10/11/2008:
In 1988, historian James McPherson helped launch a renewed interest in the Civil War with his Pulitzer Prize winning book, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era.
Born in Valley City, North Dakota on this day in 1936, James McPherson moved to Baltimore, Maryland to complete his graduate work at Johns Hopkins University. There he was well-positioned to witness the beginning of the 1960’s Civil Rights movement. Struck by its parallels with the freedom crusades of the 1860’s, McPherson began looking at the history of the South as a way of understanding the Civil Rights movement.
It opened the door to a fascination with the Civil War. As Dr. McPherson explained, the issues surrounding the war are “still important…today: regionalism, resentment of centralized government, debates about how powerful the national government ought to be and what role it ought to play in people’s lives.”
Written by Christina Sunwall
Sources:
"Jefferson Lecture: James Mcpherson", National Endowment for the Humanities (2000) http://www.neh.gov/whoweare/mcpherson/jeffersonlecture.html.
"Meet the Writers: James M. Mcpherson", Barnes & Noble.com http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writerdetails.asp?cid=627214#interview.