This year marks the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the Civil War. Even now, the reasons for fighting the bloodiest war this country has seen are still hotly debated & feelings run high.
Marion Public Library received 2 grants that focus on those questions about the Civil War. Lincoln: The Constitution & the Civil War is a traveling exhibit that will be at the library from April 25 through June 8. The exhibit explores the questions about why the war was fought. The National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office organized the traveling exhibition, which was made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): great ideas brought to life. The traveling exhibition is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the National Constitution Center.
The 2nd grant funds a discussion series, Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the Civil War. This discussion series is centered on 5 topics:
- Imagining War
- Choosing Sides
- Making Sense of War
- The Shape of War
- War & Freedom
In addition to providing funds for a humanities scholar & speakers, this project includes books to support the topics listed. The books are
- March by Geraldine Brooks
- Antietam: The Battle That Changed the Course of the Civil War by James M. McPherson
- America’s War: Talking About the Civil War & Emanicipation on their 150th Anniversaries edited by Edward L. Ayers
All three books are available to be borrowed at Circulation Services at the library.
Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War, a reading and discussion series, has been made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Library Association, and Indiana Humanities.
