James McPherson delivered at Lowell Lectures

Historian James McPherson (Princeton University) didn’t set out to be a Civil War expert. Presenting his talk “Why the Civil War Still Matters” at the Boston Public Library as part of the Lowell Lectures series, Prof. McPherson explained that upon entering graduate school at Johns Hopkins in the late 1950s, he had an interest in studying southern history, which as a Midwesterner, he found “exotic and mysterious.”

It was the Civil Rights movement of his era that brought him to study the Civil War and Reconstruction. In the midst of forced school desegregation, McPherson wanted to learn more about how the 13^th-15^th amendments that were called on came to be, and how they hadn’t been properly implemented for almost 100 years.

With this introduction, McPherson spoke for just over a half hour about the legacy and significance of the Civil War in the modern world. Citing the conflict as the most popular history subject among Americans due to its closeness to them, its drama and death toll, and its larger-than-life characters, he touched on a greater, more subtle significance: The Civil War was a fight over two different kinds of liberties.

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See History Live: Boston History Events March 6-12, 2012

FEATURED EVENT OF THE WEEK

Saturday, March 10

7:00 PM

Boston Massacre Reenactment

Join the mob and become a part of the infamous Boston Massacre as it is reenacted in front of the Old State House, in the very place where it took place in 1770. Decide for yourself if the soldiers fired into the crowd in self-defense or cold-blooded murder. Before the action unfolds, hear from patriots, loyalists, and moderates who will talk about the events and attitudes that led to that fateful night. Free

Outside the Old State House, 206 Washington St., Boston

Bostonhistory.org

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