Nov 19th, 2008 · President-elect Barack Obama wants to bring change by recruiting people from across the aisle for his cabinet. Some are comparing this plan to Abraham Lincoln's so-called "Team of Rivals." Civil War historian Matthew Pinsker says Lincoln's idea didn't work out so well.
Nov 11th, 2008 · President-elect Barack Obama's transition from the Bush administration to his own Cabinet and staff will be the toughest since the Civil War, according to Paul Light of New York University's School of Public Service. "There are enough Republicans in the Senate to place legislative holds on nominations," Light said.
Oct 22nd, 2008 · Not all of the epic stories in American history are well known. Consider the lives of the first African American members of Congress. They served during the Reconstruction era, just after the Civil War. Historian Phillip Dray talks with NPR's Tony Cox about his book, Capitol Men.
Oct 20th, 2008 · Abraham Lincoln had almost no military experience when he arrived at the White House in 1861. In Tried By War, author James McPherson explains how Lincoln defined the role of the American commander in chief as he led the country through the Civil War.
Aug 21st, 2008 · She was not necessarily the oldest living Confederate Army widow, but she lived a distinctive life. Maudie White Hopkins has died at age 93. Back in the Great Depression, she was a teenage housecleaner. She met an 86-year-old man. He said he'd leave her his land if she would marry and care for him. She agreed, which is how, for his final years, she was the companion of a Civil War veteran from Arkansas.
Aug 3rd, 2008 · In Weekend Edition Sunday's month-long series on race and politics, each week begin with a look back at times when racial tensions were instrumental to shaping politics. We start in 1865, just after the Civil War ended and the South surrendered. Advisory: Listeners may find some language offensive.
Aug 2nd, 2008 · Badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina three years ago, the historic post-Civil War home of rebel leader Jefferson Davis in Biloxi, Miss., is undergoing painstaking renovations.
Jun 3rd, 2008 · In the wake of the Civil War, some American writers and artists tried to reorient themselves to a world more dynamic and forward-looking than before the War.