The American Civil War

[APOLOGIES FOR SOUND QUALITY - I'm working on solving the problem for future videos]

It's impossible to understand the USA - including the current political culture - without recognising the importance of the Civil War which both split the nation during 1861 and 1865; and built the country we now know. You'll find a very interesting article on the signifance of the war at http://www.lewrockwell.com/woods/woods31.html.

As one recent writer put it - "The Civil War has never receded into the remote past in American life. The most momentous conflict in American history, it had a revolutionary social and political impact that continues to be felt today. The political firestorms of the 1980s and 1990s over the appropriateness of the Confederate battle flag flying over statehouses in Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina, for instance, demonstrate how deeply meaningful Civil War symbols remain in American politics, especially racial politics. "

Useful resources on the civil war include

http://www.history.com/minisites/civilwar/
http://americancivilwar.com/
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook27.html