This series of five conversations explores different facets of the Civil War experience, informed by reading the words written or spoken by powerful voices from the past and present. America’s War: Talking about the Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversaries Edited by Edward L. Ayers America’s War is an anthology of Civil War writing originally published between 1852 and 2008. The selections in America’s War include works of historical fiction and interpretation, speeches, diaries, memoirs, biographies, and short stories. Together, these readings provide a glimpse of the vast sweep and profound breadth of Americans’ war among and against […]
America’s War: Talking about the Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversaries
America’s War is an anthology of Civil War writing originally published between 1852 and 2008. The selections in America’s War include works of historical fiction and interpretation, speeches, diaries, memoirs, biographies, and short stories. Together, these readings provide a glimpse of the vast sweep and profound breadth of Americans’ war among and against themselves, adding crucial voices to our understanding of the war and its meaning.
Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam
Noted Civil War historian McPherson tells the story of the bloodiest day in American history: the events leading up to it, the battle itself, and its aftermath. This critical victory for the Union shored up Lincoln’s political strength and freed him to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
March
In Brooks’ Pultzer-prize winning novel, the author richly imagines the wartime experiences of March, the absent father in Little Women. A chaplain in the Union Army, his experiences during the Civil War and Reconstruction will test March’s most deeply held beliefs and change his marriage. Brooks drew on the journals and letters of Louisa May Alcott’s father Bronson, a friend and contemporary of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
“Making Sense of the American Civil War”
This essay by project historian Edward L. Ayers overviews the themes and topics of the five-session series. The essay, available as a free downloadable PDF, is recommended for prospective host sites, scholar-facilitators, or participants in the series.
