‘Free State of Jones’: Mississippi County Rebelled Against the Confederacy

Free State of Jones is a 2016 American historical war film inspired by the life of Newton Knight and his armed revolt against the Confederacy in Jones County, Mississippi, throughout the American Civil War. (more from Wikipedia). It's also an astonishing book by Sally Jenkins and John Sauffer. "From 1863 to 1866, residents of Jones County, MS engaged in an insurrection against the Confederacy that …

April 12, 1861: Civil War Officially Started, With Firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC

"At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, a federal fort built on an artificial island in Charleston Harbor. Attacking the fort seemed a logical outcome of events that had been in play for at least four months." -- Heather Cox Richardson reminds us of the momentous events, well worth reading. …

Trump and Andrew Johnson Compared Themselves to Jesus

Donald Trump compares himself to historic martyrs Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela. He "is not the first president to compare himself to Jesus Christ. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson famously did, too...." Johnson, who succeeded Abraham Lincoln after the 16th president was murdered in April, 1865, was an egotistical, enigmatic man unpopular with …

In 1864, the U.S. Had the 37 Most Decisive Weeks in American History

55 Folks: "The story of William Tecumseh Sherman, his controversial role in the American Civil War, and the 37 weeks in 1864 that were the turning point for the nation." Gen. Sherman enacted a scorched-earth policy against the Confederates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HliG1HWD320&t=70s

Jefferson Davis, the Confederates, and the Civil War

The Peoples Profiles Documentaries focuses on Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), former president of the Confederate States of America, in this one hour and 12 minute film. Transcript is available on YouTube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n49Go6jht4

Hyper-Partisan Media Contributed to the U.S. Civil War

In light of all the chatter since 2021 about a second American Civil War and the role of the media in dividing and polarizing people, I had the opportunity to record a Zoom interview with two scholars of the period about their book, Journalism in the Civil War Era. I found their book to be revelatory. …

America Can Be In Serious Trouble Without Outbreak of Civil War

Harvard Political Scientist Jay Ulfelder studies civil wars. He was research director of the Political Instability Task Force, a U.S. government-funded program that helps policymakers understand and anticipate political crises around the globe. He doubts that the U.S. is headed into civil war like the first one in the 1860s. But the country can still be …

An Absurd Movie On A New Civil War in the US

I'm all for persuasive arguments that the U.S. is not headed toward civil war. Alabama-based journalist Ryan Zickgraf, however, writing in the (UK) Telegraph, offers logical fallacies in his article, "Never Trumpers Are Gearing Up for a Second Civil War. Seven years of Trump-fueled panic attacks have fed into dangerous liberal delusions about the state …

50 Signs the US is Headed to A New Civil War

Since 2021, I've been compiling articles and evidence that factions in the U.S. are headed toward a new civil war. I now note 50 such steps. See my Substack piece. Cock-eyed optimist that I am, I hope that by the end of the year, I can post on how the American people quashed the movement …

A Civil War Historian’s Perspective on Robert E. Lee in 7 posts

Kevin M. Levin's Civil War Memory site on Substack had seven insightful posts on Gen. Robert E. Lee in 2022 and 2023: Virginia Can't Get Over Robert E. Lee (November 15, 2022) Why Robert E. Lee Should Be Melted Down (June 27, 2022) Robert E. Lee's Final Meltdown (October 27, 2023) Robert E. Lee Has …