Category Archives: Reconstruction

“in the twinkling of an eye”

Posted on June 16, 2015 by SUMPTER

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in June 1865: Negro Suffrage. The radical element is very much excited over the President’s North Carolina proclamation, and an open rupture is threatened. The exclusion of the negro from the right of … Continue reading →

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no war, no work

Posted on June 15, 2015 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today The Chicago Times reprinted a report from the one-time capital of the Confederacy. Richmond was swarming with former rebel soldiers unable to find work: The Chicago editors had a hunch that the war’s end meant bounty-jumpers … Continue reading →

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lemonade stand

Posted on June 12, 2015 by SUMPTER

Talk about “Yankees.” It is time we were all Yankees, if by the term is meant a shrewd, energetic and indomitable encounter with difficulties. Tell us about being “Abolitionists!” We are all Abolitionists by force of events — by the … Continue reading →

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common sense

Posted on June 10, 2015 by SUMPTER

Taking the Oath in North Carolina The front page of the June 10, 1865 issue of The Chicago Times (at the Library of Congress) featured reports from throughout the South. There were many problems, including great hunger. There was some … Continue reading →

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southern social war?

Posted on June 6, 2015 by SUMPTER

The National Government “has freed the four millions of slaves by its own deliberate acts, and it is bound to take care that this freedom shall benefit, and not injure them.” – hopefully with the support of the state governments … Continue reading →

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suffering exodus

Posted on June 5, 2015 by SUMPTER

From The New-York Times June 6, 1865: The Destitution of the Freedmen in Alabama. The following letter has been received by Mr. F.G. SHAW, the President of the National Freedman’s Relief Association. It discloses a state of things which loudly … Continue reading →

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“perhaps necessary that we should pass through this last ordeal”

Posted on June 2, 2015 by SUMPTER

Things are thankfully winding down here but wanted to mention that 150 years ago today I could have read all about the June 1st Day of Humiliation and Prayer called by President Johnson for the purpose of mourning the assassination … Continue reading →

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shotgun shorts

Posted on May 30, 2015 by SUMPTER

This article would have been published earlier than May 30, 1865 because even folks up here in New York state would already have known that Jefferson Davis was captured. From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in May 1865: The … Continue reading →

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last step in Connecticut?

Posted on May 29, 2015 by SUMPTER

From the May 29, 1865 issue of The Chicago Times. (at the Library of Congress): The legislature of Connecticut, now in session, has before it a proposition to amend the state constitution so as to give the right of voting … Continue reading →

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Democrats for the disabled

Posted on May 26, 2015 by SUMPTER

The The Grand Review of the Union armies occurred in Washington, D.C. on May 23rd and 24th. The soldiers would keep heading north to their homes and the next stage in their lives. The New-York Times promoted the government employment … Continue reading →

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