The War for the Union
1) WHY THEY FOUGHT: Was the bloodiest war in US history (with 623,000 killed --
the equivalent of 6,000.000 deaths in today's America) about slavery-- or about
states rights? Was the war avoidable, and the product of ten years of horrible
leadership in Washington (with some of the worst presidents in US history), or
was it an "irrepressible conflict" (as William Henry Seward famously called it)
that even the most skillful politicians couldn't escape? We'll trace the crucial
turning points, historical forces and political personalities (the good, the bad
and the ugly) that placed America on the path to cataclysmic conflict.
2)
THE TIDE OF
WAR: Focusing on the crucial decision points where the South could have actually
won the war --- The Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Draft
Riots in New York, the Presidential election of 1864 and the desperate (but
doomed) proposal to use a million black slaves to fight for the Confederacy in
exchange for their freedom. If the South had prevailed, what would the two
countries (the Confederate States of America and the United States of America)
have looked like twenty years after the war -- and a hundred years after the
war?
3) WHY THE NORTH WON: Was it sheer population (the North outnumbered
the white population of the South by more than three to one), economic power, or
the brilliant, incomparable political leadership of Abraham Lincoln? Or did the
Confederacy go down because of its internal flaws, and a badly mistaken strategy
by Robert E. Lee? What could the South have done to insure European recognition,
and why did they fail to follow the inspiration of Virginian George Washington
when it came to their own failed (and, ultimately, disastrous) War for
Independence? Did moral arguments ultimately doom the Confederate
cause?
These explosive questions will be covered in intimate and
vivid detail, answering a demand from History Program subscribers to cover
America's most epic conflict -- just in time for the sesquicentennial
commemorations in 2012-13 celebrating its most decisive battles.
Total Run Time: 1hr, 54min
Available on two CDs or audio download.
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