American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)

Part two of my review of MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis. We get a more intimate look at Gopher's Prairie and its people, and see a darker side to the town.

In this episode, I dig into MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis and talk about the psychology of the newly educated and the cultural gap between Main Street and the American coastal cities. Is Main Street the peak of our civilization? Maybe it is.

In this episode I look at the Library of America's anthology of Civil War writing, focusing on the end of 1862 and the Battle of Fredericksburg and emancipation. Next, we will take a break from the Civil War and look at MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis.

Lots going on in the fall of 1862, in the aftermath of the Emancipation Proclamation as new debates emerge. This episode follows those debates, the firing of McClellan and Lincoln's 1862 message to Congress. Just how into colonization was Lincoln?

In this episode we explore documents surrounding Lee's invasion of Maryland, the Battle of Antietam, and the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Some of the eye witness accounts of this battle, collected in this anthology are fascinating. 

In this episode we see how Lincoln moved toward emancipation in the context of failed military campaigns and growing pressure from enslaved people. You can explore these documents yourself in the Library of America's anthology of civil war writings.

Our next episode in this series on the American Civil War looks at the events surrounding the Seven Days Battle, especially General Hunter's move to arm blacks in occupied territories. As always we get a diverse cast of witnesses to this conflict.

In this episode, I look at the events surrounding the battle of Shiloh such as the push for compensated emancipation, the seizure of New Orleans, and the battle of the ironclads. As always, my source is the anthology published by the Library of America.

I am still alive, yes. Just taking a break from recording. Anyway, as we continue reading American Civil War anthology by the Library of America, we take a look at the first major Union victory, the surrender of Fort Donaldson.

I complete my look at volume 1 of the Library of America's anthology of Civil War writings. It is a dark winter for the USA after a series of military defeats. The political and military response to these defeats is the centerpiece of the documents I examine in this episode.