Curated playlist
Historians of the American Civil War
- Elizabeth D. LeonardElizabeth D. Leonard won the 2012 Lincoln Prize for a book on Joseph Holt, Lincoln's judge advocate general.
- James M. McPhersonHistorian James M. McPherson helped lobby against a Disney theme park near the Manassas battlefield.
- Lesley J. GordonHistorian Lesley J. Gordon showed a general's tragic-hero image was largely built by his wife.
- Gabor BorittGabor Boritt, a Hungarian-born American historian, reached New York with exactly one dollar in his pocket. He judged it the dirtiest city he had ever seen. He was a teenager, a refugee, and far from anyone who knew him. Behind him lay a…
- C. Vann WoodwardC. Vann Woodward argued that Jim Crow was chosen late, not inherited from Southern tradition.
- Allan NevinsIn 1948, historian Allan Nevins started the first institutionalized oral history program in the United States.
- Shelby FooteShelby Foote wrote every page by hand with a nib pen, then typed up a clean copy. He thought of himself first as a novelist. Yet he is remembered for a three-volume history of the American Civil War. He expected that history to take nine…
- Bruce CattonBruce Catton grew up in Michigan listening to Civil War veterans, and their stories shaped his writing.
- David W. BlightYale asked historian David W. Blight to investigate Yale's own ties to slavery. His 2024 book gave the answer.
- E. Merton CoulterHistorian E. Merton Coulter had a grandfather indicted over Ku Klux Klan violence. An all-white jury acquitted him.
- Stephen B. OatesStephen B. Oates asked what it costs a person to fight for equality in America.