The Great Conspiracy

First published in 1886, The Great Conspiracy: Its Origin and History was written by John Alexander Logan, an influential American military and political figure and a well-known Union Army Civil War general. In the book, Logan provides a partisan narrative of the Civil War, as well as a historical account of slavery and everything that led up to the war. Logan was a staunch Republican and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1867 to 1871, of the U.S. Senate from 1871 to 1877, and again from 1879 until his death in 1886.

Logan’s political background and government experience served him well in writing his memoir centered on the Civil War. According to Logan’s account, the secession crisis and the Civil War were both products of a Southern plot or long-contemplated “conspiracy” that began long before Lincoln was elected into office. The text continues up to and includes the Reconstruction era — that period of rebuilding and revitalization in the Southern United States following the American Civil War. While Logan’s politics may not be acceptable to some, The Great Conspiracy: Its Origin and History is considered a cultural and historical gem, presenting one of the many perspectives that have helped shape the United States of today.