LIS 501 Pathfinder

8/14/2019 LIS 501 Pathfinder

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The Enjoyment Of Studying History:

A Pathfinder For The American Civil War (1861-1865)

Abraham Lincoln Jefferson Davis

Home

Introduction

About the Resources

Searching HintsWhat Caused the War

Literature and War

Specialized Books

Internet Sites

Specialized Internet Sites

Additional Research Ideas

Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee


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While some events in history are forgotten over time, other events leave lastingimpressions on people for many years, including those who experience the

events directly, historians who analyze the events, and students who study and

learn from the events. One such event, the American Civil War, provides

students and scholars with resources and information the various issues that the

United States faced in the period before, during, and after the war. Much of the

important information in these sources comes from research of historians andscholars, diary entries and written letters, and political speeches.

Students and adults who view the resources in this pathfinder and analyze the

suggested searching methods should find it easy to locate Civil War resources

that interest them. The resources listed will include not only books, but also

reference materials and electronic sources that will guide those interested in

finding information on the numerous events and important figures that

influenced the outcome of the war. In addition to the books and electronic

resources provided, students and adults will also find useful links to information

about historical places associated with the Civil War and organizations

dedicated to educating interested persons of the experiences of soldiers that

fought on each side of the conflict.

Introduction


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About The Resources

All of the resources in this pathfinder have been reviewed and recommended by

Library Science professionals, historians, professional journals, and

organizations that strive to provide the highest quality of resources to those

interested in learning about the Civil War. While making every effort to include

resources that present the most current information on the Civil War, also

included are resources reviewed as highly valuable for those interested inlearning about the Civil War.

While the interested user will ultimately decide what resources they will need,

there are several points the user must consider when searching for sources.

These include determining the credibility and viewpoint of the author(s) and

publisher, the intended audience, the date of when a source was last updated,and whether the author(s) cites reputable references for his or her work.


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Hints For Searching And Obtaining Resources

One effective strategy to use to find resources on the Civil War is to search the online catalog on

your local library using a title or keyword search using the basic search option. You may also searchfor resources using the advanced search option and search for information on a subject, such asslavery or the role of African Americans in the military, or in a periodical such as Harpers Weeklyor North & South Magazine.

Another valuable search option for finding resources is the WorldCat online catalog, worldcat.org,where users can search for books, DVDs, or articles using a basic keyword search or the advancedsearch option and search for resources by title, author, year, or using keywords. When you locate a

source of interest using the author and/or title search, WorldCat will also provide a list of librariesnearest to you where the source is available when you enter your zip code in the Enter yourlocation box.

There are several ways to obtain resources, such as a book or media item from libraries when youdecide what materials to obtain, which include:

Your local library, which includes public libraries and/or school libraries.

Colleges and Universities, where a library card can be obtained either for free or for a small fee

depending on the type of institution. In addition, it might also be useful to contact the school todetermine what there policy is for loaning materials, including through interlibrary loan.

Public Library Access Card (PLAC), which is available to anyone who lives in Indiana whoholds a valid library card and grants access libraries across the state for one year. Card holdersmay want to check with the library they are considering checking out materials from tounderstand any possible restrictions for using the PLAC. The fee for 2009 for obtaining aPLAC is $30.


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Causes Of The Civil War

Levine, Bruce. Half Slave and Half Free: The Roots of the Civil War, Rev. Ed. New York: Hill andWang, 2005. ISBN 0809053535.

This book presents information on how divisions between the Northern and Southern UnitedStates continued to grow between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. The main differencediscussed are the very different social systems of each portion of the nation: the South thatdepended on slavery and the North that favored free labor and was largely anti-slavery.

McPherson, James. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era . New York: Oxford University Press,1988. ISBN 0195038630.

Winner of the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for History. The book includes information on political, social

and military events that occurred between the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the endof the Civil War in 1865. These events include the Dred Scott Decision, the Lincoln-DouglasDebates, John Browns attempted raid at Harpers Ferry, the causes of secession, and why theUnion ultimately won the Civil War.

Stampp, Kenneth M. The Causes of the Civil War, 3rdRev. Ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.ISBN 0671751557.

This book contains original sources from the Civil War period, including speeches by publicfigures, newspaper editorials, as well as essays from historians from the post-Civil War era to the

present. Included are selections from the Lincoln-Douglas debates, speeches from Senator JohnC. Calhoun, and an overview of political, economic, and cultural issues that led to the Civil War.

Epperson, James F. Causes of the Civil War (The Road to War: Causes of the Conflict). Stockton,NJ: OTTN Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1595560025.

