21H.116J / STS.029J The Civil War and Reconstruction, Fall 2005

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:

1. What caused the war?
2. Why did the North win the war?
3. Could the South have won?
4. To what extent is the Civil War America's "defining moment"?