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Taught by Maurice Isserman in person on Wednesdays May 13th, 20th, 27th and June 3rd 2026 1-3pm
The American Civil War, 1861-1865, is the central event in the history of the United States of America, not least because its outcome guaranteed that there would be a United States of America in the 160 years that have followed. More Americans died in the Civil War than in all other wars fought by the nation combined. We will consider the war not just as a series of bloody battles, important as they were, but as a moment of political, social, and cultural transformation. The war led to the end of slavery and the establishment of birth-right citizenship, and remade the relationship between the states and the federal government. The Union was preserved through the sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens, as well as the inspired leadership of some of the greatest individuals in US history, including Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Ulysses S. Grant. Class sessions will combine short power-point presentations by the instructor with discussion of weekly assigned readings from James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era.
Taught by Maurice Isserman in person on Wednesdays May 13th, 20th, 27th and June 3rd 2026 1-3pm
The American Civil War, 1861-1865, is the central event in the history of the United States of America, not least because its outcome guaranteed that there would be a United States of America in the 160 years that have followed. More Americans died in the Civil War than in all other wars fought by the nation combined. We will consider the war not just as a series of bloody battles, important as they were, but as a moment of political, social, and cultural transformation. The war led to the end of slavery and the establishment of birth-right citizenship, and remade the relationship between the states and the federal government. The Union was preserved through the sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens, as well as the inspired leadership of some of the greatest individuals in US history, including Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Ulysses S. Grant. Class sessions will combine short power-point presentations by the instructor with discussion of weekly assigned readings from James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era.