U.S. Civil War Era, 1848-1877
Primary Number: HIST 30604
ConStudies Number: CNST 30003
ConStudies CRN: 28293
Primary CRN: 28292
Instructor: Przybyszewski, Linda
Day/Time: TTh 9:30am-10:45am
Attributes: HIST - old Core History (HIST) WKHI - new Core History (WKHI)
Location: O'Shaughnessy Hall 107
This course begins in 1848 and examines the coming of the Civil War, the experience of the war itself, and the period of Reconstruction up to 1877. The emphasis will be on the political, social, cultural, and legal events and decisions that were made by governmental and civilian participants, by men and women, by whites and blacks. Why were so many willing to go to war? What did they believe each side was fighting for? The sectional conflict touched every aspect of American life. In order to understand it fully, we will read not only political speeches, military reports, and judicial decisions, but also poetry, fiction, and private letters. We will examine the beliefs and values of veterans and nurses, of abolitionists and slave owners, of politicians and voters. We will also consider the way historians evaluate the war and the way in which the public remembers it.