gilderlehrman.org/institute/era_civilwar.php
My latest book project brought me to “The Civil War Era” subsite of “The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History,” and for that I am eternally grateful. This site features some of the nation’s best historians, each explaining complex concepts in an engaging, brief format: George Rable discussing religion in the Civil War, for instance, or Harold Holzer opining on Abraham Lincoln’s Cooper Union Address. You can also explore links to related documents from the era and find helpful lesson plans. For those with long commutes, the GLI site offers more than 100 podcasts free of charge, including some by Gary W. Gallagher on the Civil War in American Memory and James Robertson on Stonewall Jackson. And don’t forget to visit their online exhibits, which include “Battle Lines: Letters From America’s Wars” and “I Take Up My Pen: Letters From the Civil War,” as well as a collection of “Teachable Documents.”
This is a superbly organized and beautifully presented website, grounded in the very latest research. I promise you won’t find a hint of dry-as-dust history here. And for those interested in other periods of American history, GLI’s other subsites are also wonderful to explore.
Originally published in the December 2011 issue of Civil War Times. To subscribe, click here.
