Bio
Jennifer L. Weber is a nationally recognized scholar of the Civil War with a particular interest in examining how social, political, and military forces shaped each other during the conflict. She has written or edited a number of books for adults and children, along with scholarly articles, encyclopedia entries, and book reviews. Her most notable publication, Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln’s Opponents in the North, helped resurrect scholarly interest in Union politics, especially those involving anti-war Democrats. Her current research centers on the first military draft in United States history, how it was received, and how it helped create the kind of expansive and powerful government we know today. She is also co-writing a book on the history of American Airpower. Before becoming an academic, Dr. Weber was a journalist and political aide in her home state of California. In the State Legislature, she was the chief consultant to the women’s caucus and worked on such issues as domestic and workplace violence and sexual assault. In her career as a journalist, she covered nearly every imaginable beat, concluding her newspaper days at the Sacramento Bee, where she was a copy editor and the celebrity gossip columnist.
During her time in Sacramento, Dr. Weber began (and finished) a master’s degree at Sacramento State. She left California for Princeton University, where she earned her Ph.D. in history studying under James M. McPherson.
Dr. Weber enjoys travel, music, hanging out with friends, the beach, hiking, reading, cooking, and gardening.
Education
Ph.D., History, Princeton University (2003)
Master of Arts, History, Princeton University (2000)
Master of Arts, History, California State University, Sacramento (1998)
Bachelor of Science, Journalism, Northwestern University (1984)
Professional Experience
Associate Professor, United States Air Force Academy, (2019-present)
Associate Professor, University of Kansas (2010-2019)
Assistant Professor, University of Kansas (2005-2010)
Lecturer, Princeton University (2003-2005)
Celebrity gossip columnist, copy and wire editor, The Sacramento Bee, California (1995-1998)
Legislative Aide, Assemblywoman Dede Alpert, San Diego, California (1994-1995)
Chief consultant, Women Legislators’ Caucus, San Diego, California (1993-1994)
Press Secretary, Senator Lucy Killea, California, (1992-1993)
Reporter, Times Advocate, Escondido, California (1988-1992)
Reporter, Daily Pilot, Costa Mesa, California (1987-1988)
Reporter and Photographer, Hemet News, Hemet, California (1985-1987)
Honors & Awards
Team of the Quarter member, U.S. Air Force Academy (2018)
Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (Summer’s Bloodiest Days), National Council for the Social Studies (2011)
Book of the Month (Copperheads), History Book Club (2006)
Hay-Nicolay Prize for best dissertation, presented by the Abraham Lincoln Institute and Abraham Lincoln Association (2005)
Research and Scholarly Interests
American Civil War
19th century political and social history
Abraham Lincoln
Military history
Publications
BOOKS:
America’s First Draft. In progress.
Summer’s Bloodiest Days: The Battle of Gettysburg As Told from All Sides. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2010.
Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln’s Opponents in the North. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
EDITED BOOKS:
The Struggle for Equality: Essays on Sectional Conflict, the Civil War, and the Long Reconstruction. Orville Vernon Burton, Jerald Podair, and Jennifer L. Weber, eds. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2011.
Red Badge of Courage, supplemented edition and teachers guide. New York: WestSide Books, 2010.
Executive editor, “Key Concepts in American History,” a 10-book series targeting eighth-graders. New York: DWJ Books, 2009-2010.
ARTICLES:
“Dissent in the Civil War North,” Cambridge History of the Civil War, in press.
“Conscription and the Rise of Big Brother,” in an unnamed anthology coming from the 2015 symposium: “Aftermath: The Consequences of the Civil War for Congress and the Federal Government,” in press.
“Abraham Lincoln’s Fateful Night at the Theatre,” School of Advanced Study blog, University of London, http://blogs.sas.ac.uk/2015/04/14/abraham-lincolns-fateful-night-at-the-theatre/, posted April 14, 2015.
“The Political Culture of the North: Party Politics of Nation and State.” In A War Worth Fighting: Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency and Civil War America. Stephen Engle, ed. The Alan B. Larkin Series on the American Presidency. (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2015): 91-109.
“Reflections on ‘Where Do We Stand?,’” Civil War History (December 2014): 404-406.“Indiana in the Civil War,” Ohio Valley History (Fall 2013): 3-6.
“‘William Quantrill Is My Homeboy,’ or, The Border War Goes to College.” In Bleeding Kansas, Bleeding Missouri: The Long Civil War on the Border. Jonathan Earle and Diane Mutti-Burke, eds. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2013): 259-275.
“Was Lincoln a Tyrant?” New York Times, March 25, 2013. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/was-lincoln-a-tyrant/
“Service Problems,” New York Times, March 8, 2013. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/service-problems/
“Lincoln and the Copperheads,” New York Times, January 28, 2013. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/lincoln-and-the-copperheads/
“Full Spectrum Operations in the Homeland: A ‘Vision’ of the Future” (with Kevin Benson). Small Wars Journal, July 25, 2012. http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/full-spectrum-operations-in-the-homeland-a-“vision”-of-the-future.
“Lincoln’s Critics: The Copperheads,” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association 32 (Winter 2011): 33-47.
“All the President’s Men: The Politicization of Union Soldiers and How They Saved Abraham Lincoln.” In The Struggle for Equality: Essays on Sectional Conflict, the Civil War, and the Long Reconstruction. Orville Vernon Burton, Jerald Podair, and Jennifer L. Weber, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2011): 76-90.
“Lincoln and the Copperheads.” In Lincoln’s Legacy of Leadership, George R. Goethals and Gary L. McDowell, eds. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010): 123-138.
“Lincoln’s Secretaries, 1862,” Illinois History Teacher 15 (2008).
“The Neighbors War.” North & South 9 (February 2007): 32-45.
“The Summer of ’64.” To be published as part of the conference proceedings associated with the opening of the Abraham Lincoln Museum.
“If Ever War Was Holy.” North & South 5 (April 2002): 62-71.
ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES:
“Civil War.” Encyclopaedia Britannica.
“Abraham Lincoln.” Entry for International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2d ed. (Macmillan Reference USA).
“Civil War.” International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2d ed. (Macmillan Reference USA).
“Confederate States of America.” International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2d ed. (Macmillan Reference USA).
“Copperheads.” Essential Lincoln: A Political Encyclopedia (CQ Press, 2008).
“Andrew Johnson” and sidebars. Encyclopedia of the U.S. Presidency (Facts on File, 2008).