Into Conflict and Civil War. Part 2 of my Lockdown America course

Synopsis

1. Preface

2. 1860 Presidential Election

3. The Nature of Civil War

4. Overview: From Ft Sumter to Appomattox

5. The first modern war

6. The Armies

7. Emancipation of Slaves

8. Assassination of Lincoln

9. Northern victory challenged by Southern mythology

An incredibly short reading list

'Incredibly short' because there are thousands of books, articles, films, internet sites, and podcasts on the war.

General history: Battle Cry for Freedom by James McPherson

A very military overview is provided by John Keegan in The American Civil War

An example of detailed study of a single event is Stephen Sears' Gettysburg

A Personal Memoir by General Ulysses Grant

Two mini guides

The American Civil War (Pocket Essential Histories) by Phil Davies

The US Civil War by Louis Masur in the Oxford Short Introductory Series

A book I have used to help me to make a short one hour presentation is The World by Simon Sebag Montefiore. I think his 'short essay' within this book is a model of its kind.

Please also see my last booklist