Where can I learn about the first American civil war?

Hello, was wondering where online is a good place to learn about the American civil war. Not really looking for Wikipedia. Are there biased kind of sites about? Like a good left wing account and a good right wing account? Got to admit to being very ignorant about this and am interested in learning more about what happened. Thanks.

I googled that for you:

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/01/09/25-books-studying-civil-war/

The sources on wikipedia.

Thanks. Anyone got biased left and right wing histories? Wondering if there's anything brilliant out there, like some great poem that you learned at school or a book that your grandfather passed on to you?

Here's a Marxist perspective I found by Googling, I have no idea if it's any good: http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/articles/a-marxist-history-of-the-world/11888-a-marxist-history-of-the-world-part-57-the-american-civil-warl

Counterfire are a gross trot/SWP splinter group which should be biased enough for anybody

The Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War is really good, and I think pretty unbiased in terms of coverage from each side.

  On 4/18/2013 at 10:43 AM, chunky said:

Hello, was wondering where online is a good place to learn about the American civil war. Not really looking for Wikipedia. Are there biased kind of sites about? Like a good left wing account and a good right wing account? Got to admit to being very ignorant about this and am interested in learning more about what happened. Thanks.

why do you need "left" and "right" wing accounts?

Anything advocating "Lost Cause" mythology is complete and utter horseshit. period.

One solid overall book on the Civil War would be Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson. Highly Recommended.

You shouldn't concern yourself with "his" story.

  On 4/18/2013 at 12:04 PM, chunky said:

Thanks. Anyone got biased left and right wing histories? Wondering if there's anything brilliant out there, like some great poem that you learned at school or a book that your grandfather passed on to you?

The thing about the Confederacy in general is that many romanticize it instead apologize or defend it. A few very conservative but mainstream Republicans as well as paleo-conservatives, even outside of the Southern states, often evoke the aspects of the Confederacy not related to slavery directly - i.e. secession, state's rights, and more vagely the facts that Southern history and culture that is distinctly different than that of the North. In fact, I've seen more Confederate battle flags in West VIrginia and Kentucky on bumper stickers and in front of homes, and those states are closer to NYC, Washing and Philadelphia than cities in the "deep south" of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. Those border states had a lot of communities and families split up - brothers would literally fight each other at battlefields. The Deep South was a lot more oriented toward maintaining slavery and plantations. Another misconception is that most Confederate soldiers were slave-owners. The fact is most themselves were farmers and if they owned any slaves they would actually work with them. That's partly why there was so much anti-North resentment after the war, those veterans themselves were just another lower social class. The few elite landowners and "Southern Gentleman" plantation owners initiated the war. It's also surreal that veterans on both sides lived to see the 20th century and it's drastic changes. "Old Civil War veterans" were a common trope in media in tv shows in the 50s - with insanely old people in archaic uniforms.

I've always been a huge war and military history buff but I've yet to read about the Civil War in detail (beyond cool and interesting books i read in school as a kid). Fascinating and brutal war. Probably one the first with "modern" horrors of quick-firing guns, iron-clad ships, etc.

  On 4/18/2013 at 4:37 PM, Joyrex said:

The Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War is really good, and I think pretty unbiased in terms of coverage from each side.

this.

then watch a really great and funny documentary called sherman's march. it gives a good slice of modern southern life. (well in the 1980s but still)

i never realized there was a second civil war.

here's a nutjob perspective:

^

I almost posted that myself, that's exactly the kind of confederacy romanticized rhetoric I spoke of: it's very much evoked, usually indirectly, by people who aren't white supremacists or right-wing militia types but instead are very much paleo-conservatives or even libertarian (but not left-leaning libertarian) people like Ron Paul. His son Rand and his peers even argue against the basis of things like the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Neither are advocating racism nor discrimination but they're very much for limited government and literal constitutionalism to the point where for the sake of ideology they'll argue against even the most pragmatic and reasonable Federal laws. I find it very unrealistic, tedious to argue, and detached. When it comes to debates on things like gay marriage rights and anti-discrimination laws such stances are more or less a cop-out.

  On 4/18/2013 at 8:10 PM, Frankie5fingers said:

i never realized there was a second civil war.

Its taking place now.

Here? http://www.acws.co.uk/

Be sure to post pics of you dressed up etc.

For the lolz.

  On 4/18/2013 at 11:50 PM, MadameChaos said:

Here? http://www.acws.co.uk/

 

Be sure to post pics of you dressed up etc.

 

For the lolz.