Programming Librarian: Brainstormer

A list of resources and websites compiled by librarians at the Free Library of Philadelphia for their website in honor of the Philadelphia Civil War Sesquicentennial.

On Sunday, January 9, the Washington Post published James W. Loewen's op-ed article, "5 Myths about Why the South Seceded." At its website, the Post dates the article at the stroke of midnight Saturday, but by 7PM that evening Loewen had received at least thirty emails about it. It remained the most viewed article at the Post for two more weeks, now with more than 1,500,000 hits.
In this article, Loewen articulates the reasons behind the frenzy created over his original article.

Washington PostOpinions article written by Sociologist James W. Loewen, author of “Lies My Teacher Told Me” and co-editor, with Edward Sebesta, of “The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader.” Loewen polled thousands of high school history teachers and spoke about the war to audiences across the country, and there is little agreement even about why the South seceded. Was it over slavery? States’ rights? Tariffs and taxes?

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
This online exhibition, based on a document booklet of the same title produced in partnership with President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home in Washington DC (www.lincolncottage.org) traces his evolution from antislavery advocate to emancipator through speeches, letters, and acts from the speech at Peoria in 1854 to his second inaugural address in 1865.

The Library of Congress' American Memory Project provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Civil War 150th - commemorating the Civil War with Podcasts, articles, and Exhibitions from the Gilder Lehrman Institute. Also includes primary sources, quizzes and historical overviews.

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: History by Era: The Civil War Era Includes podcasts by historians on the civil war era, lesson plans, quizzes and primary sources.

EdSITEment K-12 lesson plans on Slavery, the Crisis of the Union, the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Exclusive online commentary revisiting and reconsidering America's most perilous period -- using contemporary accounts, diaries, images and historical assessments to follow the Civil War as it unfolded.

Article about a recently discovered letter, Mary Curtis Lee, the eldest daughter of Robert E. Lee, describes how her father wrested with the decsision to resign his commission in the U.S. Army and side with the South. Her words fundamentally alter the story of Lee’s fateful choice. Lee biographers have long claimed that his decision to leave the Army was an inevitable one, driven by the pull of relatives, state and tradition. However, as his daughter shows us, in the end the decision was highly personal, made in spite of family differences and the military conventions he revered.