Slavery and Public History: The Tough Stuff of American Memory Book

Introduction vii

1 Coming to Terms with Slavery in Twenty-First-Century America Ira Berlin 1

2 If You Don't Tell It Like It Was, It Can Never Be as It Ought to Be David W. Blight 19

3 Slavery in American History: An Uncomfortable National Dialogue James Oliver Horton 35

4 The Last Great Taboo Subject: Exhibiting Slavery at the Library of Congress John Michael Vlach 57

5 For Whom Will the Liberty Bell Toll? From Controversy to Cooperation Gary B. Nash 75

6 Recovering (from) Slavery: Four Struggles to Tell the Truth Joanne Melish 103

7 Avoiding History: Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings, and the Uncomfortable Public Conversation on Slavery Lois E. Horton 135

8 Southern Comfort Levels: Race, Heritage Tourism, and the Civil War in Richmond Marie Tyler-McGraw 151

9 "A Cosmic Threat": The National Park Service Addresses the Causes of the American Civil War Dwight T. Pitcaithley 169

10 In Search of a Usable Past: Neo-Confederates and Black Confederates Bruce Levine 187

11 Epilogue: Reflections Edward T. Linenthal 213

Notes 225

Contributors 253

Index 257