Greene will review the important events that comprised the sectional crisis that culminated in secession in 1860 and Civil War in April 1861. He will also present the perspectives at that time of those in the North who were willing to go to war to prevent the disintegration of the Union and those in the South who believed they were acting in the tradition of the founding fathers of 1776 in establishing representative government for themselves. Greene will ultimately draw a conclusion regarding whether or not, given the conflicting viewpoints, there were ways to avoid America's most costly war.

A. Wilson Greene is the Executive Director of Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier located near Petersburg, Virginia. Mr. Greene served as the first president of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites from 1990 to 1994.

This will be the Keynote Address of the Muster in Manalapan, the beginning of the Monmouth County Library's system-wide commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.