American Civil War

Of the many immigrants from the United Kingdom who took up arms in the war, only a small number were English. Daniel Clarke explores the experiences of those who served.

Taking a historiographical angle, Marcus Cunliffe describes how, in 1861, the American federal experiment broke down, and there ensued the greatest and most hard-fought of modern wars before that of 1914.

David Waller on the 150th anniversary of a ship that symbolised Liverpool’s ties to the Confederate states during the American Civil War.

The American Civil War was not a simple struggle between slaveholders and abolitionists, argues Tim Stanley.

Richard Cavendish remembers the events of December 20th, 1860.

The English journalist Walter Bagehot was one of the few commentators to grapple with the constitutional issues behind the the American Civil War. Frank Prochaska discusses his ideas.

The American Civil War transformed the nature of conflict. Its opening salvos harked back to Waterloo; its end anticipated the industrial warfare of the 20th century, writes David White.

John Spiller surveys race relations in the United States during Reconstruction and constructs a balance sheet.

Mark Bryant examines how cartoonists saw the most traumatic years of American history.

Gervase Phillips examines the extent and significance of an often misunderstood phenomenon.

Gervase Phillips points out the limitations in a common interpretation.

Richard Cavendish describes the massacre of the 'slave hounds' at the settlement of Pottawatomie Creek on May 24th, 1856.

Susan-Mary Grant argues that the cult of the fallen soldier has its origins at Gettysburg and other battlefield monuments of the American Civil War.