You should definitely take a look at Drew G. Faust’s NEH 2011 Jefferson Lecture, titled, “Telling War Stories: Reflections of a Civil War Historian.” [pdf] It is incredibly thoughtful. [Click here for David Blight's introductory remarks.] I think Faust effectively explains the difficulty of trying to capture the horrors of war as well as the [...]
Civil War Sesquicentennial
I get a real kick out of the good folks over at the Southern Heritage Preservation site. They spend a great deal of time calling for the preservation of African-American history by pushing the black Confederate narrative, but when a black man disagrees with their preferred view of the war all bets are off. Consider [...]
Thanks to CBS’s “Sunday Morning” show for producing one of the most balanced accounts of the Civil War Sesquicentennial that I’ve seen in some time. Not only was it thoughtful, but it managed to include a number of important perspectives without taking on the loaded question of why and how we are still fighting the [...]
If you are looking for a reflection of how our collective understanding of the Civil War has changed over the past few years take a look at this small sample of state SOLs. I suspect that we will continue to see a shift away from a curriculum that is inspired and sometimes distorted by [...]
This is an interesting little report on the commemorative events surrounding the sesquicentennial of Fort Sumter. A number of people are interviewed, but what I find so interesting is the difference in tone between NPS interpreter, Michael Allen and the Kennedy brothers (aka the Civil War’s Statler and Waldorf), who identify themselves as “Southern Historians.” [...]
Civil War Proclamation No. 3882 By The President of The United States of America: The years 1961-1965 will mark the one hundredth anniversary of the American Civil War. The war was America’s most tragic experience. But like all truly great tragedies, it carries with it an enduring lesson and a profound inspiration. It was a [...]
The History News Network has just posted an editorial by Steven Conn on the Civil War Sesquicentennial. Conn offers an overly simplistic reading of the evolution of Civil War historiography through the Civil Rights Movement before closing his essay with the following: Sadly, 150 years after Edmund Ruffin fired on Fort Sumter, large numbers of [...]
Thanks to a reader for passing along the Prince William County/Manassas, Virginia Tourism Guide for 2010-11. I have no idea what went into the decision to feature a young black male in what appears to be a Confederate uniform. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing historically inaccurate about such a representation, though he is [...]
By now many of you have had the opportunity to digest Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell’s proclamation designating April as Civil War History in Virginia Month. I wanted to take a few minutes to share a few thoughts. First, perhaps I am guilty of criticizing the governor prematurely, but my remarks reflected an eagerness to see [...]