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- Tacoma Community College Library
- African American History
- The American Civil War
African American History
The American Civil War, 1861-1865
"My paramount objective in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would save the Union."
- Abraham Lincoln, from a letter addressed to anti-slavery editor of the NT Times, Horace Greeley. Taken from the article U.S.Civil War: Did Slavery Cause the Civil War?
(Cited below - Click on image to enlarge)
Featured Websites & Collections 
Linked below are websites, online exhibits, and other digital collections with resources on topics related to African American history in the US
- Library of Congress: Civil War Image - Depictions of African Americans in the War EffortThis Primary Source Set from the Classroom Materials collection at the Library of Congress houses an array of photos, images, and other primary source items.
- African Americans in Civil War Medicine from the National Institutes of HealthThis online exhibit "Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War Medicine looks at the men and women who served as surgeons and nurses and how their work as medical providers challenged the prescribed notions of race and gender."
- Library of Congress: The Abraham Lincoln Papers"The papers of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), lawyer, representative from Illinois, and sixteenth president of the United States, contain approximately 40,550 documents dating from 1774 to 1948, although most of the collection spans from the 1850s through Lincoln’s presidency (1861-1865)."
- Library of Congress: Photographs of African Americans During the Civil WarA collection of images, in a digital collection from the Library of Congress
- Library of Congress: The African American Odyssey - A Quest for Full CitizenshipThis Library of Congress collection features "more than 240 items, including books, government documents, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, and plays in the largest black history exhibit ever presented by the Library."
- Library of Congress: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877A part of the larger "U.S. History Primary Source Timeline" collection, this presentation links to short articles and primary resources.
- Library of Congress: Time Line of the Civil WarA timeline of the Civil War, each by year and major event - includes primary source documents and images - from the Library of Congress
- Google Arts & Culture: American Civil WarA collection of images from Google Arts & Culture
Featured Videos
Linked below are videos both freely online through websites like YouTube or TED, as well as from the library's collection in such databases as Kanopy, Films on Demand, or Academic Video Online. Click or hover your cursor over the icon to learn more about each item.
- The Civil War: A Film by Ken BurnsStreaming on Films on Demand - Includes all 9 episodes Video Source
- The Civil War and Reconstruction with David BlightA series of lectures, posted on the Yale Courses page on Youtube, can also be viewed within the "Session" section, along with additional materials, from this Open Yale Courses website Video Source
- Valor in the Face of Racism: The History of African Americans in the Military"This one-on-one interview features host and 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker in an animated and history-filled discussion with the first black captain at West Point and four-star General Vincent K. Brooks"
Featured Podcasts
Linked here are full podcasts or podcast episodes, as well as short audio recordings from news programs such as National Public Radio (NPR) and the like.
- Slavery and the Civil War - Teaching Hard History [Podcast]Episode 1, season 1 of the podcast, Teaching Hard History - made as a part of Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center
- 15 Minute History: Causes of the U.S. Civil War (part 1) [Podcast]Episode 21 from the University of Texas podcast "15 Minute History"
- 15 Minute History: Causes of the U.S. Civil War (part 2) [Podcast]Episode 22 from the University of Texas podcast "15 Minute History"
- Seizing Freedom"The story of the end of the Civil War you've probably been taught is that the slaves were freed by Northern white men (and maybe a handful of famous Underground Railroad conductors). What's missing? The story of how Black Americans risked their lives to fight for their own visions of what freedom could be—struggling for their dignity in the face of horrific violence. Seizing Freedom tells the stories of these unsung American heroes."
Sources used on this page:
"[Unidentified young African American soldier in Union uniform with forage cap]" by Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division is in the Public Domain, CC0
Malvasi, M. G., & Roberts, C. M. (2003). U. S. Civil War: Did Slavery Cause the Civil War? In M. G. Malvasi (Ed.), History in Dispute (Vol. 13, pp. 276-284). St. James Press. https://link-gale-com.tacomacc.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/CX2877300045/GVRL?u=tacoma_comm&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=117e2493
Featured Books & eBooks
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