Digital History and the Civil War Era

This essay charts how computational methods, tools, and platforms have shaped studies of the Civil War era from the 1970s to the present. It highlights some of the connections between digital history's emergence in recent decades and thematic topics such as slavery and emancipation, sectional conflict, and the Civil War. Although historians of this period have increasingly used advanced computational tools for analysis, such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS), less heralded forms of technology have had a far greater impact on their work, including digital archives, online communication platforms, and public-facing websites. This essay argues for the need to think more expansively and more critically about digital technologies and the ways they are reshaping historical practices.