More from Adam Goodheart

Studio 360
The World

When the first shells exploded over Charleston’s Fort Sumter on the night of April 12, 1861, the news reached New York in a matter of hours. Journalist and historian Adam Goodheart describes the reaction of one New Yorker, a poet named Walt Whitman. Goodheart’s new book on the start of the Civil War is called 1861, and he’s been tracking the beginning of the war, day-by-day, on the blog Disunion.

Will you support The World today?

The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!