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The Civil War (documentary)

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Re-watching ‘The Civil War’ During the Breonna Taylor and George Floyd Protests

The landmark Ken Burns documentary hasn’t aged well. But it continues to shape American perceptions about the Confederacy and slavery.
by Gillian Brockell via Retropolis on September 26, 2020

Why We Need a New Civil War Documentary

The success and brilliance of the new PBS series on Reconstruction is a reminder of the missed opportunity facing the nation.
by Keri Leigh Merritt via Smithsonian on April 23, 2019

The Split Personality of Ken Burns’s “The Civil War”

The documentary's accommodation of the Lost Cause narrative may have left viewers with a skewed understanding of the conflict.
by Kevin M. Levin via Civil War Memory on August 31, 2015

Thanks a Lot, Ken Burns

Because of you, my Civil War lecture is always packed with students raised on your romantic, deeply misleading portrait of the conflict.
by James M. Lundberg via Slate on June 7, 2011
The sillhouette of a Civil War statue on a night sky.

The Spirit of Appomattox

Why is Shelby Foote's Civil War subject to so much contemporary debate?
by Jonathan Clarke via The Hedgehog Review on March 1, 2023

Still Worrying about The Civil War

John Kelly's statement about the Civil War is not surprising, but they are a reminder that we should still be worrying about the Civil War.
by Adam I. P. Smith via Adam I. P. Smith: Historian on November 2, 2017

Ken Burns's American Canon

Even in a fractious era, the filmmaker still believes that his documentaries can bring every viewer in.
by Ian Parker via The New Yorker on September 4, 2017
1862 newspaper photo, "The Rebel Lady’s Boudoir,” shows a woman and child using human bones as decor.

Sullivan Ballou’s Body: Battlefield Relic Hunting and the Fate of Soldiers’ Remains

Confederates’ quest for bones connects to a bizarre history of the use, and misuse, of human remains.
by James J. Broomall via Commonplace on November 30, 2021
Gettysburg Battlefield, with monuments visible in the distance

We Need to Talk About Confederate Statues on U.S. Public Lands

At places like the Gettysburg battlefield and Arlington National Cemetery, there's a new, escalating conflict over monuments that honor the Lost Cause.
by Alex Heard via Outside on September 28, 2020
6 Black Americans celebrating Juneteenth in 1900.

Reunion, Juneteenth and the Meaning of the Civil War

What would it mean to define the Civil War as a necessary and crucial final step in the long, even more tragic history of slavery in America?
by Ben Railton via The Saturday Evening Post on June 16, 2020
African Americans gather near a Confederate monument.

The Confederacy’s Long Shadow

Why did a predominantly black district have streets named after Southern generals? In Hollywood, Florida, one man thought it was time for change.
by Dierdre Mask via The Economist on April 2, 2020

Let’s Relitigate the Civil War

There can be no "compromise" with the false view of America's past from Trumpists and pop historians alike.
by Jeet Heer via The New Republic on November 1, 2017

The South Only Embraced States' Rights as It Lost Control of the Federal Government

For decades, slaveholders were powerfully committed to the Union. That changed when Washington stopped protecting their interests.
by W. Caleb McDaniel via The Atlantic on November 1, 2017

What’s So Bad About Ken Burns?

The modern historical profession's purpose has changed drastically in the past century.
by Jonathan Zimmerman via The Chronicle of Higher Education on October 3, 2017
Ken Burns presenting about his Vietnam documentary.

The Insidious Ideology of Ken Burns’s The Vietnam War

Burns and co-director Lynn Novick take a "many sides" approach to history at a time when "many sides" is a tool of obfuscation.
by Alex Shepard via The New Republic on September 19, 2017
An American flag at the Vietnam Memorial on the National Mall.

Ken Burns’s American War

The filmmaker wants ‘The Vietnam War’ to unite America. Can anyone do that under Trump?
by Alyssa Rosenberg via Washington Post on September 14, 2017

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