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[Introduction To] The Thin Light Of Freedom: The Civil War And Emancipation In The Heart Of America, Edward L. Ayers

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A landmark Civil War history told from a fresh, deeply researched ground-level perspective.

At the crux of America’s history stand two astounding events: the immediate and complete destruction of the most powerful system of slavery in the modern world, followed by a political reconstruction in which new constitutions established the fundamental rights of citizens for formerly enslaved people. Few people living in 1860 would have dared imagine either event, and yet, in retrospect, both seem to have been inevitable.

In a beautifully crafted narrative, Edward L. Ayers restores the drama of the unexpected to the history of the Civil War. …

[Introduction To] Heroes Of Richmond: Four Centuries Of Courage, Dignity, And Virtue, Scott T. Allison

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A gorgeous river city blessed with abundant resources, Richmond, Virginia has also been called the city of “contradictions” and “crises”, a city with a “complicated history” replete with “struggles and wounds”. Richmond has been a magnet for heroism and villainy, a place where the best and worst of human nature have collided over several centuries. This volume, Heroes of Richmond: Four Centuries of Courage, Dignity, and Virtue, captures the complex heroic history of a complex city. Authored by a group of outstanding students at the University of Richmond, this book provides coverage of Richmond’s heroes from the first Euro …

[Introduction To] Crucible Of The Civil War: Virginia From Secession To Commemoration, Edward L. Ayers, Gary W. Gallagher, Andrew J. Torget

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Crucible of the Civil War offers an illuminating portrait of the state’s wartime economic, political, and social institutions. Weighing in on contentious issues within established scholarship while also breaking ground in areas long neglected by scholars, the contributors examine such concerns as the war’s effect on slavery in the state, the wartime intersection of race and religion, and the development of Confederate social networks. They also shed light on topics long disputed by historians, such as Virginia’s decision to secede from the Union, the development of Confederate nationalism, and how Virginians chose to remember the war after its close.