Category Archives: Reconstruction

Kingstree jail fire

On January 7, 1867 the jail in Kingstree, South Carolina caught on fire. Twenty-two black prisoners were burned or smothered to death. From The New-York Times January 16, 1867: The Burning of the Kingstree, S.C., Jail – Heartrending Scenes Attending … Continue reading

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unfazed

As 1867 began, newspaper headlines indicated that the United States Congress was definitely planning on impeaching President Andrew Johnson. The president wasn’t cowed. On January 7th Congress received his veto of An act to regulate the elective franchise in the … Continue reading

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Letter to the Loyal Alabamans

A document at the Library of Congress indicates that 150 years ago today the Grand Council of the Union League of Alabama wrote an epistle to its local branches. The letter began by thanking God that thanks to federal soldiers … Continue reading

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hilltop experience

In its New Year’s piece 150 year ago today The New-York Times changed up the Janus imagery a little bit: … New Year’s Day is like a hill upon which a traveler pauses to rest, to look back over the … Continue reading

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firewall

150 years ago this month an article about Reconstruction by Frederick Douglass was published in The Atlantic Monthly. In the first section Mr. Douglass asserted that the only way to protect the rights of ex-slaves in the South without creating … Continue reading

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standing pat

150 years ago this week President Andrew Johnson delivered his second annual message to Congress. Despite the overwhelming Republican victory in Northern states in the 1866 midterm elections, President Johnson did not alter his position: Southern states should be readmitted … Continue reading

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thanks for the schooling

The seventh Thanksgiving since Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. President Andrew Johnson unobstreperously followed Mr. Lincoln’s example by proclaiming a national commemoration. According to an editorial in The New-York Times all the states went along, except … Continue reading

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litmus test

150 years ago today a Republican newspaper responded to Democratic charges that the new Congress would only re-admit Southern states to the Union if the Republican party was assured of winning the 1868 presidential election. The Republican paper said that … Continue reading

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the anonymous eight

In 1866 Elizabeth Cady Stanton ran for Congress for New York’s Eighth District as an independent – unaffiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. She didn’t win. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in 1866: AWFUL. – Our … Continue reading

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Boston Uncommon

There weren’t too many surprises in state elections held on November 6, 1866 – the Republican landslide continued for the most part as voters in state after northern state rejected President Johnson’s plan for rebel states to easily re-enter the … Continue reading

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