Breaking Nation: A Civil War Podcast
When the political system of compromise that had served the United States for decades utterly and epically fails to deal with slavery at a national level, the mid-nineteenth century leaders of the nation and states must choose where their loyalties lie.
Will they save their way of life and solve the sins of cruel bondage before the land and its people are torn apart and shredded by violence and prejudice?
When Abraham Lincoln takes the oath of office as the sixteenth President on March 4, 1861, he faces a crisis unlike any other faced by his predecessors.
The country is on the brink of breaking as a nation…
Breaking Nation: A Civil War Podcast will take you on a revelatory and surprising journey through the years of the American Civil War, as if you had no idea how the events surrounding you would play out.
Recent Episodes
S2E1 – Little Napoleons
Interview with Chris Mowery
Interview with Robert Tracy McKenzie
S1E6 – The Island in the Harbor
S1E5 – Stars and Banners
S1E4 – A Political Free-For-All
Listen On
Recent Blog Posts
The Battle of Kernstown: When Losing Became a Strategic Victory
The Battle of Kernstown, fought on March 23, 1862, just south of Winchester in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, was a relatively small engagement by Civil War standards. Yet its significance far outweighed the number of soldiers involved. Althoug…
A Crisis in Richmond: Why Davis Reorganized His Cabinet
On March 18, 1862, Confederate President Jefferson Davis reshuffled his cabinet in a move that revealed both the strengths and the growing strains within the Confederate government. Two key figures were affected: Judah P. Benjamin and George W. Rand…
Lincoln’s War Order No. 3: The Moment That Reshaped Union High Command
On March 11, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued War Order No. 3, a directive that quietly but decisively reshaped Union command during the American Civil War. The order relieved George B. McClellan of his position as general-in-chief of the Unio…