Is The Irrepressible Conflict School Making a Comeback?

A couple of recent titles leave me wondering whether some version of the interpretation that the Civil War was unavoidable owing to the loss of moderate influence is making a resurgence.  If so, to what extent has it been fueled by our current political culture?  It’s hard not to see this at work in David [...]

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“Obama Has Been Bloodied By It”

Update: It looks like the SHPG decided to take down the post, which should not come as a surprise to those of you familiar with this group. I hesitate sharing this with you, but it is another wonderful example why the Confederate flag is slowly receding from public view.  It should come as no surprise [...]

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The American Paradox of Slavery and Freedom

Today in class we finish up reading a selection from historian Edmund Morgan on the evolution of slavery in Virginia.  Friday’s discussion on why early in the seventeenth century many blacks enjoyed the same freedoms as other Virginians went well as did our discussion of the challenges of managing a growing and increasingly discontented population [...]

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Alternative School on Camp Douglas Grounds Causes Controversy

[Hat-tip to Bjorn Skaptason] Here is an interesting story to start off the week.  Apparently, a group in Chicago wants to build an alternative school that includes a Civil War museum on the grounds of Camp Douglas.  If approved, the school would be housed in a former funeral home that was once owned by Ernest [...]

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The Skyping Classroom

Last Wednesday I spent a good 45 minutes Skyping with Modupe Labode’s public history class at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The class is focused specifically on the Civil War and public history and includes both undergraduate and graduate students. Students were required to read the first chapter of my Crater book, but we managed to [...]

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New to the Civil War Memory Library, 10/23

I am calling for a year-long moratorium on Civil War publishing from my favorite historians.  There is just too much to read. Give us a chance to catch up. William J. Cooper, We Have the War Upon Us: The Onset of the Civil War, November 1860-April 1861 (Knopf, 2012). Guy R. Hasegawa, Mending Broken Soldiers: [...]

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Free Katie Now!

This kid is awesome!

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Interrogating the Past

I’ve grown tired of the bitter debate over what our students know or don’t know about American history.  Yes, we want them to know when the Civil War took place, be able to identify key historical terms, people and places.  All too often these discussions function under the assumption that our parents and grandparents somehow [...]

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