Library Catalog
On the Shelf at CCBC Libraries
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The Civil War
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One hundred and fifty years after the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter, the Civil War still captivates the American imagination, and its reverberations continue to be felt throughout the nation's social and political landscape.Louis P. Masur's The Civil War: A Concise History is a masterful and eminently readable overview of the war's multiple causes and catastrophic effects. Masur begins by examining the complex origins of the war, focusing on the pulsating tensions over states rights and slavery. He then proceeds tocover, year by year, the major political, social, and military events, highlighting two important themes: how the war shifted from a conflict over restoring the Union to an all-out war that would transform Southern society, and the process by which the war ultimately became a battle to abolishslavery. Masur explains how the war turned what had been a loose collection of fiercely independent states into a nation with new political, cultural, and social institutions. But he also focuses on the soldiers themselves, both Union and Confederate, whose stories constitute nothing less than theAmerican Iliad. In the final chapter Masur considers the aftermath of the South's surrender at Appomattox and the clash over the policies of reconstruction that would divide President and Congress, conservatives and radicals, Southerners and Northerners, for years to come.In 1873, Mark Twain and Charles Dudley wrote that the war had "wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations." From the vantage of the war's sesquicentennial, this concise history of the Civil War era offers aninvaluable introduction to the dramatic events whose effects resonate even today.
Call Number: E468 .M155 2011 -
The Civil War
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The story of America's bloodiest conflict is still as meaningful today as it was in 1865. This comprehensive, visually arresting guide covers the history, causes, and consequences of the Civil War. It provides eyewitness accounts by soldiers and civilians, key profiles of military leaders, and clear timelines that give an overview of how the events developed. This lavish volume is illustrated throughout with photography and paintings and includes detailed galleries showcasing weapons, equipment, and other artifacts. This expanded edition also comes with informative and photographic features on memorial sites associated with the Civil War. Produced in association with the Smithsonian Institute, The Civil War: A Visual History is an invaluable resource for schools and libraries, as well as a perfect companion for anyone interested in military and social history. Packed with information on key locations, the treatment of wounded soldiers, and slavery, this is a rich, detailed account of one of the most controversial conflicts of our time.
Call Number: E468.7 .C574 2011 -
The Library of Congress Illustrated Timeline of the Civil War
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With striking visuals from the Library of Congress' unparalleled archive, The Library of Congress Illustrated Timeline of the Civil War is an authoritative and engaging narrative of the domestic conflict that determined the course of American history. A detailed chronological timeline of the war captures the harrowing intensity of 19th-century warfare in firsthand accounts from soldiers, nurses, and front-line journalists. Readers will be enthralled by speech drafts in Lincoln's own hand, quotes from the likes of Frederick Douglass and Robert E. Lee, and portraits of key soldiers and politicians who are not covered in standard textbooks. The Illustrated Timeline's exciting new source material and lucid organization will give Civil War enthusiasts a fresh look at this defining period in our nation's history.
