• Books
  • Films & Media
  • The Public Historian
  • Blog
  • Texas
  • About
  • Students
  • Our/Stories
  • 15 Minute History

"The past is never dead. It's not even past." William Faulkner

Not Even Past

US Survey Course: Civil War (1861-1865)

During the summer of 2016, we will be bringing together our previously published articles, book reviews, and podcasts on key themes and periods in the history of the USA. Each grouping is designed to correspond to the core areas of the US History Survey Courses taken by undergraduate students at the University of Texas at Austin.

bugburnt

Starting Points:

savannah-dock-workers

We start with Marc William-Palen’s discussion of the Causes of the Civil War.

Next, we delve into a more detailed case study as Jacqueline Jones explores the Civil War in Savannah.

Charley Binkow explore’s George Mason University’s Virginia Civil War Archive, highlighting the portrayal of the Civil War in Harper’s Weekly, one of the authoritative voices in news, both in the North and the South.

And on 15 Minute History we have: Causes of the U.S. Civil War part 1 and part 2: 

672px-Map_of_Free_and_Slave_StatesIn the century and a half since the war’s end, historians, politicians, and laypeople have debated the causes of the U.S. Civil War: what truly led the Union to break up and turn on itself? And, even though it seems like the obvious answer, does a struggle over the future of slavery really explain why the south seceded, and why a protracted military struggle followed? Can any one explanation do so satisfactorily?

Historian George B Forgie has been researching this question for years. In this two-part podcast, he’ll walk us through five common–and yet unsatisfying–explanations for the most traumatic event in American history.

bugburnt

Recommended Books and Films on the Civil War:

Books Feature

Mark Battjes discusses Ulysses S. Grant’s Personal Memoirs (Barnes and Noble, 2003)

And, H. W. Brands recommends more reading on Ulysses S. Grant: memoirs, biographies, histories.

Nicholas Roland offers historical perspectives on Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012).

Kristie Flannery reviews Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War, by Tony Horwitz (Pantheon, 1999)

Finally, George Forgie recommends seven Civil War Classics.

bugburnt

Texas & The Civil War:

Nicholas Roland explores the experiences of Texans fighting in the battle of Antietam.

Nakia Parker follows the fascinating experiences of the Texans who moved to Brazil after the defeat of the Confederacy.

Hair and Diary Feature

Two graduate students discuss intriguing Civil War sources found in the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin:

  • Conflict in the Confederacy: William Williston Heartsill’s diary, by Josh Urich.
  • The Curious Life of General Jackson’s Horse’s Hair, by Josh Urich
  • A Texas Ranger and the Letter of the Law, by Nathan Jennings

bugburnt

The Legacy of the Civil War:

153642-TXPLAQUE

Nicholas Roland remembers the Unknown Soldiers of the post-Civil War period buried in Austin’s Oakwood Cemetery and the story of Milton Holland, a mixed race native of Texas who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Civil War battle of Chaffin’s Farm.

And finally, our editor Joan Neuberger compiled some recommended readings on On Flags, Monuments, and Historical Myths

bugburnt

Posted June 25, 2016 More 1800s, Blog, Memory, Politics, Race/Ethnicity, Slavery/Emancipation, United States, War

The Public Historian

Native Literatures and Indigenous Peoples' Day: A Brief Historiography

October 14, 2019

More from The Public Historian

Books

This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust (2008)

Featured imageNovember 18, 2019

More Books

Digital History

Rising From the Ashes: The Oklahoma Eagle and its Long Road to Preservation

October 16, 2019

More from Digital History

Films & Media

Ayka (Dir: Sergei Dvortsevoy, 2018)

October 02, 2019

More from Films & Media

Texas

The Enslaved and the Blind: State Officials and Enslaved People in Austin, Texas

Featured imageDecember 04, 2019

More from Texas

Tags

19th century 20th Century African American History american history Asia Asia & Middle East book review Brazil British Empire China Civil War Cold War Colonialism cultural history digital history Early Modern Europe Europe film gender history History of Science immigration India Islam Latin America Latin American History Mexico Not Even Past Public History race religion Russia slavery Texas Texas History Texas History Day Transnational Twentieth Century History U.S. History United States US History USSR Womens History world history World War II
NOT EVEN PAST is produced by
The Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
We are supported by the College of Liberal Arts
And our Readers

Donate
Contact

All content © 2010-present NOT EVEN PAST and the authors, unless otherwise noted

Sign up to receive bi-weekly email updates

To help us prevent spam submissions, please type the text in the image below:

  • Books
  • Films & Media
  • The Public Historian
  • Blog
  • Texas