What was the American Civil War really about?

Sept. 27, 2024
More from this show

Join “The Civic Discourse Project” in the 2024 season’s finale, an in-depth discussion on the American Civil War. Dr. Allen C. Guelzo, the Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Research Scholar at Princeton University, talks about how our country suffered greatly from the American Civil War’s devastation and profound internal upheavals.

Apart from the tremendous death toll, the conflict destroying billions of dollars worth of assets and the upended established lifestyles, the accounts fail to acknowledge the war’s primary importance: it kept the country intact so that democracies could protect themselves from internal instability.

SPOTLIGHT
A map of the U.S. with our Arizona PBS logo on top of Arizona

Ever wonder how shows like ‘Arthur’ or ‘Antiques Roadshow’ get made?

PBS Books: Graphic for June 25th's book club theme
June 25

Join us for PBS Books Readers Club!

Super Why characters

Join a Super Why Reading Camp to play, learn and grow

Diners eat outside on an episode of Check, Please! Arizona

Be a guest on “Check, Please! Arizona”

Subscribe to Arizona PBS Newsletters

STAY in touch
with azpbs.org!

Subscribe to Arizona PBS Newsletters:


Gifts presented by Arizona PBS
Rick Steves $15 pledge bundle

Explore Europe with Rick Steves

The Arizona Horizon mug

Arizona Horizon Mug 16 Oz. Ceramic Bistro Mug

PBS Books Readers Club Exclusive Tote Bag

PBS Books Readers Club Exclusive Tote Bag

AZPBS Tote bag

make your selection
LATEST CONTENT
MORE EPISODES
Dr. Allen Guelzo

  Sept. 27, 2024

What was the American Civil War really about?

Roosevelt Montás

  Sept. 20, 2024

How the Great Books Changed My Life & Why They Matter for a New Generation?

Jonathan Gienapp, Associate Professor of History & Law at Stanford University Elizabeth Kaufer Busch, Co-Director of the Center for American Studies at Christopher Newport University Andrew Porwancher, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, SCETL.

  Sept. 13, 2024

America at 250: Civic Education and Upcoming Anniversaries of the Founding

Daniel Mahoney, Visiting Professor at SCETL Catherine Zuckert, Professor Emerita of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame Jennifer Frey, Dean of the Honors College at the University of Tulsa Karen Taliaferro, Assistant Professor at SCETL

  Aug. 30, 2024

Liberal Arts and Civic Education: Compatible or Conflicting?

Lucas E. Morel

  Aug. 23, 2024

Two Models of Patriotism: Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr.

Timothy Sandefur

  Aug. 16, 2024

Economic Freedom and Democratic Participation

Dr. Steven B. Smith

  Aug. 9, 2024

How Abraham Lincoln Invented American Democracy

Dr. Richard Haass

  Aug. 2, 2024

The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens

Dr. Robert George

  July 26, 2024

The Constitution and Civic Virtue

Matthew Continetti and Dr. Paul Carrese

  Oct. 27, 2023

Is there a Conservative Cancel Culture in American Politics?

Ronald J. Daniels, President of Johns Hopkins University

  Oct. 20, 2023

Purposeful Pluralism: The Future of the University in the American Democracy

John McGinnis, Professor at Northwestern University Law School, and Illana Redstone, Professor at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

  Oct. 13, 2023

Ideological Conformity

Franciska Coleman, Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School

  Oct. 6, 2023

The Anatomy of Cancel Culture

Lincoln Jones, Clifton Duncan, Winston Marshall, Meg Smaker

  Sept. 29, 2023

Unchallengeable Orthodoxy in the Arts

Newsweek Deputy Opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon, Washington Post Columnist Megan McArdle, and University of Maryland Professor Dr. Jason Nichols

  Sept. 22, 2023

Is the ‘Woke Newsroom’ a Danger for U.S. Democracy?

Jane Kamensky, Professor of History at Harvard University

  Sept. 15, 2023

1776 and Us: Finding the Founding in a Foundering Democracy