Abstract
This year we begin a multiyear national commemoration of perhaps the most wrenching conflict our nation has endured, the American Civil War. Thus, it seemed appropriate for the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography to use the occasion of this initial sesquicentennial year to reflect upon Pennsylvania's role in this seminal event, examine the state of historical scholarship on the commonwealth's history during this era, share new work on the topic, and encourage further exploration of a subject that continues to attract both scholars and the general public and that continues to have meaning for our life today.