Though the Civil War began in 1861, its roots go back decades, and its effects continue to be seen today.
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Slavery at the West Point of the Confederacy: the Little Round House
The University of Alabama, Civil War, and slavery; examining the role of architecture as historical marker
Science, religion, and politics, Church’s Cotopaxi
The natural world and political metaphor, Church's Cotopaxi
The Long History of Stone Mountain, Georgia
Perhaps the largest relief sculpture in the world, this Confederate memorial is an expression of 20th and 21st century racial politics.
The U.S. Civil War, sharpshooters and Winslow Homer
Homer wrote that the sharpshooter's role was "as near to murder as anything I can think of."
Monument Avenue and the Lost Cause
A conversation that took place on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, just before the last Confederate monument on the boulevard was removed in September 2021
Photographing the Battle of Gettysburg: Timothy O’Sullivan’s A Harvest of Death
One of the most famous landscape photographs showing the horrible aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Nast and Reconstruction: understanding a political cartoon
Thomas Nast's cartoon urges its viewers to confront white supremacy.
Cotton, oil, and the economics of history
Sail, steam, cotton, and oil — the engines of the American economy.
Lilly Martin Spencer, The Home of the Red, White, and Blue
How women contributed to the repairing a country that had been torn apart.
Face to face with the Missouri voters
Before TV and Twitter, politicians talked to voters face-to-face.
Snakes, petticoats, and Civil War politics
The makers of this ostentatious ceramic jug used images from popular satire to poke fun at the Civil War politics.
A lost history of African Americans in NYC
The creation of a beloved landmark destroyed a thriving community of African Americans and Irish immigrants.
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