Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/216603
O 2013 SPRING SYMPOSIUM n May 3 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society held its annual symposium. This year's entry, "Congress, the Home Front, and the Civil War," was the tenth in the series The National Capital in a Nation Divided: Congress and the District of Columbia Confront Sectionalism and Slavery. After several years focusing on the Civil War, the military, and related developments, this program provided a shift in topic: speakers examined Congress and Washington in the early 1860s without prioritizing the fighting and war efforts. owen williams, President of Transylvania University, opened the program with a discussion of the tensions between the branches of government in Washington during the Civil War, especially between Congress and the Supreme Court. Carleton College's Jenny Bourne followed with an examination of the ways Congress paid for the war and transformed the financial landscape of government. Peter wallenstein, from Virginia owen wiLLiaMS Polytechnic Institute, concluded the morning session by considering the Morrill Land-Grant College Act. Symposium Director Paul Finkelman (Albany Law School) began the afternoon session by looking at the little-known Dakota War of 1862, one of the largest instances of Native American armed resistance in the U.S.; it concluded with the largest mass execution in American history when 38 Dakota Sioux were hung. Kenneth winkle, from the University of LincolnNebraska, then looked at conditions in the District Paul Finkelman (left) moderates a panel discussion including, from left, Kenneth Winkle, Jenny Bourne, and Peter Wallenstein. during the war, noted changes, and explored why DC's unique qualities made it the place to experiment with emancipation. Finally, author Guy Gugliotta considered the Capitol dome we know now, its design and development before the war, its mid-war dedication, and its symbolic weight. C-SPAN recorded the afternoon session and aired the talks this fall on American History TV. To view them, go to Guy GuGLioTTa www.c-span.org/History and search for one of the speakers using his full name. Jenny Bourne talks with audience members after presenting her paper.