Over the first decades of the 19th century, Americans fought over whether slavery should be allowed to expand into newly settled western territories. The debate grew so fierce that it led to a bloody attack right on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Many believed that the fight over slavery had made the bonds of union more brittle than ever. Then, in 1860, Abrah ... Show More
Aug 2022
Civil War | First Blood | 2
On April 19th, 1861, an angry mob of Confederate sympathizers in Baltimore tried to stop a regiment of Union soldiers rushing to protect the capitol. Soon, four soldiers and 12 locals lay dead, and dozens more were wounded. It was the first blood spilled in what would become the ... Show More
41m 28s
Aug 2022
Civil War | Emancipation | 3
The Civil War began as an effort to hold the country together. Few Northern soldiers marched into battle to end slavery. But tens of thousands of enslaved men, women, and children took matters into their own hands, using the chaos of the war to free themselves from bondage. Their ... Show More
40m 6s
Aug 2022
Civil War | The Fires at Home | 4
As the Civil War raged on, families on the homefront faced increasingly heavy tolls, enduring crippling economic turmoil, food shortages and explosive class tensions.Meanwhile, Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis waged their own battles with congressmen and governors o ... Show More
38m 10s