Meeting Overview: Although the Civil War unquestionably led to the freeing of enslaved African Americans, there is ongoing debate in popular culture about whether we should think of is as a war about slavery. Broadly, there is a tendency for those who sympathize with the North to characterize it as a noble war to free slaves, and for those more aligned with the South to call it a heroic but doomed struggle to preserve states’ rights and Southern culture. This talk will explore the shortcomings of both generalizations and consider the question of who really freed the slaves.

Speaker: Dr. Mark Jaede is a professor of history at St. Cloud State University

Meetings are held at the Stearns County History Museum, 235 33rd Ave S, St Cloud.

Note change in starting time:
3:00pm – doors open and opportunity to socialize and interact with fellow members
3:15pm – welcome and “new features”
3:30pm – speaker presentation
4:45pm – adjourn
For more information – contact Andy Ditlevson – aditlevson@gmail.com, 320-241-8477