Historians have long debated whether the American Civil War was a “total war”—a war meant to be won at all costs. In effect, argues historian Stephen Engle, the Union leaders did wage “total war,” and the ensuing destruction demanded a reconstruction of considerable proportions by both the North and the South.
9:30 to 10:45 a.m. Abraham Lincoln and the Olive Branch Approach
Lincoln’s conceptualization of the war in 1861 and the goal of not losing the Border States to the Confederacy. Federalist tensions within the Union struggling to awaken a military giant and the states’ rights in the North, as well as the South, as a rationale for Lincoln’s approach.
11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Losing the War and Winning the Peace
Major military operations (Shiloh, Peninsula Campaign, Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg) dictated the Union’s abandonment of conciliation. Reconstruction as a pre-condition of success in bringing Southerners back into the Union.
12:15 to 1:30 p.m. Lunch
Participants provide their own lunch.
1:30 to 2:45 p.m. 1863 and the High Tide of Change
The changing nature of the war and its effect on military communities engaged in combat (Chancellorsville, Vicksburg, Gettysburg). The Emancipation Proclamation and the Union’s attempt to undermine the Confederate war effort.
3 to 4:15 p.m. Realities and the Politics of 1864
By 1864 both sides were dedicated to escalating the war effort. The tactics used by the Confederacy in op-posing Lincoln’s re-election in order to hold out for a negotiated peace; the Union’s strategy of waging harsh war against the Southern citizenry in order to end the conflict.
Engle, a professor of history, Florida Atlantic University, is the author of several books on the Civil War.
Smithsonian Connections
The American History Museum has a number of intriguing Civil War artifacts.
