American Civil War

The English political journalist Walter Bagehot was one of the few contemporary commentators on either side of the Atlantic to grapple with the constitutional issues that lay behind the outbreak of 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.

Historians have often stressed the modernity of America’s Civil War. The rifled-musket, the iron-clad warship, telegraphs and railroads have been heralded as revolutionary developments in its conduct. Yet Gervase Phillips argues that the dependence on often weary, sickly horses on both sides in the war, and the failure to manage their use and welfare had a significant impact on the development, and final outcome of, the struggle between North and South.

Alan Farmer explains why the North won the American Civil War.

John Spicer judges that slavery was the key factor in producing the conflict.

James I. Robertson, Jr. looks at the man behind the legendary Confederate hero.

The man who gave his name to the notorious killing machine died on February 26th, 1903

The image of the American Civil War as a ‘white man’s fight’ became the national norm almost as soon as the last shot was fired. Susan-Mary Grant looks at the experience and legacy of the conflict for black Americans.