Podcast Episode 169: Secession and Reconciliation

Mainstream academics are beginning to pay attention to the issues of secession and “treason.” Did Southerners commit treason when they seceded from the Union in 1860-61? Did Northern leaders violate civil liberties during the War? Most importantly, how did Americans, North and South, view these issues in the immediate aftermath of the War? And was “reconciliation” a bad thing? Two mainstream historians–Cynthia Nicoletti and William Blair–tackle these issues in recent scholarly works. I discuss both and the issue of reconciliation in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show. (My print review of both books).