were born of the Second Religious Awakening; and the voices of Northern politicians who passed the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery.