| Abstract | During the 1980's-90's, the memory of the Civil War became one of the most vibrant and contested subjects in the study of 19th-century American history. Studies of Civil War memory potentially can reveal much about the cultural, political, and intellectual world of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Gilded Age. Whereas the Civil War has often been studied in historical isolation, histories of memory thrust off the standard constraints of periodization to emphatically link the Civil War with late-19th-century history. David W. Blight's award-winning synthesis 'Race and Reunion' (2001) both indicates the topic's rapid maturation and heightens the need for a historiographical excursion to assess the collective strengths and weaknesses of this burgeoning subfield. This article explores the convergence of factors, both within and outside the historical profession, that have encouraged the boom in memory studies. In addition, it traces the emerging historiography to examine both the creative diversity of the field and its common assumptions, insights, and strategic limits.
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