Tag: Civil War

  • What If the United States Had Sent Troops to Cuba — With Longstreet in Command?

    Cuban independence, the Ten Years’ War, and the consequences of one general’s absence from New Orleans Historical Grounding In October 1868, a sugar planter named Carlos Manuel de Céspedes walked to the slave quarters of his estate in eastern Cuba, called his enslaved workers together, and told them they were free. Then he rang the…

  • What If Longstreet Had Been Delayed — and the Battle of Liberty Place Became a Massacre?

    In September 1874, the White League’s coup in New Orleans threatened Reconstruction, highlighting Rodolphe Desdunes’ pivotal role in civil rights, especially in the historic Plessy v. Ferguson case.

  • Introducing The American Crisis: Teaching the Civil War Era

    A five-part series on the Civil War era built for educators — thematic, primary-source-driven, and focused on the questions that connect 1861 to the present. Start here.

  • CW at 160: Slavery in the US

    The legacy of slavery in the United States spans over 250 years and fundamentally shaped our nation’s development. From 1619 to 1865, millions of Africans and African Americans were enslaved, their labor building much of the economic foundation of colonial America and the early republic. Understanding this history means recognizing both the profound injustices endured…

  • The Educator Who Rose from Civil War Ashes: How Mary McLeod Bethune Built an Educational Empire from Slavery’s Ruins

    When most Americans think of Civil War heroes, they envision generals like Grant and Sherman, or politicians like Lincoln and Douglas. But the war’s most profound victory may have belonged to a girl born into slavery who would transform American education forever. The Forgotten Dimension of Civil War Victory The Civil War ended slavery, but…

  • The Hypothetical 1937 American Civil War: From Gaming Scenario to Educational Tool

    A map I found online shows an intriguing “what if” scenario in American alternate history: a hypothetical Second American Civil War in 1937 during the Great Depression. While this never happened, it has captured the interest of historians, game designers, and educators examining the social and political tensions of that time. I am fascinated by…