Note: This episode was recorded in late 2024. Luckily, there haven't been any US Civil War updates since then, so the episode's content still holds up. Enjoy!
During paternity leave, the new influx of dad energy compelled me to read close to 15 titles on the American Civil War.
The Civil War is a case study in traditional ChinaTalk themes like technological change and organizational design. It is also a uniquely well-documented war, just on the cusp of modernity, with gripping characters and human drama basically wherever you look.
To discuss all things Civil War, ChinaTalk interviewed Jeremy Neufeld, Director of Immigration Policy at IFP and author of an incredibly nerdy Civil War Twitter account, as well as Wayne Hsieh, a professor at the Naval Academy and co-author of A Savage War, an excellent new military history of the Civil War.
We discuss…
How the Civil War played a role in America’s rise to superpower status,
The impact of technological innovation on the war, including the telegraph, the steamship, and the railroad system,
The Confederate invasion of Kentucky and other strategic missteps,
Strategies for mobilizing industry and civil society for warfare,
Differences in institutional culture between the Northern and Southern armies.
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