The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877

This Yale College course explores the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War from the 1840s to 1877. It examines multiple meanings of this transforming event in American history—national, sectional, racial, constitutional, individual, social, intellectual, and moral. Four broad themes are emphasized: the crisis of union and disunion in an expanding republic; slavery, race, and emancipation as national problem, personal experience, and social process; the experience of modern, total war for individuals and society; and the political and social challenges of Reconstruction. The course includes lectures, readings from key historical texts and documents, films, and written assignments.