The Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission will hold its
first signature event - - which is also the first major sesquicentennial
event in the nation - - on April 29, 2009, at the University of
Richmond. This event, organized and coordinated by noted historian and
University of Richmond president Edward Ayers, is an innovative
conference titled "America on the Eve of the Civil War."
This conference will bring together nationally recognized Civil War
historians for an open dialogue about the state of the country in 1859.
Among the questions that conference participants will address and offer
fresh perspectives on include What was happening two years before the
firing of the first shots in the nation's deadliest conflict? What did
people know and what were they thinking? Could they possibly have
imagined the horror that was to come? Following a format akin to news
programs like "Face the Nation" and "Meet the Press," speakers will
discuss events of 1859 and their effect, limiting themselves only to
what would have been known at that time.
This program is free and open to the public -- but seating is limited
and registration is required. To learn more about the conference or to
register, please go to
http://www.virginiacivilwar.org/2009conference.php. If you need
additional information about the conference or the state's planning for
other events, please see http://www.virginiacivilwar.org/events.php or
contact the Commission at info@virginiacivilwar.org.
