Lis 501 Pathfinder

The Enjoyment Of Studying History: A Pathfinder For The American Civil War (1861-1865)

•Home •Introduction •About the Resources •Searching Hints •What Caused the War •Literature and War •Specialized Books Abraham Lincoln •Internet Sites •Specialized Internet Sites •Additional Research Ideas

Ulysses S. Grant

Jefferson Davis

Robert E. Lee

Introduction 

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While some events in history are forgotten over time, other events leave lasting impressions on people for many years, including those who experience the events directly, historians who analyze the events, and students who study and learn from the events. One such event, the American Civil War, provides students and scholars with resources and information the various issues that the United States faced in the period before, during, and after the war. Much of the important information in these sources comes from research of historians and scholars, diary entries and written letters, and political speeches. Students and adults who view the resources in this pathfinder and analyze the suggested searching methods should find it easy to locate Civil War resources that interest them. The resources listed will include not only books, but also reference materials and electronic sources that will guide those interested in finding information on the numerous events and important figures that influenced the outcome of the war. In addition to the books and electronic resources provided, students and adults will also find useful links to information about historical places associated with the Civil War and organizations dedicated to educating interested persons of the experiences of soldiers that fought on each side of the conflict.

About The Resources 

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All of the resources in this pathfinder have been reviewed and recommended by Library Science professionals, historians, professional journals, and organizations that strive to provide the highest quality of resources to those interested in learning about the Civil War. While making every effort to include resources that present the most current information on the Civil War, also included are resources reviewed as highly valuable for those interested in learning about the Civil War. While the interested user will ultimately decide what resources they will need, there are several points the user must consider when searching for sources. These include determining the credibility and viewpoint of the author(s) and publisher, the intended audience, the date of when a source was last updated, and whether the author(s) cites reputable references for his or her work.

Hints For Searching And Obtaining Resources 

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One effective strategy to use to find resources on the Civil War is to search the online catalog on your local library using a title or keyword search using the basic search option. You may also search for resources using the advanced search option and search for information on a subject, such as slavery or the role of African Americans in the military, or in a periodical such as Harper’s Weekly or North & South Magazine. Another valuable search option for finding resources is the WorldCat online catalog, worldcat.org, where users can search for books, DVDs, or articles using a basic keyword search or the advanced search option and search for resources by title, author, year, or using keywords. When you locate a source of interest using the author and/or title search, WorldCat will also provide a list of libraries nearest to you where the source is available when you enter your zip code in the “Enter your location” box. There are several ways to obtain resources, such as a book or media item from libraries when you decide what materials to obtain, which include:  Your local library, which includes public libraries and/or school libraries.  Colleges and Universities, where a library card can be obtained either for free or for a small fee depending on the type of institution. In addition, it might also be useful to contact the school to determine what there policy is for loaning materials, including through interlibrary loan.  Public Library Access Card (PLAC), which is available to anyone who lives in Indiana who holds a valid library card and grants access libraries across the state for one year. Card holders may want to check with the library they are considering checking out materials from to understand any possible restrictions for using the PLAC. The fee for 2009 for obtaining a PLAC is $30.

Causes Of The Civil War 

Levine, Bruce. Half Slave and Half Free: The Roots of the Civil War, Rev. Ed. New York: Hill and Wang, 2005. ISBN 0809053535.  This book presents information on how divisions between the Northern and Southern United States continued to grow between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. The main difference discussed are the very different social systems of each portion of the nation: the South that depended on slavery and the North that favored free labor and was largely anti-slavery.

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McPherson, James. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. ISBN 0195038630.  Winner of the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for History. The book includes information on political, social and military events that occurred between the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the end of the Civil War in 1865. These events include the Dred Scott Decision, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, John Brown’s attempted raid at Harpers Ferry, the causes of secession, and why the Union ultimately won the Civil War.

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Stampp, Kenneth M. The Causes of the Civil War, 3rd Rev. Ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991. ISBN 0671751557.  This book contains original sources from the Civil War period, including speeches by public figures, newspaper editorials, as well as essays from historians from the post-Civil War era to the present. Included are selections from the Lincoln-Douglas debates, speeches from Senator John C. Calhoun, and an overview of political, economic, and cultural issues that led to the Civil War.

