Were the options clear cut for people going into the American Civil War? Who were making those decisions and why? Join Joseph Rogers and Stephanie Arduini as they discuss what informed choices for Americans across state lines.

The United States is now at war and Americans don’t think it’s going to last very long. How are soldiers preparing to go to war? Were the expectations of Americans correct? Join Joseph and Stephanie as the realities of the American Civil War set in.

Going into 1862, Americans are realizing they are in the war for the long haul. As Confederate armies are winning battles, Lincoln is trying to assert his leadership with General McClellan.

As the Civil War trudges on, enslaved people continue to make choices toward obtaining freedom. Emancipation wasn’t a single event and didn’t necessarily mean freedom. How did enslaved and newly freed people define their own freedom?

Two years into the American Civil War, it still isn’t clear who is “winning”. Civilians both above and below the Mason-Dixon are contemplating the cost of the conflict. Join Stephanie and Joseph as they explore the response of regular people to the burdens of war.

Major battles are fought in the latter half of 1863, but were they truly turning points in the war itself? How is the chaos at home and on the battlefield affecting the fighting men, especially the newest regiments, the United States Colored Troops? Join Stephanie and Joseph as they navigate the complexities and hardships faced by the soldiers who walked through the war.

While most think 1863 is the turning point of the Civil War, but for Americans at the time, they didn’t have an end in sight. For those in the United States, the presidential election of 1864 puts the citizens in power of how they want to drive the course of the war.

With a new General in charge of the US Army, comes new tactics and new soldiers (USCTs). How did this affect the course of battles?

In 1865, pieces were moving in such a way that the end of the war seemed palpable. Lee warns Davis that Grant broke thru his line in Petersburg and the Union Army was enclosing the Confederate capital.

The conflict isn’t after the the war in 1865. How to Americans reconcile the weight and cost of the war while trying to reunify the nation and welcome people who have a newfound citizenship?