I found this video on the Civil Warriors blog and I thought it was a great example of how the Civil War is remembered. So, enjoy
Archive for March, 2008
Bugs Bunny does the Civil War.
Posted in Civil War, Civil War Memory, The South on March 18, 2008| Leave a Comment »
Abraham Lincoln and Material Culture
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, American Democracy, Material Culture on March 16, 2008| Leave a Comment »
In a recent essay, published in the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, Erika Nunamaker examined Abraham Lincoln’s “egalitarian refinement.” “Egalitarian refinement,” according to historian Joyce Appleby, can be described as “an oxymoron that nicely captured the split personality of American society, with its yearning for the manners of the better sort and appreciation of the vernacular culture of ordinary folk.” Nunamaker wrote that Lincoln, in 1837 when he was just starting his career as a lawyer, purchased a expensive horsehair couch. He defied all cultural customs of the antebellum gentry by reclining and spreading out on the couch while reading. Lincoln’s to purchase such a couch shows his desire to be thought of as a gentleman, but his improper use of the couch illustrates “his refusal, whether conscious or unconscious, to resort to affecting behaviors or aping manners that did not come naturally to him.”
Nunamaker’s propose in writing this essay was to call attention to a wealth of primary sources that have been largely ignored by historians and Lincoln scholars. Studies in historical material culture reveals what peopled desired to own and what objects they bought. Examining Lincoln’s furniture, as Nunamaker has done, shows how Lincoln was influenced by common cultural assumptions and how he defied them. There are tens of thousands of books on Lincoln, but the examination of the objects he bought demonstrates that there is still much we can learn about this man.
Civil War Battlefields
Posted in Civil War, Civil War Memory, Preservation on March 16, 2008| Leave a Comment »
Earlier this week the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) released its annual report on the country’s most endangered Civil War sites. Here is the list of the 10 most endangered sites in America: Antietam, Md., Cedar Creek, Va., Cold Harbor, Va., Hunterstown, Pa., Monocacy, Md., Natural Bridge, Fla., Perryville, Ky., Prairie Grove, Ark., Savannah, Ga., and Spring Hill, Tenn.
The CWPT also named 15 sites that are at risk. Among the at risk sites are Brandy Station, Va., Kennesaw Mountain, Ga., and Petersburg, Va.
Lincoln and Douglas…the standard for political debates
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War on March 6, 2008| Leave a Comment »
Allen Guelzo on the Daily Show
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Books, Civil War on March 6, 2008| Leave a Comment »
Allen Guelzo, one of my favorite historians, was on the Daily Show recently. Guelzo and host Jon Stewart discussed his new book Lincoln and Douglas.