Civil War Monuments and the Militarization of America

Thomas J. Brown of the University of South Carolina will present his new assessment of Civil War monuments unveiled in the United States between the 1860s and 1930s, arguing that they were pivotal to a national embrace of military values. Americans’ wariness of standing armies limited construction of war memorials in the early republic and continued to influence commemoration after the Civil War. Professor Brown provides the most comprehensive overview of the American war memorial as a cultural form and reframes the national debate over Civil War monuments that remain potent presences on the civic landscape.

There is a pre-talk reception at 5:30. Please follow the ticketing link to register.