Civil War Researcher

The Library of Congress holds one of the largest collections of Civil War materials in the world. They document the range of experiences of those in the North and South whose lives were affected by the bitter conflict of 1861-1865. Transcribe and review pages by soldiers, politicians, poets, nurses and citizens affected by the war.

”The American Civil War originated between two opposing ideologies forged by secessionists determined that the time had come to form a confederacy of slaveholding states true to their own interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and Unionists who viewed secession as the death knell of the great American experiment in representative democracy. This topic draws together pages from across By the People campaigns that reveal the impact of this bloody period in American history.”

How do I get started? Just go to the Library of Congress website and start transcribing right now.  

How much time will this take? This is a low time commitment. Spend as much time as you want, one hour or many. You will be helping these national treasures to be searchable and discoverable by all!

How do I expand this narrative arc? If historical research is in your narrative arc, consider building on this interest with one of the following:

• See our post on getting any historical research you may have done published in The Concord Review.

• See our post about the National World War II Museum History Contest.

• If your school offers the ability to do an independent study or writing projects, consider doing a research project on ordinary life in America during the Civil War. Note: these papers are Primary Sources for historical research purposes which makes any such research project even more impressive!

HOT TIP: This is a great little project to kick off or complement a general interest in history or historical research. Make sure to build on this project with some larger and more time-intensive commitments in these interest areas.