Tag Archives: Slavery

freedom march

Posted on March 4, 2014 by SUMPTER

philanthropists wanted … now! Last week Seven Score and Ten presented three different takes on General William T. Sherman’s Meridian Campaign. Here’s a fourth, from a Seneca County, New York newspaper in 1864: LO! THE POOR NEGRO. – A Vicksburg … Continue reading →

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“salutary school of affliction”

Posted on January 15, 2014 by SUMPTER

It’s been almost two years since we’ve put up a report on Frederick Douglass speaking at New York City’s Cooper Institute. 150 years ago this week he spoke there again. The war was dragging on, and it had to be … Continue reading →

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life insurance on property

Posted on December 28, 2013 by SUMPTER

An advertisement from the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 28, 1863: Slave Insurance Lynchburg Hose and fire Insurance Company. Slaves insured by this company for one or a term of years on favorable terms Wm A Charters, Increase Agent. Office 11th … Continue reading →

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trick or treat

Posted on October 31, 2013 by SUMPTER

You can read about this 1862 political carton at the Library of Congress. After being caned by Preston Brooks in the U.S. Senate in May 1856, Charles Sumner needed over three years to be able to fully recover from the … Continue reading →

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Tredegar still hiring

Posted on October 29, 2013 by SUMPTER

Big surprise – the South’s war economy is still going great guns. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch October 28, 1863: Wanted–1,000 negroes. –We wish to hire for the year 1864, one thousand Negroes, to be employed at the Tredegar Iron … Continue reading →

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black gold

Posted on October 24, 2013 by SUMPTER

Inflation in the Confederacy wasn’t just wreaking havoc on prices for basic needs like flour. Slave prices were at their highest ever in Richmond. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch October 24, 1863: High prices. –The highest prices yet paid for … Continue reading →

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no resale allowed

Posted on September 16, 2013 by SUMPTER

Melon Market Speculation? From the Richmond Daily Dispatch September 16, 1863: Violating a Market ordinance. –Barbers McDonald, Catherine Welsh, and Margaret Sullivan, three Irish women, were fined $5 for buying watermelons in the market to sell again. The melons were … Continue reading →

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“battle for freedom”

Posted on July 18, 2013 by SUMPTER

As you can read at Civil War Daily Gazette, 150 years ago today the 54th Massachusetts , a regiment of black soldiers, led a failed assault on Battery Wagner at Charleston. An article published in the August 22, 1863 issue … Continue reading →

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(Gradual) death-blow to a social system

Posted on July 3, 2013 by SUMPTER

On July 1, 1863 the Missouri State Convention passed a plan for gradual emancipation beginning in 1870. The following editorial knows why the decision was made – you can’t pretend to be loyal to the Union while still supporting slavery. … Continue reading →

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anger management

Posted on March 25, 2013 by SUMPTER

Sometimes when I reproduce racist articles I feel like me and 150 years are ganging up on the people in the story – I have no idea what my thoughts and actions would be like if I lived so long … Continue reading →

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