David Blight’s Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory has dominated the historiography of Civil War memory studies since its publication in 2001. Beyond academic circles, Blight’s emphasis on the triumph of reconciliation over an “emancipationst narrative” can be found in documentaries, news articles, and even historical tours. Rarely do historical interpretations enjoy [...]
Civil War Historians
I thought we had run through all the talks and panels from the 2012 Civil War Institute, but it looks like I overlooked Peter Carmichael’s excellent talk on military executions in Stonewall Jackson’s command. This talk is based on an essay that Pete published some time ago in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography [...]
Like many of you who teach history, I am always looking for new ways to convey the subject to my students. The move toward e-textbooks offers an exciting opportunity to expand the traditional textbook in a way that takes advantage of new digital technologies, including the community-building potential of social media. The possibilities are limitless, [...]
I’ve already received a few emails asking for recommendations on books about Abraham Lincoln. Since I anticipate more of these requests after tomorrow, I thought it might be a good idea to put together a short list of Lincoln books. My recommendations are for those of you who walk out of the theater in the [...]
This weekend C-SPAN aired what I think is the final session from the 2012 Civil War Institute that took place this past June. I skipped this session for a chance to run around the battlefield with Keith Harris. What I missed was an entertaining and informative panel on Mark Grimsley’s landmark study, The Hard Hand [...]
The following clip was pulled from a recent NEH panel on the legacy of emancipation. It included Ed Ayers, Gary Gallagher, Christy Coleman, Eric Foner, and Thavolia Glymph. I highly recommend viewing the entire session if you have the time, but for now check out this short clip from the Q&A. In it an African-American [...]
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 [...]
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: [...]
