Abraham Lincoln was arguably the greatest American president. Now, you can take a deeper look at his powerful presidency and the war that shook America 150 years ago in this insightful course.

Raised in Kentucky and Indiana by a father who did not value education, Lincoln had only a year of formal education. Rented out for day labor by his father, Lincoln gained insight into the injustices of slavery and would go on to become a self-educated lawyer.

After meeting the young Lincoln and examining his colorful legal adventures and improbably ascendency to the U.S. presidency, you will gain an historian’s insight into the causes of the Civil War. You will explore the war’s surprising first year, the chaos of the first battle at Bull Run, the emergence of the plodding George McClellan, and the dramatic success of Confederate arms under Robert E. Lee. With fresh insight, you will probe Lincoln’s decision to embrace emancipation and explore the reasons behind this game-changing policy change. Examine Lincoln’s unforgettable speech at Gettysburg in 1863, wherein he upheld the Declaration of Independence as the key founding document of the United States of America.

Finally, you will explore civil liberties in both the Union and the Confederacy during the war, the emergence of Ulysses S. Grant, and Lincoln’s memorable reflections on the conflict in his Second Inaugural Address followed soon after by his tragic martyrdom.

You will relish each lecture as you gain a deeper understanding of Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War.