The Civil War and Reconstruction

Although attention will be devoted to the causes and long-term consequences of the Civil War, this class will focus primarily on the war years (1861-1865) with special emphasis on the military and technological aspects of the conflict. Four questions, long debated by historians, will receive close scrutiny: What caused the war? Why did the North win the war? Could the South have won? To what extent is the Civil War America’s "defining moment"?