The Civil War Sesquicentennial

The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 at 4:30am when Confederate troops opened fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Those shots marked the beginning of a nearly four-year struggle that ultimately determined whether our nation would honor the principles upon which it was founded or be ripped asunder by the conflicts that had existed between principle and practice since the founding. We present here a collection of resources on the Civil War. Included are many of the era’s most notable speeches and letters, commentary and lectures by leading historians and political scientists, original lesson plans developed by history professors and master classroom teachers, and links to additional web resources.

Commentary

• A Brief Military History of the Civil War
  by Mackubin T. Owens
• Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief
  by Mackubin T. Owens
• Vigilance and Responsibility: Civil Liberties During the Civil War
  by Mackubin T. Owens

Audio Lectures

• The Causes of the Civil War
  by James McPherson
• Lincoln on Slavery, Race, and Civil Liberties
  by Michael Burlingame
• The Emancipation Moment: Abraham Lincoln and the First of January, 1863
  by Allen Guelzo
• Re-Thinking Uncle Tom: The Political Philosophy of Harriet Beecher Stowe
  by William B. Allen
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Antietam: The Crossroads of Freedom
  by James McPherson
• Civil War Sessions from the 2006 Presidential Academy
  by Lucas Morel, Allen Guelzo, and James McPherson

Speeches and Letters

• Civil War

Lesson Plans on the Civil War

• A Word Fitly Spoken
  by Lucas Morel and Constance Murray
• Terrible Swift Sword
  by John Moser and Lori Hahn

External Links on the Civil War

• Abraham Lincoln: Leadership and Democratic Statesmanship in Wartime by Mackubin T. Owens (for the Foreign Policy Research Institute)
• Civil War Animated