I picked up a guitar when I was nineteen years old and learned to play some chords.  I strummed along with a dozen different simple chords that I could fit around most songs I wanted to play.  After several years, I realized some of the chords weren’t quite right in many of the songs, and I needed more sophisticated versions to play the tune well.  In addition, some songs were not just strummed, I needed to interpret more songs through different picking patterns to make sure  the melodies and the songs flowed correctly. 

After reflection, I realized that through the history we explored in Illinois, the United States went through the same process during and after the Civil War.  The Revolution and the Constitution separated us from Great Britain and organized how we would work together as a union of States.  In the words of Shelby Foote, the Civil War made us an “is” instead of an “are.”  (Foote, 1974, p. 1042)  People began speaking of the United States as one entity.  The Labor movement and the Progressive Era began the on-going process of interpreting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for the country as a whole, and not for individual states with many different policies.  Ideas and values were shared across the entire country.  On a larger scale, people began standing up and espousing that the Bill of Rights applied to all Americans.  The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were being interpreted in more sophisticated ways by a population that viewed themselves as Americans, rather than Virginians or Ohioans.

Would my thoughts have evolved as quickly had I not gone to Chicago?  I don’t believe so.  I read all the books and wrote my reactions, but the theme running through the era didn’t gel until I was finally walking the streets and hearing the stories.  I needed more sophistication in my thinking.  The program set ideas in front of me, challenged me to think and assess, and finally synthesize the information into a coherent understanding.  The comments, blog posts, and presenters kept the balls in the air until we had a chance to follow their paths and comprehend a little better how those balls were moving.

So, I have been teaching this era with a few simple chords and strums.  Now I think I can add some more interesting tunings and maybe even finger-picking patterns to interpret and provide support for the melodies of thought through this time in our nation’s history.

 

Foote, Shelby. 1974. The Civil War: A Narrative: Red River to Appomatox. Vintage Books. New York