Richard Taylor's book, his remembrances of the so-called "Civil War" is considered the finest of all those written by former Confederate generals and soldiers ("Company H"). I'll take it one step further and say it is one of the finest documentaries of that era in our history...period. I have read the book cover to cover 4 times and often refer to it as one would any reference book of history. Published in 1879, the same year as his untimely death, he was but 53, Taylor's book is a commentary of the pivotal period in our nation's history, given some 15 years of post-war hindsight to dig into what really happened and why. It is also important to note that Richard Taylor was HIGHLY respected by all, North and South, and his frequent meetings and their seeking his opinion and guidance on all matters of policy by the likes of presidents Johnson and Grant, and congressional leaders such as the anti-South fire-breathing Thaddeus Stevens, and the sneaky, conniving Salmon Chase speaks volumes of the capacity of Taylor.
So, it is with that brief back drop I offer some of Taylor's viewpoints on "American politics."
Since immigration is such a hot topic in 2019, it's interesting to read what some thought of the issue in the mid-19th century. Such as this directly from his writings:
The vast immigration that poured into the country between the years of 1840 and 1860 had a very important influence on the events of the latter year. The numbers were too great to be absorbed and assimilated by the native population. States in the West were controlled by Germans and Scandinavian voters, and the Irish took possession of seaboard towns. ...the balance of party strength was not much affected by these naturalized voters, the modes of political thought were seriously disturbed, and a tendency was manifested to transfer exciting topics from the domain of argument to that of violence.
In other words, new immigrant populations brought with them cultural peculiarities that fueled passions in certain issues, long dealt with by the American culture. Kind of a "OMG! not this again!?" According to Taylor, this "movement" proved to be disruptive during the 1860 political campaigns, especially for the White House, caused deep riffs in the Democrat Party, i.e. split the Dem Party over trivial matters, and led to the election of Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln. Historical records bear this out.