Tag Archives: Slavery

white lion, black cargo

Posted on August 23, 2019 by SUMPTER

400 years ago this month the first Africans arrived in the colony of Virginia in what is now the United States. According to Encyclopedia Virginia, in the summer of 1619 two English privateers, the White Lion and the Treasurer attacked … Continue reading →

Posted in 400 Years Ago, American History, Slavery, Southern Society | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

corrections

Posted on January 23, 2017 by SUMPTER

From The New-York Times January 24, 1867: No More Negroes to be Sold in Maryland … ANNAPOLIS, Wednesday, Jan. 23. The Maryland Legislature have passed an act abolishing an article in the code permitting the sale of negroes into slavery … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, Postbellum Politics, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction, Southern Society | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

for what it’s worth

Posted on December 18, 2015 by SUMPTER

As has been well-documented, William H. Seward did not think the United States Constitution was the most important law in the country. Especially in the context of determining whether slavery should be eradicated, he believed there was “a higher law … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

it was all worth it

Posted on December 7, 2015 by SUMPTER

The war has been worth all that it cost the nation; the sacrifice has been great, but the benefit greater. President Andrew Johnson proclaimed December 7, 1865 a national Day of Thanksgiving. I don’t know if the first part of … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

chains into ploughshares

Posted on November 11, 2015 by SUMPTER

A poem from 150 years ago celebrated peace and the victory of freedom and free labor over slavery: From The Atlantic Monthly, VOL. XVI.—NOVEMBER, 1865.—NO. XCVII. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Our modern Veteran’s Day springs from Armistice Day: The shooting finally stopped … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Aftermath, Postbellum Society, Veterans | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“Is this Democratic?”

Posted on September 25, 2015 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today Daniel Sickles wrote a letter to Hugh Judson Kilpatrick criticizing the New Jersey Democrat 1865 platform (see last section of the linked post). Moreover, New Jersey Democrats were even lagging behind South Carolina: The party in … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, Postbellum Politics, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“devout joy at the salvation of the country”

Posted on July 4, 2015 by SUMPTER

From The New-York Times July 6, 1865: THE CELEBRATION OF INDEPENDENCE DAY. The observance of the National Anniversary was characterized everywhere throughout the country by a sober heartiness and earnest enthusiasm, in perfect keeping with the peculiarities of the occasion. … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, Northern Society, Reconstruction, Veterans | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Aftermath, Reconstruction, Southern Society | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

General Grant agrees

Posted on June 3, 2015 by SUMPTER

150 years ago yesterday General Grant issued a congratulatory order to the troops. He zeroed in on slavery as the “the cause and pretext of the rebellion.” From The New-York Times June 5, 1865: THE LIEUT.-GENERAL TO OUR ARMIES.; Grant … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, Northern Society, Veterans | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“A bark canoe in a tempest on mid-ocean”

Posted on May 23, 2015 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this week the Utica Morning Herald & Daily Gazette (at the Library of Congress) devoted its front page to a reprint of an article that assessed Abraham Lincoln’s historical significance. The president did not seem up to … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, Reconstruction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment