Year In Review 2017: The long shadow of Milwaukee’s Postbellum Legacy

The features presented here were published as original works created in 2017 by the Milwaukee Independent, with a focus on the history, legacy, and continuing impact of the American Civil War in the region.

The first article published by the Milwaukee Independent in 2015 was Civil War legacy still affects Milwaukee’s economy. Our nation’s most costly struggle was far away in geography and time, but the aftermath can still be felt in Southeastern Wisconsin today. As the affects of discrimination and hostility against African-Americans continued in the South, the Great Migration from the 1920s brought the long shadow of slavery’s racial inequality to the Northern states. This collection of content presents news stories from 2017 that were reported as a way to educate and inform the public about decades of Civil War myth, and how the problems of the South in 1861 evolved into the issues that the Milwaukee community continues to face today.

Milwaukee’s last Civil War veteran memorialized on his 75th anniversary

Edward Bonekemper: Debunking the big lie about Civil War history

Audio: Myth of the Lost Cause and how it whitewashed slavery

Friends of Calvary Cemetery work to save a Milwaukee treasure

Photo Essay: Calvary Cemetery hosts Civil War era Memorial Day service

Confederate monuments to be removed from Wisconsin cemetery

Robert J. Miller: Lessons from a time when both sides prayed to the same God

Heroes honored with Memorial Day tributes at Wood National Cemetery

Memorial Day and how Milwaukee honors the sacrifices from war