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Epperson, James F. Causes of the Civil War (The Road to War: Causes of the Conflict). Stockton, NJ: OTTN Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1595560025.  Epperson’s book traces the roots of the conflict that became the Civil War back to the early 19 th Century that greatly escalated in the 1850s with events such as the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the Dred Scott Decision of 1858, and the 1860 election. Also included are important issues such as slavery, political power in the North and South, and economic and social differences between the two regions.

Civil War Literature 

Aaron, Daniel. The Unwritten War: American Writers and the Civil War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1973. ISBN 0817350020.  This book examines the literary contributions of writers who expressed their views of the Civil War in their works and why these writers failed to produce a great literary masterpiece. The book notes those writers who experienced the war marginally, such as Mark Twain, Henry Adams, and Henry James, and those writers who were affected by the war such as Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and William Faulkner.

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Faust, Drew Gilpin. Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slave Holding South in the American Civil War. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1996. ISBN 0807822558.  Faust combines in her book fiction, letters, poetry, essays, diaries, and memoirs of over 500 elite Confederate women who become responsible for overseeing plantations and farms, providing for families, and supervising slaves who have become increasingly uneasy. She also shows how women struggle with performing manual labor, try to understand the meaning of womanhood, and try to imagine their lives after the war with the end of slavery and a decline in prosperity.

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Gienapp, William E. The Fiery Trial: The Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. (ISBN 978-0195151011).  In his book, Gienapp presents over one hundred of Lincoln’s political statements, from his first political statement published in 1832 in the Sangamon Journal to and address published days before his assassination. Also included are Lincoln’s most famous speeches, including the Gettysburg Address, the text of the Emancipation Proclamation, and the “House Divided” speech delivered to the Republican State Convention in 1858.

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Samito, Christian. Commanding Boston's Irish Ninth: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Patrick R. Guiney Ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Bronx, NY: Fordham University Press, 1997. ISBN 9780823218127.  This book represents the experience of Colonel Patrick R. Guiney, who commanded the 9th Massachusetts Infantry of the Army of the Potomac composed largely of Irish immigrants until suffering a wound in 1864 that ended his service. In letters to his wife Jeannette, Guiney wrote of his Republican-leaning political views, which some of his fellow officers and men did not share, and a record of the soldier’s activities.

Specialized Books 

Monroe, Dan and Bruce Tap. Shapers of the Great Debate on the Civil War: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. ISBN 0313317453.  This book offers biographical entries on important political, military, literary and abolitionist figures during the Civil War era, such as Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Frederick Douglass. Included in the biographies are a brief account of the subject’s life, their role in the issues of the day, and ends with a bibliography that provides students with primary and secondary sources.

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Shaara, Jeff. Civil War Battlefields : Discovering America's Hallowed Ground. New York: Ballantine Books, 2006. ISBN 0345464885.  Shaara’s book offers a narrative of the war’s crucial battles, detailed maps of battle scenes, points of interest, and photographs of the locations during the war and presently. The ten battlefields featured are Shiloh, Wilderness/Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg/Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Antietam, Vicksburg, Cold Harbor, New Market, Chickamauga, and Petersburg/Appomattox.

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Pritchard, Russ A. Civil War Weapons and Equipment. Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2003. ISBN 158574493X.  This book discusses tactics and fighting methods for cavalry, infantry, and artillery forces made of men who were either inexperienced youths or previously served in volunteer units. The weapons featured include sabers, pistols, revolvers, rifles and bayonets, and artillery pieces.

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Bishop, Ethan F. Gravesites of the Civil War generals : Confederate, Union, and Brevetted Generals' Final Resting Places. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, 2008. ISBN 0788431803.  Bishop’s book provides readers with information on the gravesites of over 1000 Union and Confederate Generals. In addition, information is provided for officers who died of wounds, were killed in action, and received the Medal of Honor.

Internet Sites 

The Civil War by Ken Burns (PBS) . http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/index.html. This website features maps, biographies, a fact page, and historical documents and links to understand the war and the important figures that shaped its outcome. Also featured is an overview of the nine part documentary The Civil War that first aired on PBS in 1990 and a biography of director Ken Burns and a description of other documentaries he has made.

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Civil War @ Smithsonian Collections. http://www.civilwar.si.edu/collections.html. The Smithsonian Institution Civil War collections carry a wide variety of artifacts, including personal effects of Abraham Lincoln, weapons and uniforms, and Confederate postage stamps acquired by the Smithsonian in 1886 from the American people. Also included on the site is a timeline of the war, a bibliography of print sources, and web links.

