Battle Cry: Challenges Facing Lincoln in the Fall of 1862
The Republicans retain their majority in the mid-term elections of 1862 despite Democratic gains. Lincoln continues to have difficulties with inept generals. After Antietam, Lincoln fires McClellan who seems more interested in political than milita...
Federalism
Historian and author Bernard Bailyn talks about the tension inherent in the relationship between the United States federal government and the states. "American federalism is the emergence out of the origins of the country," Professor Bailyn explains...
Race and the Accumulation of Wealth
Professor of Sociology and Public Policy Dalton Conley notes that the typical Black family in America today has about one-eighth the net worth of the typical White family. He observes that, despite the Civil Rights gains of the 1960's, the gap betwe...
House Divided: Realities Confronting North and South in the Second Year of Conflict
In the spring and summer of 1862, the Peninsular Campaign led by Union Army General George McClellan is driven back by the Confederates commanded by Robert E. Lee, then defeated once again at Bull Run (Manassas). Ulysses S. Grant's forces defeat the...
Struggle in the Border States
Historian and author Ira Berlin talks about the challenge of convincing the border states to emancipate. Professor Berlin explains that the enlistment of African-American men helped speed the process and began to erode slavery in Maryland, Kentucky,...
Final Stages: Bloody Battles Take Their Toll in Virginia, Summer and Fall, 1864
In Virginia, the Grant/Meade campaign against Lee during the summer and fall of 1864 is not making much headway. These are some of the bloodiest battles of the war, grinding day after day engagements with heavy casualties. When Jeb Stuart, Lee's tru...
Final Stages: Battles in the Deep South in 1864 and Their Impact on the Slave Population
William Sherman, commander of Union troops in the West, begins his infamous march to the sea in November and December of 1864 after defeating Confederate forces in Atlanta. With the presence of the Union army so deep within the South, slaves become ...
Final Stages: Contrast between North and South as 1864 Campaign Season Begins
The Confederate war experience is very different from the experience of the North simply because most of the battles are fought on Southern ground. Looking toward the campaigning season of 1864, the Confederates are desperate but determined. The moo...
Relationship Between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, The
Historian Peter Onuf explores the complicated personal relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Professor Onuf explains that the two worked very closely for years, but then went through a period of strained relations after Jefferson cha...
Final Stages: Final Days of the Civil War
Both commanders attempt to break the trench deadlock at Petersburg, Lee with Early's raid on Washington and Grant by digging a tunnel under Confederate fortifications and planting explosives. The Battle of the Crater which begins early in the mornin...