Call Number: E468.3 .W34 2011 -
Voices of Civil War America
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Letting ordinary people speak for themselves, this book uses primary documents to highlight daily life among Americans_Union and Confederate, black and white, soldier and civilian_during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Focusing on routines as basic as going to school and cooking and cleaning, Voices of Civil War America: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life explores the lives of ordinary Americans during one of the nation's most tumultuous eras. The book emphasizes the ordinary rather than the momentous to help students achieve a true understanding of mid-19th-century American culture and society. Recognizing that there is no better way to learn history than to allow those who lived it to speak for themselves, the authors utilize primary documents to depict various aspects of daily life, including politics, the military, economics, domestic life, material culture, religion, intellectual life, and leisure. Each of the documents is augmented by an introduction and aftermath, as well as lists of topics to consider and questions to ask. Original materials from a wide range of sources, including letters, diaries, newspaper editorials, journal articles, and book chapters Detailed background for each of the 48 featured documents, placing the experiences and opinions of the authors into historical context
Call Number: E464 .V65 2011
Census Information
Streaming Videos
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The Civil WarThis program offers a portrait of the United States in 1860 and describes the events of the Civil War: secession and the election of Jefferson Davis; the attack on Ft. Sumter; the initial enthusiasm for a heroic, romantic war; the first two years of war, with most of the fighting taking place between Washington and Richmond; the modern aspects of the war—the use of trains, the telegraph, the camera, automatic arms, iron-clad ships and mines; the Emancipation Proclamation; and a detailed analysis of the Battle of Gettysburg—the turning point of the war which would rage on for two more years. (42 minutes)
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Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877This archival educational film shot in 1965 examines the Civil War and Reconstruction as they affected the nation’s African-American population. (19 minutes)
Primary Resources Online
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Primary Documents in American History: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1860-1870
from the Library of Congress
Online From CCBC Libraries
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The Civil War
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Some of America's foremost historians - including Bruce Catton, David McCullough, James McPherson and Stephen Sears - tell extraordinary stories of courage, disaster, and triumph in this collection of the best articles from sixty years of American Heritage. The Civil War posed a critical test of the young nation's character, endurance, and will to survive. Coming only two generations after the nation's founding, the secession of Southern states challenged the very existence of the United States. "America's most monumental drama and morality tale" comes alive in this brilliant collection from America's leading history magazine, as selected by its current editor-in-chief, Edwin S. Grosvenor.
Publication Date: 2015 -
A Documentary History of the American Civil War Era
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A Documentary History of the American Civil War Era is the first comprehensive collection of public policy actions, political speeches, and judicial decisions related to the American Civil War. Collectively, the four volumes in this series give scholars, teachers, and students easy access to the full texts of the most important, fundamental documents as well as hard-to-find, rarely published primary sources on this critical period in U.S. history. The first two volumes of the series, Legislative Achievements and Political Arguments, were released last year. The final installments, Judicial Decisions, is split into two volumes, with this one, volume 3, spanning from 1857 to 1866. It contains some of the classic judicial decisions of the time such as the 1857 decision in Dred Scott and the 1861 Ex parte Merryman decision. Other decisions are well known to specialists but deserve wider readership and discussion, such as the October 1859 Jefferson County, Virginia, indictment of John Brown and the decision in the 1864 case of political and seditious activity in Ex parte Vallandigham. These judicial voices constitute a lasting and often overlooked aspect of the age of Abraham Lincoln. Mackey's headnotes and introductory essays situate cases within their historical context and trace their lasting significance. In contrast to the war, these judicial decisions lasted well past their immediate political and legal moment and deserve continued scholarship and scrutiny. This document collection presents the raw "stuff" of the Civil War era so that students, scholars, and interested readers can measure and gauge how that generation met Lincoln's challenge to "think anew, and act anew." A Documentary History of the American Civil War Era is an essential acquisition for academic and public libraries in addition to being a valuable resource for courses on the Civil War and Reconstruction, legal history, political history, and nineteenth-century American history. Thomas C. Mackey is a professor of history at the University of Louisville and adjunct Professor of Law at Brandeis School of Law. He is the author of Pornography on Trial and Pursuing Johns.
Publication Date: 2014 -
American Heritage History of the Civil War
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Here is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Bruce Catton's unsurpassed account of the Civil War, one of the most moving chapters in American history. Introduced by Pulitzer Prize-winner James M. McPherson, the book vividly traces the epic struggle between the Blue and Gray, from the early division between the North and South to the final surrender of Confederate troops.
Publication Date: 2014
Databases
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U.S. History This link opens in a new window
Articles, essays, and primary sources on the history of the United States. -
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Articles on any subject. This is a good place to start.
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ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Baltimore Sun This link opens in a new window
Primary source articles covering the politics, society and events of the time period 1837 - 1992.
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JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Journals, books, images, and primary sources about many subjects.
Podcasts
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Portraits of Blue & Grey
The Biographical Civil War Podcast