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E-History Archive at The Ohio State University. http://ehistory.osu.edu/USCW. This website allows you to access articles, biographies, periodicals, and essays and many other resources to better understand the history of the Civil War. In addition, there is a search feature with options for Advanced Search, Image and Picture Search, and a Timeline Search.

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The American Civil War: Letters and Diaries Database. http://solomon.cwld.alexanderstreet.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu. This database contains over 100,000 pages of letters, diaries, and memoirs from over 2000 authors. According to the site, each source has been chosen using leading bibliographies.

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Historical Statistics of the United States. http://hsus.cambridge.org.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/HSUSWeb/toc/hsusHome.do. This site offers resource in print and electronic editions where a recognized expert in a certain field places the numerous topic into historical context. This site considers itself to be the standard resource of quantitative facts of American History.

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Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers Database. http://infotrac.galegroup.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/itw/infomark/0/1/1/purl=rc6_NCNP?sw_aep=iulib_iupui. This database offers clipped and full page articles from 19th Century newspapers that allow you to conduct an Advanced Search, Keyword Search, Newspaper Search, and a Relevance Search. The newspaper articles offer users to access the paper cover-tocover, which includes articles, advertisements, and illustrations.

Specialized Internet Sites 

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. http://www.suvcw.org.  Located in Harrisburg, PA, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War formed in 1866 as the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) as a social and political organization for veterans who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Revenue Cutter Service during the War and ceased to exist in 1956. The Sons of Veterans of the United States of America formed in 1881 until 1925 when it became the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War under the principles of loyalty, charity, and fraternity.

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Sons of Confederate Veterans. http://www.scv.org.  The mission of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, formed in Richmond, VA in 1896, is to preserve the legacy and history of the men who fought for the South in the Civil War. Any male descendant of a Confederate armed forces veteran is eligible for membership.

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Civil War Preservation Trust. http://www.civilwar.org.  The Civil War Preservation Trust is a non-profit organization located in Washington D.C. devoted to the preservation of endangered Civil War battlefields. The main goal of the trust is to promote tourism and educational opportunities to inform the public of the history of the war and the issues that caused it.

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The National Civil War Association. http://ncwa.org.  The mission of the National Civil War Association, located in Santa Clara, CA, is to educate the public about the events and people of the Civil War. The organization presents the history of the war to the public in a variety of ways, including military and civilian encampments, lectures, and battle reenactments.

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Society of Civil War Families of Indiana—Indiana State Genealogical Society. http://www.indgensoc.org/SCWFI.php.  Membership in the Society of Civil War Families of Indiana is open to members of the Indiana State Geological Society who are direct descendants of any person who served in the Indiana Civil War Union Army or was an Indiana resident prior to joining a non-Indiana unit. Their website offers a member-only database, information on soldier enrollment, a guide to beginning genealogical research, and a guide to military records and burial sites.

Additional Research Ideas 

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Oxford University Press USA. http://www.oup.com/us/?view=usa.  The mission of Oxford University Press USA is to publish works that advance Oxford University's goals of quality in education, scholarship, and research in areas such as music, law, higher education, reference, and journals. The website also features a subject section where users can select a topic of there choice such as American History, World History, and Geography that will provide a list of titles in the subject that would only be available for purchasing and not to check out. Civil War News. http://www.civilwarnews.com.  This website offers a portion of their published articles , book reviews, and photographs (reenactments) for users to access for free, with the rest of the content only available with a subscription. Using the Advance Search option, users can type a phrase, name, or keyword and decide whether to search for articles, book reviews, or photo galleries or all of the options.

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How to use Civil War sources: If you need sources on the Civil War for a research assignment, you will also need to understand how to cite the sources accurately. Some of the more popular styles for citing sources are Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association, and Chicago Manual of Style. Listed below are several links on how to properly cite sources using each style for a variety of different sources.

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APA http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01.  A resource guide is available from the Owl at Purdue for APA formatting. The guide features examples and guidelines to assist you how to properly cite sources. Chicago http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01.  Another resource guide offered by the Owl at Purdue is for Chicago formatting. The guide features examples and guidelines to assist you how to properly cite sources. MLA http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01.  The Owl at Purdue also features a resource guide for MLA formatting. The guide features examples and guidelines to assist you how to properly cite sources.

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