Slavery or freedom? The question of whether to make the United States a slave country or to make all people free was the question that pitted the states against each other in a brutal battle. In The Civil War: The Struggle that Divided America, readers ages 12-15 explore this conflict through the eyes and ears of the men and women who were affected by the clash that left more than 700,000 soldiers dead.

Judy Dodge Cummings is a writer and former history teacher from Reedsburg, Wisconsin. She has a MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Teens from Hamline University. She has written several books for the educational market. Some of her titles include The Underground Railroad: Navigate the Journey from Slavery to Freedom (Nomad Press, March 14, 2017); Civil War Leaders (Essential Library, August 15, 2016); The Emancipation Proclamation (Essential Library, August 15, 2016); and The American Revolution: Experience the Battle for Independence (Nomad Press, March 2015). Sam Carbaugh has illustrated several books for Nomad Press, including Forensics: Uncover the Science and Technology of Crime Scene Investigation and Shakespeare: Investigate the Bard's Influence on Today's World, and he wrote and illustrated Comics: Investigate the History and Technology of American Cartooning. Sam lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.