Historian and author Kerry Trask discusses how the Civil War produced the generation that most shaped Wisconsin's collective character and identity and eventually transformed the Midwest Region (of the Old Northwest Territories) into a mature and creative society.

Kerry Trask teaches history at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc. A native of Ontario, Canada, Trask earned his BA in history from Hamline University in St. Paul, and his MA and PhD in History from the University of Minnesota. He has written three books: In the Pursuit of Shadows: Massachusetts Millennialism and the Seven Years War (Garland Publishers, 1989), The Fire Within: A Civil War Narrative from Wisconsin (Kent State University Press, 1995), and Black Hawk: The Battle for the Heart of America (Henry Holt & Co., 2005). He is also the reviews editor for Voyageur: Northeast Wisconsin's Historical Review. Trask was inducted as a Wisconsin Academy Fellow in 2008. 

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters connects people and ideas for a better Wisconsin. Founded in 1870, the Wisconsin Academy provides a place where people who care about culture, nature, and the challenges of our times can gather for fruitful discourse and meaningful action. Wisconsin Academy programs include the James Watrous Gallery at the Overture Center for the Arts, a gallery by and for Wisconsin artists; Wisconsin People & Ideas, our quarterly magazine about Wisconsin thought and culture; Academy Evenings, our statewide series of public forums; and the Wisconsin Idea, a public policy program—the most recent of which focuses on “The Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin.” For more information on our programs and events, please visit wisconsinacademy.org.

Academy Evenings engage the public in a wide variety of topics of public interest and feature Wisconsin’s leading thinkers, scholars, and artists. These free forums are intended to encourage public interaction with these leaders in an intimate atmosphere designed to foster discussion and build community. The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters sponsors Academy Evenings regularly in the Overture Center in Madison and at other venues across the state.