Secrets of the Civil War: A Fractured America

The Preamble

Sharon McMahon

Government, History, Storytelling, Education

4.9 • 15.1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2023

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to the first episode in our series, Secrets of the Civil War. This won’t be a history of the Civil War like you’re expecting. The Union and the Confederacy, divided though they were, experienced incredible changes in medicine, technology, food science, and transportation during four years of conflict. It may surprise you to learn that it wasn’t solely an era of suffering and hardship; it was also an era of innovation and advancement, spies and social evolution. We’re going to explore it all.

Hosted by: Sharon McMahon

Executive Producer: Heather Jackson

Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder

Written and researched by: Heather Jackson, Valerie Hoback, Amy Watkin, and Mandy Reid

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello friends, I am so glad you're joining us today. This is the first episode in our new series
0:11.9	about the Civil War. This will not be a history of the Civil War like you're expecting. No.
0:20.4	We will not be taking episode long deep dives into battle strategy and troop conflicts. This is not
0:27.2	a series about how one set of men moved into battlefield positions and pushed their enemy back
0:33.7	into different hillside territory or how another battalion retaliated with more cannon power the
0:40.0	following week. No. While the battles fought during the Civil War absolutely impacted the landscape
0:46.8	of our country, they aren't the full story, the union and the Confederacy divided though they were.
0:56.5	Experienced incredible changes in medicine, technology, food and transportation. It may
1:03.9	surprise you to learn that it wasn't solely an era of suffering and hardship. It was also an
1:10.3	era of innovation and advancement, spies and social evolution. And in this series, we're going to
1:19.2	explore it all. I'm Sharon McMahon and here's where it gets interesting.
1:30.4	Almost 175 years ago in a tavern in the middle of rural Illinois, a tall gangly man
1:40.8	entertained fellow patrons with the following story. He said, I'm reminded of the day back in
1:47.5	Indiana when I was out shopping wood in the forest and a woman came by on a horse. She stopped
1:54.3	and she looked at me and said, my, you're the ugliest man I ever saw. And I said to her, well,
2:03.6	man, there isn't a lot I can do about it. And she said, well, you could have stayed at home.
2:11.1	And the man telling that story was a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. And the story he told
2:18.5	was one of his favorite tales to tell people when he met them. It's the perfect example of his
2:24.2	signature self-deprecating humor and jovial humility that endeared many to him during his life.
2:33.4	In fact, people that knew Abraham Lincoln personally spoke frequently about his sense of humor.
2:39.3	His storytelling ability and also he was known to have kind of a unique,
2:45.2	slightly high-pitched voice. I would love to be able to hear a recording of his voice, but alas,
	...

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