The ƼӰԭ's Department of History is sponsoring a two-day Nevada Statehood and Constitution symposium in honor of the Nevada sesquicentennial. The theme of the symposium is "All for the Union," and will highlight the history behind Nevada achieving statehood.
"We see the symposium as a serious contribution to the understanding of the circumstances surrounding Nevada's admission to the Union of States in 1864," William Rowley, professor in the University's Department of History, said. "Nevada's statehood was linked to the profound causes surrounding the outbreak and conduct of the Civil War, such as the affirmation of one nation 'indivisible' and the abolishment of slavery in the union."
The symposium will begin at 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 6, in the Ansari Business Building, Room 106, with the featured address given by University of Virginia Professor Gary Gallagher. Gallagher is the author of the book "All for the Union" and will give a lecture titled "A War for the Union: Motivation and Meaning in the Civil War North." The second day of the symposium will feature two panel discussions held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7 in in room 402 of the Joe Crowley Student Union.
The first panel discussion Friday will focus on Nevada Statehood and Society in 1864 and the second panel discussion will focus on the inception and duration of the Nevada Constitution. Panel members include State Historical Preservation Officer and soon-to-be inducted Nevada Writer Hall of Fame recipient Ron James, University of Nevada, Las Vegas history professor Michael Green, History Office U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Michael Brodhead, Retired and Historian of Suffrage in Nevada Dana Bennett. Rowley will be the moderator for the panels.
"Although the valuable gold and silver bullion coming out of the Comstock was a principal reason for the creation of the Nevada Territory in 1861, it was not the key factor for statehood in 1864," Rowley said. "Nevada's admission to the union was much more serious and profound than the celebration of its rich Comstock mines. Nevada's statehood supported the enduring nationhood for the United States and backed a major milestone in human freedom -- the destruction of slavery in the United States with the ratification of the 13 Amendment to the Constitution."
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