Civil War

Does Lincoln Hold the Key to the Debt Ceiling Crisis?

by Roger Lowenstein

Issuing "greenback" paper currency backed by the government's credit instead of gold was seen as a radical move in 1862, but Lincoln and Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase recognized the paramount importance of safeguarding the nation's credit and did it anyway. 

The United States Colored Troops Killed at Olustee, Florida are Still Owed a Proper Burial

by Barbara A. Gannon

Why are the remains of members of the United States Colored Troop still interred in unmarked graves at the Civil War battlefield of Olustee, Florida, when the defenders of a treasonous rebellion on behalf of slavery are buried with honors? 

Preserving the Public History of the Fort Pillow Massacre

by Erin L. Thompson

On April 12, 1864 Confederates under the command of Nathan Bedford Forrest slaughtered members of the US Colored Troops after they had surrendered. Until recently, the state of Tennessee has neglected the site, making it difficult for the public to explore that history.

Excerpt: The March to Battle at Fort Sumter

by Bruce Chadwick

The words of Jefferson Davis, his inner circle, and his critics trace the path to war in an exerpt from a new book telling the story of the conflict through the firsthand observations of the participants.

Kara Walker Disrupts the Visual History of the Civil War in New Exhibition

by Allison Robinson and Ksenia M. Soboleva

The artist Kara Walker's 2005 series of prints merged the historical illustrations that shaped Americans' understanding of the Civil War in its immediate aftermath and in the 1890s with her original subversive take on the tradition of silhouette art to highlight the erasure of Black experiences of war. Two curators are putting Walker's work in context in a new exhibition.

Kidada Williams on The Reconstruction that Wasn't

In the new "I Saw Death Coming," Williams describes a "shadow Confederacy" that refused to cede freedom or dignity to African Americans who often lived far from the reach of a federal government that was unreliably committed to their protection. 

The 14th Amendment Should Put a Stop to Debt Ceiling Hostage Taking

by Eric Foner

The provisions of the Reconstruction Amendments dealing with the national debt were tied to the nation's short-lived commitment to interracial democracy in the South; today they offer the Biden administration a possible tool to use if Congress pushes to the brink of default. 

Masculinity and Trauma in War and Football

by Sarah Handley-Cousins

Sports have been cast as a (relatively) peaceful way of inculcating a set of masculine virtues otherwise associated with war. But the experience of injury and grief will continue to confound the rules of manhood—and football fans and citizens should pay attention. 

Teach the History Behind "Emancipation" with the Primary Sources

by Alan J. Singer

Antoine Fuqua and Will Smith's "Emancipation" has rediscovered the life of an enslaved man variously called Peter or Gordon, who had been made famous through an 1863 photograph. Here's how history teachers can use the primary records of his life to accompany the film. 

The Black Widows' Struggle for Civil War Pensions

by Hilary Green

Black women's struggles to claim pensions earned by their late husbands' service in the Union Army reflected the incomplete realization of freedom after emancipation and the intrusive controls the pension system and growing administrative state placed on Black families. 

Was the Civil War Inevitable?

by David W. Blight

As a growing number of Americans entertain the idea that dissolving the nation might be better than holding its incompatible parts together, it's worth revisiting the series of decisions that led to the Civil War, and to ask whether the nation has, or will, experience the equivalent of the Dred Scott decision. 

Was Emancipation Intended to Perpetuate Slavery by Other Means?

by Sean Wilentz

Protests movements have latched on to a misguided interpretation of the Thirteenth Amendment that argues it allowed and even encouraged the system of mass incarceration as an extension of slavery. A new global history extends that critique to the age of emancipation in general.

Push Confederates Out of Gettysburg for Good

by Kevin M. Levin

Why are the forces that fought to preserve slavery, and who invaded the free state of Pennsylvania and kidnapped free Black Americans into slavery in 1863, allowed to march in Gettysburg's Remembrance Day parade? 

Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate Steeped in Disinformation About Parties' Roles

by Heather Cox Richardson

Focusing on the tension between hierarchy and equality rather than party affiliation helps to clarify why a candidate of the "Party of Lincoln" can make white power rants on public media. 

What Freedom Meant to Black People in Nashville During the Civil War

Incoming AHA President Thavolia Glymph discussed how the actions of Black refugees who moved behind Union lines at Fort Negley and other locations changed the meaning of the war and ensured that it would ultimately abolish slavery. 

If American History Needs Heroes, Why Aren't We Teaching about the Abolitionists?

by Stephanie Coontz

Those who feel discomfort over studying the history of abolitionism do so because of their refusal to build on the work of an interracial group of American visionaries. 

Healing a Divided Nation

by Carole Adrienne

From specialized trauma care to emergency transportation to board certification of physicians, when we encounter the medical system today, we are experiencing Civil War medicine. 

What the Antebellum Period Tells Us about the Coming Battles Over Abortion

by Kate Masur

"The history of the 19th century reminds us that arguments for states’ rights, or for federal power, have no intrinsic political or moral valence."

"Oh, We Knowed What Was Goin’ On": The Myths (and Lies) of Juneteenth

by Clyde W. Ford

After the myths of Juneteenth are stripped away, the day symbolizes the incompleteness of the promise of emancipation. 

A Century After its Dedication, the Lincoln Memorial's Meaning is Still Contested

by Patrick Malone

From its dedication to the present, the meaning and legacy of Lincoln and his memorial have been the focus of struggle between those who see Lincoln as the savior of the Union and those who claim him as the great emancipator.