The bicentenary of Frederick Douglass
The foremost black Abolitionist escaped slavery as a young man and went on to advise Abraham Lincoln in the Civil War.
Fred Mazelis•
The American Civil War
Lincoln, the Dakota 38 and the racialist falsification of history
The WSWS condemns the destruction of the monument to Abraham Lincoln in Portland, Oregon last month and rejects the false narrative put forward by the petty bourgeois promoters of identity politics used to vilify him.
Renae Cassimeda•
Ron Chernow’s Grant: An able and compelling new biography
Chernow capably weaves together an account of the life of the Civil War general, president and memoirist.
Andre Damon•
“The world only discovered him a hero after he had fallen a martyr”
150 years since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
In office, Lincoln guided the Civil War and transformed it from a struggle for the preservation of the Union into a revolutionary war for the abolition of slavery.
Tom Mackaman•
The enduring significance of the Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, by Allen C. Guelzo (Simon & Schuster, 2004)
Shannon Jones•
Interview with historian James McPherson: 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation
McPherson is professor emeritus of history at Princeton University and the author of a number of books on the Civil War, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom.
Tom Mackaman•
The class essence of the Confederacy in the American Civil War
In their attacks on the film, figures like Charles Blow of the New York Times are denigrating some of the noblest individuals in American history.
Douglas Lyons•
An interview with David Williams, author of Bitterly Divided: The South’s Inner Civil War
The World Socialist Web Site recently interviewed Professor David Williams of Valdosta State University about class conflict during the American Civil War and its relationship to social and political developments after the war.
Eric London•
Historian James M. McPherson and the cause of intellectual integrity
Starting tomorrow we will be presenting on the WSWS a lengthy interview with James M. McPherson, probably the leading contemporary historian of the American Civil War era. We hope that readers will find that the subjects of the discussion—the political turmoil of the period leading up to the Civil War, the violence of the war, Lincoln's legacy, the impeachment of Andrew Johnson—are of interest and that they shed some light on contemporary events.
David Walsh•
Falsifying the American Civil War: Doris Kearns Goodwin at Gettysburg
Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin attempted to strip the American Civil War of its revolutionary significance in her keynote speech at celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Eric London, Jerry White•
Video: Gettysburg park workers, guests speak on the Civil War and the state of American democracy
In this video, workers, guests and volunteers at the Gettysburg National Military Park speak about the lasting significance of the Civil War and the ongoing attacks on American democracy.
Andre Damon•
“The entire future of democracy was hanging in the balance”
Historian Allen Guelzo speaks on the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg
In an interview with the WSWS, Civil War historian Allen Guelzo explains the world historical significance of the Battle of Gettysburg and Lincoln’s subsequent Gettysburg Address.
Andre Damon•
Third day of Gettysburg anniversary: Discussions on Snowden and the decay of democracy
Workers and young people visiting the Gettysburg battlefields contrasted the powerful democratic ideals of Lincoln and the Union forces with government spying, war and inequality in contemporary America.
Jerry White in Gettysburg•
Eric London in Gettysburg•
Jerry White in Gettysburg•
Joseph Kishore•
Tom Mackaman•
Interview with historian James McPherson: 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation
McPherson is professor emeritus of history at Princeton University and the author of a number of books on the Civil War, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom.
Tom Mackaman•
A conversation with historian James M. McPherson
A recent conversation with historian James McPherson of Princeton University was prompted by two events: the appearance of Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, which purports to deal with an episode of the Civil War, and the publication of Professor McPherson’s most recent work, Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam, which studies one of the turning points in that same conflict.
David Walsh•
An interview with historian James M. McPherson
The Civil War, impeachment then and now, and Lincoln's legacy
WSWS editorial board member David Walsh recently spoke to James McPherson, the distinguished historian of the Civil War era in his office at Princeton University. Professor McPherson's works include Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution; Battle Cry of Freedom [a Pulitzer Prize winner]; For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War and The Struggle for Equality.
David Walsh•
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