Category Archives: Postbellum Society

winter wheat

I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies, and be more generous and … Continue reading

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at Independence Hall

In late August 1866 President Andrew Johnson and entourage embarked on a two and a half week “Swing Around the Circle” tour to try to influence the 1866 midterm elections in favor of more conservative, Democrat candidates opposed to Radical … Continue reading

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2,111 unknown

150 years ago this month the Civil War Unknowns Monument was sealed at Arlington National Cemetery. Although Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs intended the monument to honor Union soldiers, Confederate soldiers were probably also included because all the skeletons were … Continue reading

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Johnstown calamity

Could it get any worse? 150 years ago today Andrew Johnson’s Swing Around the Circle tour rolled on from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, PA. According to the September 15, 1866 issue of The New-York Times the crowds were generally enthusiastic along … Continue reading

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“wholesale slaughter”

On July 30, 1866 a riot broke out in New Orleans. Louisiana Governor James Madison Wells had called for a convention to “enfranchise blacks, prohibit ‘rebels’ from voting, and establish a new state government.” Opponents, including members of the city … Continue reading

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restoration and readmission

On July 18, 1866 Tennessee became the third United state (and first ex-Confederate state) to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. On July 24, 1866 both houses of the United States Congress began accepting representatives from Tennessee. … Continue reading

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lightning votes

150 years ago this week Congress took almost all of three hours to override a presidential veto In February 1866 President Andrew Johnson vetoed a bill to extend the jurisdiction of the Freedmen’s Bureau. The U.S. Senate was unable to … Continue reading

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four score and ten

150 years ago today Massachusetts state representative George Bailey Loring delivered an Independence Day oration at Newburyport, Mass. He paid homage to Abraham Lincoln and declared the supremacy of the federal government. He disagreed with President Andrew Johnson’s objection to … Continue reading

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kudos to the chief

On July 22, 1866 President Andrew Johnson reported to Congress that his administration had sent the recently passed Constitutional Amendment to the states for ratification. He used the occasion to explain his opposition to the amendment. He thought it was … Continue reading

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southern states’ side

In early June 1866 Congress passed what would become the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 150 years ago today President Andrew Johnson reported to Congress that the amendment had been dutifully sent to the states for their consideration. … Continue reading

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