Posts Tagged ‘Civil War’
Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism
'The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism Book Review by Susan Grigsby On Sept. 4, The Economist published a book review, for which it apologized, retracted, and then posted on the web. It created no end of furor and discussion about whether the book, or the review, was racist. The anonymous reviewer accused the author of not giving slave owners any credit for their "better treatment" of the slaves which may have been the reason that cotton production ... Full Story
Veterans Day Thoughts
No Glory in War for this Veteran By Andrew Larkin I am a veteran – of the Vietnam era, as are my friends and my brothers. My father, uncles, and an aunt were veterans of World War II. A great uncle was stationed on a battleship during World War I. A great-grandfather fought in the Civil War, an immigrant in an Illinois regiment who suffered the rest of his life from his bullet wound. Veterans Day on November 11 was formerly Armistice Day, celebrating the end of the Great War. But it ... Full Story
The KKK glorified as Confederacy grows in the South
The Confederacy Making a Comeback in the South? KKK Grand Wizard Glorified, Civil Rights Heroes Ignored As Southern whites sink into economic despair, more and more are retreating into a fictional past. January 28, 2013 | On a windy afternoon a few days ago I went to a depressed section of North Memphis to visit an old clapboard house that was once owned by a German immigrant named Jacob Burkle. Oral history—and oral history is all anyone has in this case since no written documents ... Full Story
Abe Lincoln; flip/flop president
The Eau Clair Leader-Telegram Attacking Honest Abe (with videos) By Tom Giffey latest Off Beat column, which will appear in Sunday’s edition, is about a hilarious (yet educational and insightful) series of fake political ads on the website FlackCheck.org (a spin-off of FactCheck.org, which fact-checks real-life political ads and claims). The Flip-Flop President Instead of tackling a contemporary politico, the ads target our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. Imagine, if you will, that ... Full Story
Stalin Invented ‘American Exceptionalism’
How Joseph Stalin Invented 'American Exceptionalism' Rick Santorum and the rest of GOP presidential gang all have a man-crush. Considering he was an outright intellectual elitist, a shaggy-haired liberal, and -- horror of horrors -- French, the object of their adoration seems a bit surprising, but the French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville and his 1835 United States travelogue, Democracy in America, have surged into national politics this campaign cycle -- often linked to the nascent ... Full Story
On This Day, December 6 1865
The 13th Amendment is ratified On this day in 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, officially ending the institution of slavery, is ratified. "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." With these words, the single greatest change wrought by the Civil War was officially noted in the Constitution. The ratification ... Full Story
On This Day, November 19, 1863
Lincoln delivers Gettysburg Address On November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most memorable speeches in American history. In just 272 words, Lincoln brilliantly and movingly reminded a war-weary public why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, fought some four months earlier, was the single bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Over ... Full Story
On This Day: October 23, 1864
Oct 23, 1864: Yankees and Rebels clash at the Battle of Westport On this day in 1864, Confederate General Sterling Price's raid on Missouri nearly turns into disaster when his army is pinned between two Union forces at Westport, Missouri, near Kansas City. Although outnumbered, Price's forces managed to slip safely away after the Battle of Westport, which was the biggest conflict west of the Mississippi River. Price's six-week raid on Missouri was intended to capture a state that had been ... Full Story
On this Day: October 16, 1859
Oct 16, 1859: Abolitionist John Brown leads a raid on Harpers Ferry Abolitionist John Brown leads a small group on a raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt and destroy the institution of slavery. Born in Connecticut in 1800 and raised in Ohio, Brown came from a staunchly Calvinist and antislavery family. He spent much of his life failing at a variety of businesses--he declared bankruptcy at age 42 ... Full Story
