They had almost no connection to it. The great majority of these immigrants arrived either in Northern cities like New York and Philadelphia or in Western ones such as Seattle and San Francisco. To them, it was as if the Civil War had never taken place.

In reaction, or response, many Americans whose ancestors had been in the United States for a long time organized educational experiences to instruct a new generation about the importance of the Civil War. Many of these efforts fell flat on their face because the times had changed so greatly.