Civil War historians, led by University of Richmond President Edward L. Ayers, will gather April 29 to recount the state of the country two years before the first shots were fired.
"America on the Eve of the Civil War," which is free and open to the public, will be the first in a series of conferences sponsored by the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. The General Assembly created the commission to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Virginia's participation in the war.
The event, from 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the UR Robins Center, will feature speakers from varied perspectives in a format similar to news programs such as "Meet the Press." Speakers will limit themselves only to what would have been known in 1859.
More than 1,700 people from 26 states have registered, and registration is continuing. The program will focus on four topics from the year 1859:
- Taking stock of the nation as the U.S. completed its most exhaustive census to date.
- The future of Virginia and the South with its slave-based economy at an all-time peak.
- Making sense of John Brown's raid on the armory at Harpers Ferry.
- Predictions for the election of 1860 with turmoil among Democrats and Southern-rights advocates calling for radical change.
-- Karin Kapsidelis
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