In at least 150 words explain how the historical context of the civil war and its literature can be used to explore universal themes

NPS Primary Theme: The Civil War was "the most momentous era in American history" - it defined who we are as a nation, both then and now, and what beliefs we hold "self-evident."

The 150th Anniversary of the Civil War provides us with the opportunity to not only reflect on the sacrifices our nation made, but to measure the value of freedoms we enjoy today. Abraham Lincoln once wrote "If we could first know where we are, and wither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it." Therein lays the relevancy of history, and of the Civil War sites of the National Park Service. If we can better understand the issues, the trials, the sacrifices, and the struggles that past generations endured, to bring us where we are today, we can better "judge what to do, and how to do it" today, and in the future.