Perspectives on History

Author and historian Karl Campbell (Appalachian State University), moderator, leads two distinguished guests in trading stories about senator Sam Ervin and his central role in the Senate Watergate Committee hearings. Panelists include Rufus Edmisten (former Sam Ervin staffer and deputy chief counsel for the committee) and Sam Ervin IV (Court of Appeals judge and grandson).

Dr. Lucinda MacKethan, in a talk given at the North Carolina Museum of History, discusses the way in which African American writers in the 19th century fought against slavery and racism using the power of the written word. She includes the narratives of Harriet Jacobs, Moses Roper, and Lunsford Lane and the poetry of George Moses Horton.

Professor Robertson discusses compelling new stories from his book "The Untold Civil War: Exploring the Human Side of War." His stories serve as alternatives to traditional battle narratives of the Civil War.

Moore discusses the history and archaeological evidence surrounding Fort San Juan and the Spanish settlements in western North Carolina that predate the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island by nearly 20 years.

Moore discusses the history and archaeological evidence surrounding Fort San Juan and the Spanish settlements in western North Carolina that predate the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island by nearly 20 years.

The Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and best-selling author discusses the failed attempts at peace negotiations during the American Civil War and considers why the conflict could only have ended with an unconditional military victory.

A keynote talk by noted Yale professor and historian David Blight regarding the memory and legacy of the American Civil War.

As part of a symposium commemorating the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, Professor Elliott compares the lasting legacy and influences of two influential writers of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Both men struggled to shape an image of the South and Reconstruction—one of emancipation and realism and another of Southern honor and occupation.

Professor Ewen compares and contrasts the historical record of piracy using film and popular literature on the one hand, and historical documents and archaeology on the other. Their differences, in some cases, may not be as far apart as one might think.

Historian and musician Gregg Kimball, guitarist and singer Sheryl Warner, and singer Jackie Frost discuss the history of mill songs and perform selected songs by North Carolina mill workers. Approximate run time: 1 hour.

Mia Bay, a professor of history at Rutgers University, examines African Americans' changing ideas about Thomas Jefferson between the American Revolution and the post-emancipation era.

Journalist and author Sana Butler spent nearly ten years crisscrossing the country locating the last surviving African Americans whose parents were born in slavery. In this poignant and moving presentation, Butler discusses and reads from her book "Sugar of the Crop."

On November 21, 2009, historian Malinda Lowery presented a talk in conjunction with the museum’s 14th annual American Indian Heritage Celebration. An associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lowery is the author of several books and worked as a producer and director on several award-winning documentary films. In her talk, she discusses the history and struggles, including the longtime pursuit of federal recognition of the Lumbee tribe.

Professor Sanford Kessler, professor of political theory at North Carolina State University, uses Abraham Lincoln’s famous 1858 “House Divided” speech to unravel Lincoln’s political and personal views on slavery.

Confederate leaders hoped that fevers in the South would become potent weapons should Union forces invade, thus decimating their ranks. Professor Margaret Humphreys, Professor in the History of Medicine and Professor of Medicine at Duke University, explores the role of disease in the Civil War and emphasizes the Civil War-era understanding of how epidemiology became a part of the strategy on both sides.

Holly Brewer, professor of history at North Carolina State University, discusses how the struggle between English authorities and colonists in the 1690s over issues of sovereignty, such as the powers of owners over slaves, helped shape the same debates about justice that propelled the American Revolution a century later.

Laurent Marc Dubois, a historian at Duke University, shares the storied history of the banjo, an instrument whose development was marked by wide cultural encounters from Africa to the Caribbean and North America, contributing to an incredibly rich variety of musical traditions.

Daina Ramey Berry, professor of history at Michigan State University, discusses slave prices in the antebellum South, exploring both planters’ criteria and slaves’ perceptions of their value. Berry’s research reveals interesting patterns with contemporary relevance to slave insurance claims and reparations.