Eppersons book traces the roots of the conflict that became the Civil War back to the early 19 th

Century that greatly escalated in the 1850s with events such as the Compromise of 1850, theKansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the Dred Scott Decision of 1858, and the 1860 election. Alsoincluded are important issues such as slavery, political power in the North and South, andeconomic and social differences between the two regions.


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Civil War Literature Aaron, Daniel. The Unwritten War: American Writers and the Civil War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,

Inc., 1973. ISBN 0817350020.

This book examines the literary contributions of writers who expressed their views of the Civil War intheir works and why these writers failed to produce a great literary masterpiece. The book notes thosewriters who experienced the war marginally, such as Mark Twain, Henry Adams, and Henry James,and those writers who were affected by the war such as Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and WilliamFaulkner.

Faust, Drew Gilpin. Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slave Holding South in the American Civil War.Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1996. ISBN 0807822558.

Faust combines in her book fiction, letters, poetry, essays, diaries, and memoirs of over 500 eliteConfederate women who become responsible for overseeing plantations and farms, providing for

families, and supervising slaves who have become increasingly uneasy. She also shows how womenstruggle with performing manual labor, try to understand the meaning of womanhood, and try toimagine their lives after the war with the end of slavery and a decline in prosperity.

Gienapp, William E. The Fiery Trial: The Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 2002. (ISBN 978-0195151011).

In his book, Gienapp presents over one hundred of Lincolns political statements, from his firstpolitical statement published in 1832 in the Sangamon Journal to and address published days beforehis assassination. Also included are Lincolns most famous speeches, including the Gettysburg

Address, the text of the Emancipation Proclamation, and the House Divided speech delivered to theRepublican State Convention in 1858.

Samito, Christian. Commanding Boston's Irish Ninth: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Patrick R. GuineyNinth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Bronx, NY: Fordham University Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0823218127.

This book represents the experience of Colonel Patrick R. Guiney, who commanded the 9th

Massachusetts Infantry of the Army of the Potomac composed largely of Irish immigrants untilsuffering a wound in 1864 that ended his service. In letters to his wife Jeannette, Guiney wrote of hisRepublican-leaning political views, which some of his fellow officers and men did not share, and arecord of the soldiers activities.


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Specialized Books

Monroe, Dan and Bruce Tap. Shapers of the Great Debate on the Civil War: A BiographicalDictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. ISBN 0313317453.

This book offers biographical entries on important political, military, literary and abolitionistfigures during the Civil War era, such as Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Harriet BeecherStowe, and Frederick Douglass. Included in the biographies are a brief account of the subjectslife, their role in the issues of the day, and ends with a bibliography that provides students withprimary and secondary sources.

Shaara, Jeff. Civil War Battlefields : Discovering America's Hallowed Ground. New York:Ballantine Books, 2006. ISBN 0345464885.

Shaaras book offers a narrative of the wars crucial battles, detailed maps of battle scenes,points of interest, and photographs of the locations during the war and presently. The tenbattlefields featured are Shiloh, Wilderness/Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg/Chancellorsville,Gettysburg, Antietam, Vicksburg, Cold Harbor, New Market, Chickamauga, andPetersburg/Appomattox.

Pritchard, Russ A. Civil War Weapons and Equipment. Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2003. ISBN158574493X.

This book discusses tactics and fighting methods for cavalry, infantry, and artillery forcesmade of men who were either inexperienced youths or previously served in volunteer units.The weapons featured include sabers, pistols, revolvers, rifles and bayonets, and artillerypieces.

Bishop, Ethan F. Gravesites of the Civil War generals : Confederate, Union, and BrevettedGenerals' Final Resting Places. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, 2008. ISBN 0788431803. Bishops book provides readers with information on the gravesites of over 1000 Union and

Confederate Generals. In addition, information is provided for officers who died of wounds,were killed in action, and received the Medal of Honor.


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Internet Sites The Civil War by Ken Burns (PBS) . http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/index.html.

This website features maps, biographies, a fact page, and historical documents and links to understand the war and the important

figures that shaped its outcome. Also featured is an overview of the nine part documentary The Civil War that first aired on PBS in1990 and a biography of director Ken Burns and a description of other documentaries he has made.

Civil War @ Smithsonian Collections. http://www.civilwar.si.edu/collections.html.

The Smithsonian Institution Civil War collections carry a wide variety of artifacts, including personal effects of Abraham Lincoln,

weapons and uniforms, and Confederate postage stamps acquired by the Smithsonian in 1886 from the American people. Also

included on the site is a timeline of the war, a bibliography of print sources, and web links.

