Alexander Hamilton Stephens is a relatively well-known figure in history, primarily because of his position as vice-president of the Confederacy. However, his antebellum and postbellum careers probably deserve as much if not more attention than his service during the Civil War. Stephens served a long tenure as a United States Congressman in the late antebellum period, which was especially noteworthy, and a shorter term in Congress following the war, which merits some attention. He was also important as an orator, legal theorist, practicing attorney, and historian. Although his main achievement as a historian was his two-volume treatise on constitutional theory and history, A Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States, he also produced a high school textbook on American history and a general survey of American history. The importance of Stephens as a political figure has obscured his literary career.

Throughout his life, Stephens was profoundly...