"What made rifles both practical and devastating by the time of the Civil War was
the introduction in the 1850s of the minié ball (called the “minnie ball” by Civil
War soldiers), an elongated bullet with a soft, hollow base that expanded upon
firing to fit into the rifle's grooved barrel, thereby greatly increasing range and
accuracy. This new bullet solved problems of loading and reliability that hitherto
had limited rifles to a s ..."
"During the 1950s consensus historians, attempting to challenge the claims of an
earlier generation of Progressive historians, maintained that what distinguished
the history of the United States was the absence of feudalism, the strength of a
liberal tradition, the weakness of aristocracy, the limits of working-class
discontent, and the failure of socialism. Implicit in such an explanation was the
belief that conflict in America did ..."
"Virginia Anderson edits the first published collection of these conversations. She pairs each interview with a contextual essay by a contemporary expert that shows how the composer's discussion with Childs fits into his life and work."