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MischaHoneck and posters recruing German Americans for theUnion army. methods employed to finance the war, including tariffs and taxes (not very effective) aswell as borrowing and deficit spending (bonds, treasury notes, and "printing money"—the main sources of funding). Nikki Taylor, fromtheUniversity of Cincinnati, detailed the history of Cincinnati' s "Black Brigade," a group of African Americanmen who volunteered for thewar effort,were rejected but then conscripted into near-slavery, and then given the chance to volunteer. Their story illuminates the ways that volun- teerism and patriotism paved the way for changes in ideas about who was qualified for true citizenship.Closing out the morning session, Diane Barnes (Youngstown State University), another repeat speaker, examined the efforts of Frederick Douglass and George Stearns to involve African Americans in the war, thereby tying the military struggle to the moral struggles of abolition and civil rights. Two more returning speakers began the afternoon session. The University of SUMMER 2012 Arizona's Brooks Simpson covered the political and personal battles surroundingUlyssesGrant' Nikki Taylor s ascension to command of the Union armies, focusing on the debates and issues surrounding the effort in Congress to revive the rank of lieutenant general specifically for Grant.Mischa Honeck, currently at the German Historical Institute in DC, considered the reasons that so many GermanAmericans chose to fight for the Union, including a cultural background that valued physical prowess as a part of men' s coming of age and an under- standing that joining the fight meant affirming their identities asU.S. citizens. Iver Berstein (Washington Univer- sity) concluded the presentationswith an exploration of the deeper causes and meanings of the 1863 draft riots in New York City, arguing that the riots should be considered another of thewar' s battles and a revolt against many of President Lincoln' s policies. The afternoon concluded with an informal panel, during which audience members asked any remaining questions they had for THE CAPITOL DOME 53 Aendee Armen Tashdinian asks a queson during the closing panel.