Authored By davidamartin423

Nearly a quarter-century ago, Ken Burns became a household name with his nine-part documentary, “The Civil War.” To say it was a hit would be an understatement, as nearly one in four Americans tuned in to PBS to watch it during its inaugural two-week run.

It is absolutely beautiful-all 11 and a half hours of it. To this day, I get chills when I hear the theme music to the series, and I’ve lost count how many times I’ve rewatched my favorite segments. Though Burns was already an accomplished documentarian with two Oscar nominations under his belt, “The Civil War” propelled his career into the upper echelons of the filmmaking fraternity. But it wasn’t just his own professional star that shone brighter thanks to the success of his seminal work. Burns brought Shelby Foote with him to the national stage. A Mississippi novelist turned historian with a smooth Southern drawl and a knack for storytelling, Foote quickly attracted a cult following.

Burns leaned heavily on Foote’s expertise and voice to breathe life into the battle-era photographs and diary entries that resonated so deeply with viewers. Foote-who, over the course of three decades, penned his own 2,968-page narrative of the Civil War-had an incredible ability to personalize everyone, from the major players of the conflict to the lowest-ranking infantrymen. He also put themes and events into perspective so that they held greater relevance with his audience.

One of Foote’s most-remembered remarks comes from the opening episode of the film. In describing the significance of the war, he says, “It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads.”

Only 85 years had passed between the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the firing of cannons on Fort Sumter, but in those few short decades, two distinct countries-North and South-emerged from the womb of American liberty. Arriving at that crossroads, a nation launched headlong into war to resolve its irreconcilable differences and figure out its future course. It took four years of struggle and 620,000 deaths before the issue was finally settled at Appomattox Courthouse.

When he was asked to summarize the major effect of the Civil War, Foote said, “Before the war, it was said ‘the United States are.’ Grammatically, it was spoken that way and thought of as a collection of independent states. And after the war, it was always ‘the United States is,’ as we say today without being self-conscious at all. And that sums up what the war accomplished. It made us an ‘is.'”

In the near century and a half since Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant, our country has arrived at crossroad after crossroad to figure how we’re going to continue this life as an “is.” Some decisions have been great-like civil rights and desegregation-while others have become nearly forgettable over time. And thankfully, we’ve yet to see another as-violent “irrepressible conflict” looming on the horizon.

Now, I’m not too much of an alarmist, but I can’t help but feel we’re approaching another crossroads moment in our national story. Thanks to a host of causes, such as gerrymandering and polarizing news-as-entertainment, we are slowly drifting into what Tom Bethell refers to as the “Divided States of America.”

Over the past few decades, both major parties have carved and recarved the American political landscape into enclaves of strongly partisan voter districts. These lines exist from local to national levels. A perfect example is right here in Chattanooga, as gerrymandering has been speculated to be the prime reason the surname “Berke” now comes with the title “mayor” instead of “senator.” Gerrymandered districts, whose borders are drawn to secure partisan political power, incubate ideological uniformity, and the leaders elected from them are a testament to this reality. According to a recent study conducted at the University of Georgia, today’s Congress has the smallest number of moderates (consensus creators) that it’s had in roughly 100 years. The upshot of this is that we now live in a political era that too often is skewed toward government shutdowns instead of grand compromises.

The Gettysburg Address Click here to watch a five-minute excerpt from Ken Burns’ “The Civil War.”

While pondering this, I recalled one of my favorite parts of Burns’ “The Civil War”-his telling of the Gettysburg Address. Two years into that bloody conflict, Abraham Lincoln traveled from Washington, D.C., into Pennsylvania to speak at the dedication of the newly created military cemetery on the Gettysburg battlefield. In just 269 words, Lincoln crafted one of the most powerful speeches in history. Revisiting it today is a prodding reminder of the duties and responsibilities that we as Americans have on our shoulders: “to be dedicated … to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.” In other words, it’s our job to figure out how to exist as one, together.

On those battlefields, we became an “is,” and every so often, Americans are forced to resolve differences and move forward. We’re gradually creating a new crossroads moment for ourselves. Though it assuredly won’t be as profound as the one our forebears faced in 1861, I am almost certain we will be there soon. And though it will be a painful experience-as all growing pains are-I look forward to the backside of it, when we’ve moved past the agonizing gridlock we’re enduring now.

David Allen Martin is a civic engagement advocate who teaches United States history at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. You should follow him on Twitter if you enjoy completely random posts. The opinions expressed in this column belong solely to the author, not Nooga.com or its employees.