“So much of what is wrong with America today began with the Civil War and Reconstruction” – Jason Cochran

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Jason discuss the monuments at Gettysburg, and the concept of a Civil War “hero” (2:00); the revisionist post-war memorial efforts by Southern organizations (13:00); the concept of memorials, and how they shape memory (26:00); and our relationship with deceased celebrities, and how to interpret America through its monuments (40:00).

Jason Cochran (@JasCochran), the award-winning author of Here Lies America, has been a travel authority and consumer expert for over 20 years. His work has appeared in such publications as Travel + Leisure, the New York Post, USA Today, and The New York Times. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Frommers.com and co-host with Pauline Frommer of the weekly Travel Show on WABC. For more about Jason, check out https://jasoncochran.com/.

Notable Links:

Battle of Gettysburg
Andersonville Historical Site
Reconstruction Era
Robert E. Lee (Commander of the Confederate Army)
United Daughters of the Confederacy (association)
Ladies Memorial Associations (Southern monument effort)
Ford’ Theatre (site of Lincoln assassination)
Ken Burns (filmmaker)
Jim Crow Laws
National Lynching Memorial
The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer (book)
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
USS Maine National Monument<...

America’s most solemn historical sites rarely offer an honest take on history

Deviate

America’s most solemn historical sites rarely offer an honest take on history