Air Date: 120205
Subject: Donald E. Collins: The President Who Wouldn’t Die
Books: The Death and Resurrection of Jefferson Davis
Guest: Donald E. Collins
Summary: Dr. Donald E. Collins, author of The Death and Resurrection of Jefferson Davis describes the remarkable postwar career of the Confederate president.
Brett’s Summary: Don Collins discusses all things Davis from the Civil War, to his post-war career, to how Davis was remembered after his death. Interestingly, Collins points out that Davis was considered an AMERICAN hero in the years between 1865 and his death in 1889 for his efforts at the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican-American War. Only after Davis’ death did celebrations surrounding him turn CONFEDERATE in nature. It is interesting to me that Davis died in 1889. This is about the time some other historians point to as the beginning of the nadir of race relations in this country. I wonder if Davis’ death and subsequent use as a Confederate symbol contributed to the ability of Lost Cause organizers to insert their false memories of the war on the United States population as a whole? Davis in his lifetime, at least according to Dr. Collins, was a strong proponent of reconciliation. I wonder how he would react if shown how his name was used in the years after his death.
Civil War Talk Radio airs most Fridays at 12 PM Pacific on World Talk Radio Studio A. Host Gerry Prokopowicz, the History Chair at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, interviews a guest each week and discusses their interest in the Civil War. Most interviews center around a book or books if the guest is an author. Other guests over the years have included public Historians such as park rangers and museum curators,wargamers, bloggers, and even a member of an American Civil War Round Table located in London, England.
In this series of blog entries, I will be posting air dates, subjects, and guests, and if I have time, I’ll provide a brief summary of the program. You can find all of the past episodes I’ve entered into the blog by clicking on the Civil War Talk Radio category. Each program should appear either on or near the date it was first broadcast.
Check out Brett’s list of the Top 10 Civil War Blogs!
Read many Civil War Book Reviews here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog!
Check out Beyond the Crater: The Petersburg Campaign Online for the latest on the Siege of Petersburg!
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