History 363 - Civil War Era

What caused the US?s bloodiest war? How and why did the Civil War transition officially from a limited war to preserve the status quo to a revolutionary total war that embraced emancipation and more? What were the long-term outcomes of the defeat of secession and the destruction of racial slavery? How did different groups define meaningful freedom, citizenship, and the role of the federal government during Reconstruction? How did a counter-revolution overturn many of Reconstruction?s successes? We will also study the ongoing battles over historical memories of the war, attending to how the Civil War was and is remembered, misremembered, represented, and misrepresented in popular culture. The course concludes with an assessment of the legacies of the era. This is not a course solely devoted to military history. (Gen. Ed. HS, DU)

Open to Undergraduate Students only. This is an entirely on-line course. Content will be released and completed on a weekly basis, providing students with both flexibility and structure. The content includes rich, interactive media such as videos, songs, infographics, and e-learning activities, like polls and weekly class-wide discussion forums, as well as traditional components such as lectures and primary and secondary readings. There will be short weekly assessments, two four-page essays, and two exams. The course itself examines the social and cultural history U.S. Civil War Era. We will investigate the causes of the war, tracing the conflict between slave labor and free labor, the destruction of national political parties, and the rise of sectional political parties. We will also attend to other historical tensions, including those between northern capitalists and workers, conflicts between so-called masters and enslaved people, and conflicts between slaveowners and non-slaveholding southern whites. We will examine the social, political, and military history of the war itself. Then we will study the outcomes of the war, highlighting the conflicts over definitions of freedom in the postbellum period. Throughout the semester, we will reflect upon the ways in which the Civil War and its aftermath have been remembered and represented in history and popular culture. The course will conclude with an assessment of the legacies of the era. NOTE WELL: This is not a course in military history.