12. "And the War Came," 1861: The Sumter Crisis, Comparative Strategies

The Civil War and Reconstruction (HIST 119)

After finishing with his survey of the manner in which historians have explained the coming of the Civil War, Professor Blight focuses on Fort Sumter. After months of political maneuvering, the Civil War began when Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, in the harbor outside Charleston, SC. The declaration of hostilities prompted four more states--Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arkansas--to secede. Professor Blight closes the lecture with a brief discussion of some of the forces that motivated Americans--North and South--to go to war.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction: The Advent of War
05:06 - Chapter 2. A Meaningless War? Postwar Thoughts on the Civil War
12:15 - Chapter 3. April 1861: The Situation at Fort Sumter
24:28 - Chapter 4. Lincoln's Reaction and the Secession of the Upper South
37:01 - Chapter 5. Why Did I Go to War? Personal Motivations from the North and South
44:48 - Chapter 6. Conclusion

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Spring 2008.