Kevin J. Abing was born and raised on a farm in southwest Wisconsin, though he and his wife Laura have resided in Milwaukee for 30 years. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in American history from Marquette University in Milwaukee and has worked as an archivist at the Milwaukee County Historical Society for nearly ten years. Inspiration for this book stemmed from his work at the Historical Society where he reviewed the papers of Daniel Hoan and the contentious relationship between pro- and anti-war factions.