The Department of History's ninth annual Holt Lecture

The Department of History's ninth annual Holt Lecture will feature University of Virginia professor of American history Elizabeth Varon. In her comprehensive history of the American Civil War, Varon argues that the Union was motivated to fight not only to free the slaves but also to redeem white Southerners from the tyranny of the planter class and the slaveholding economy. This politics of deliverance helped unify the North and contributed to the Union victory, but it failed to grapple with resistance from white Southerners who rejected the North’s terms and undermined Reconstruction. Interweaving military and social history, Varon offers new perspectives on the attitudes, goals and frustrations of both sides. Varon will give her public talk Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in G09 White Hall.