E-History Archive at The Ohio State University. http://ehistory.osu.edu/USCW.

This website allows you to access articles, biographies, periodicals, and essays and many other resources to better understand the

history of the Civil War. In addition, there is a search feature with options for Advanced Search, Image and Picture Search, and a

Timeline Search.

The American Civil War: Letters and Diaries Database. http://solomon.cwld.alexanderstreet.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu.

This database contains over 100,000 pages of letters, diaries, and memoirs from over 2000 authors. According to the site, each

source has been chosen using leading bibliographies.

Historical Statistics of the United States. http://hsus.cambridge.org.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/HSUSWeb/toc/hsusHome.do.

This site offers resource in print and electronic editions where a recognized expert in a certain field places the numerous topic into

historical context. This site considers itself to be the standard resource of quantitative facts of American History.

Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers Database.

http://infotrac.galegroup.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/itw/infomark/0/1/1/purl=rc6_NCNP?sw_aep=iulib_iupui.

This database offers clipped and full page articles from 19th

Century newspapers that allow you to conduct an Advanced Search,Keyword Search, Newspaper Search, and a Relevance Search. The newspaper articles offer users to access the paper cover-to-

cover, which includes articles, advertisements, and illustrations.


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Specialized Internet Sites

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. http://www.suvcw.org.

Located in Harrisburg, PA, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War formed in 1866 as the Grand Army of the Republic

(GAR) as a social and political organization for veterans who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Revenue Cutter

Service during the War and ceased to exist in 1956. The Sons of Veterans of the United States of America formed in 1881

until 1925 when it became the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War under the principles of loyalty, charity, and fraternity.

Sons of Confederate Veterans. http://www.scv.org.

The mission of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, formed in Richmond, VA in 1896, is to preserve the legacy and history of

the men who fought for the South in the Civil War. Any male descendant of a Confederate armed forces veteran is eligible for

membership.

Civil War Preservation Trust. http://www.civilwar.org.

The Civil War Preservation Trust is a non-profit organization located in Washington D.C. devoted to the preservation of

endangered Civil War battlefields. The main goal of the trust is to promote tourism and educational opportunities to inform

the public of the history of the war and the issues that caused it.

The National Civil War Association. http://ncwa.org.

The mission of the National Civil War Association, located in Santa Clara, CA, is to educate the public about the events andpeople of the Civil War. The organization presents the history of the war to the public in a variety of ways, including military

and civilian encampments, lectures, and battle reenactments.

Society of Civil War Families of IndianaIndiana State Genealogical Society. http://www.indgensoc.org/SCWFI.php.

Membership in the Society of Civil War Families of Indiana is open to members of the Indiana State Geological Society who

are direct descendants of any person who served in the Indiana Civil War Union Army or was an Indiana resident prior to

joining a non-Indiana unit. Their website offers a member-only database, information on soldier enrollment, a guide to

beginning genealogical research, and a guide to military records and burial sites.


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Additional Research Ideas Oxford University Press USA. http://www.oup.com/us/?view=usa.

The mission of Oxford University Press USA is to publish works that advance Oxford University's goals of quality in

education, scholarship, and research in areas such as music, law, higher education, reference, and journals. The website alsofeatures a subject section where users can select a topic of there choice such as American History, World History, and

Geography that will provide a list of titles in the subject that would only be available for purchasing and not to check out.

Civil War News. http://www.civilwarnews.com.

This website offers a portion of their published articles , book reviews, and photographs (reenactments) for users to access for

free, with the rest of the content only available with a subscription. Using the Advance Search option, users can type a phrase,

name, or keyword and decide whether to search for articles, book reviews, or photo galleries or all of the options.

How to use Civil War sources: If you need sources on the Civil War for a research assignment, you will also need to understandhow to cite the sources accurately. Some of the more popular styles for citing sources are Modern Language Association (MLA),

American Psychological Association, and Chicago Manual of Style. Listed below are several links on how to properly cite sources

using each style for a variety of different sources.

APA

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01.

A resource guide is available from the Owl at Purdue for APA formatting. The guide features examples and guidelines to

assist you how to properly cite sources. Chicago


Another resource guide offered by the Owl at Purdue is for Chicago formatting. The guide features examples and guidelines to

assist you how to properly cite sources.

MLA


The Owl at Purdue also features a resource guide for MLA formatting. The guide features examples and guidelines to assist

you how to properly cite sources.

Documents

LIS 501 Pathfinder