The Memory of the Civil War in American Culture (Civil War America)

The Civil War retains a powerful hold on the American imagination, with each generation since 1865 reassessing its meaning and importance in American life. This volume collects twelve essays by leading Civil War scholars who demonstrate how the meanings of the Civil War have changed over time. The essays move among a variety of cultural and political arenas--from public monuments to parades to political campaigns; from soldiers' memoirs to textbook publishing to children's literature--in order to reveal important changes in how the memory of the Civil War has been employed in American life. Setting the politics of Civil War memory within a wide social and cultural landscape, this volume recovers not only the meanings of the war in various eras, but also the specific processes by which those meanings have been created. By recounting the battles over the memory of the war during the last 140 years, the contributors offer important insights about our identities as individuals and as a nation. Contributors: David W. Blight, Yale University Thomas J. Brown, University of South Carolina Alice Fahs, University of California, Irvine Gary W. Gallagher, University of Virginia J. Matthew Gallman, University of Florida Patrick J. Kelly, University of Texas, San Antonio Stuart McConnell, Pitzer College James M. McPherson, Princeton University Joan Waugh, University of California, Los Angeles LeeAnn Whites, University of Missouri Jon Wiener, University of California, Irvine Annotation The Civil War retains a powerful hold on the American imagination, with each generation since 1865 reassessing its meaning and importance in American life. This volume collects twelve essays by leading Civil War scholars who demonstrate how the meanings of the Civil War have changed over time. The essays move among a variety of cultural and political arenas--from public monuments to parades to political campaigns; from soldiers' memoirs to textbook publishing to children's literature--in order to reveal important changes in how the memory of the Civil War has been employed in American life. Setting the politics of Civil War memory within a wide social and cultural landscape, this volume recovers not only the meanings of the war in various eras, but also the specific processes by which those meanings have been created. By recounting the battles over the memory of the war during the last 140 years, the contributors offer important insights about our identities as individuals and as a nation. Contributors:David W. Blight, Yale UniversityThomas J. Brown, University of South CarolinaAlice Fahs, University of California, IrvineGary W. Gallagher, University of VirginiaJ. Matthew Gallman, University of FloridaPatrick J. Kelly, University of Texas, San AntonioStuart McConnell, Pitzer CollegeJames M. McPherson, Princeton UniversityJoan Waugh, University of California, Los AngelesLeeAnn Whites, University of MissouriJon Wiener, University of California, Irvine The Civil War Retains A Powerful Hold On The American Imagination, With Each Generation Since 1865 Reassessing Its Meaning And Importance In American Life. This Text Collects 12 Essays By Leading Civil War Scholars Who Demonstrate How The Meanings Of The Civil War Have Changed Over Time. Introduction / Alice Fahs And Joan Waugh -- Ulysses S. Grant, Historian / Joan Waugh -- Shaping Public Memory Of The Civil War : Robert E. Lee, Jubal A. Early, And Douglas Southall Freeman / Gary W. Gallagher -- Long-legged Yankee Lies : The Southern Textbook Crusade / James M. Mcpherson -- Remembering The Civil War In Children's Literature Of The 1880s And 1890s / Alice Fahs -- Decoration Days : The Origins Of Memorial Day In North And South / David W. Blight -- The Monumental Legacy Of Calhoun / Thomas J. Brown -- Is The War Ended? : Anna Dickinson And The Election Of 1872 / J. Matthew Gallman -- The Election Of 1896 And The Restructuring Of Civil War Memory / Patrick J. Kelly -- You Can't Change History By Moving A Rock : Gender, Race, And The Cultural Politics Of Confederate Memorialization / Leeann Whites -- War, Cold War, Civil Rights : The Civil War Centennial In Context, 1960-1965 / Jon Wiener -- Epilogue : The Geography Of Memory / Stuart Mcconnell. Edited By Alice Fahs & Joan Waugh. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.