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Updated in [July 27th, 2023]
This XSeries, Civil War and Reconstruction, provides an introduction to one of the most pivotal eras in American history. Through this course, students will explore the causes of the Civil War, the road to secession, the conduct of the war, the coming of emancipation, and the struggle after the war to breathe meaning into the promise of freedom for four million emancipated slaves. The course, A House Divided: The Road to Civil War, 1850-1861, begins by examining how generations of historians have explained the crisis of the Union. It then delves into the institution of slavery and its central role in the southern and national economies. It traces how the issue of the expansion of slavery came to dominate national politics, and how political leaders struggled, unsuccessfully, to resolve the growing crisis. Key events such as Bleeding Kansas, the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry are discussed, and the course ends with the dissolution of the Union in the winter of 1860-61. Throughout the series, the politics of history is explored, examining how the world in which a historian lives affects his or her view of the past, and how historical interpretations reinforce or challenge the social order of the present.
