John Y. Simon Day and Ulysses S. Grant Lecture
By Samuel P. Wheeler | September 28, 2009
I’m am so happy to pass along this announcement to you!
John Y. Simon Day and Ulysses S. Grant Lecture
Saturday, October 10, 2009, 10 am
at the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site in St. Louis, MO
Featured speakers include:
Dr. John F. Marszalek, the editor and executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association, and Mississippi State University Giles Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History. He will speak on “Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, A Decisive Friendship.”
Frank J. Williams, retired Chief Justice of the State of Rhode Island and Presidnet of the Board for the Ulysses S. Grant Association. He will speak about Dr. John Y. Simon’s legacy, both in Grant scholarship and documentary editing.
Dr. Simon was the editor of the Ulysses S. Grant Papers and Executive Director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association from 1962 until his death in 2008. He edited and published 28 annotated volumes of Grant’s letters and papers. He also edited Julia Dent Grant’s memoirs and was the author of over 100 articles. His scholarship on Grant was indispensible to Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. This event will honor Dr. Simon and his life’s work.
For more information, check the USG National Historic Site and the promotional flier.
For reservations, contact:
Pam Sanfilippo
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site Historian
(314) 842-3298 extension 224
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Ring in the Fourth of July in Kaskaskia, IL
By Samuel P. Wheeler | July 3, 2009
40th Annual Independence Day Program July 4 at Kaskaskia Bell
KASKASKIA ISLAND, IL – For the 40th time Americans will ring in the Fourth of July this year, with a programmed celebration to mark another type of ringing in a 306-year-old Illinois community west of the Mississippi River.
The 40th annual Independence Day Celebration is planned for 12:30 p.m. Saturday, July 4, 2009, at the Kaskaskia Bell State Historic Site on Kaskaskia Island. On that date in 1778 after George Rogers Clark and his troops occupied Kaskaskia without firing a shot during the Revolutionary War, the bell was rung for freedom. King Louis XV of France gave the bell to the church of Kaskaskia in 1741. The bell has become known as the Liberty Bell of the West; it is eleven years older than the Eastern Bell.
Dr. Samuel P. Wheeler, a Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Professor of Illinois History, will give the principal address, ‘“A Glorious Theme’: Abraham Lincoln and the Fourth of July” Don Welge, President of Gilster Mary-Lee Corp. of Chester, Illinois, will give opening remarks as master of ceremonies at the hour-long patriotic ceremony, which is free and open to the public. Randolph County Circuit Clerk Barb Brown will make special introductions. Reverend Dave Corrigan, S. J. will give the Invocation and Benediction. Other remarks will be made by Military Veteran Danny James; Emily Lyons, Registrar, Liberty Bell of the West Chapter, NSDAR and Curator, Randolph County Archives & Museum representing Kaskaskia Island residents; Kenneth Ragland, Commander of the Chester V.F.W. Post 3553; Roland Wagner, Commander of the Chester American Legion Post 487; Mayor Joe Eggemeyer of Chester; Mayor Deborah Gahan of Perryville, Missouri; and Linda McDonald of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
The Chester Municipal Band directed by Steve Colonel will perform patriotic music, Deb Hoelscher will sing patriotic selections Taps will play in memory of our Patriots. Since the Liberty Bell of the West cannot be rung, the 1874 church bells next door will be rung by Joan Lightfoot Riegel, and her four children, Paul, Larry, Connie, and Edith, to signify that freedom is still alive for the American people.
Area Boy and Girl Scouts, as well as French Marines from nearby Fort de Chartres State Historic Site commanded by Bill McKnight, will also participate in the ceremony. Visitors, please bring lawn chairs, although some chairs will be provided under tents.
The Chester V.F.W. and American Legion Posts, the City of Chester, the Kaskaskia Church Foundation, and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency are sponsoring the Independence Day Celebration.
The historic Immaculate Conception Church located near the Kaskaskia Bell will be open during the event. Refreshments including a plate lunch will be available before and after the program. A 3:30 p.m. mass will be celebrated in the church.
Kaskaskia Bell State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is located on a 14,000-acre island a half mile above the Chester, Illinois, Bridge. It was once physically connected to the State of Illinois, but a devastating flood in 1881 covered the village that was Illinois’ first state capital and caused the Mississippi River to change course, thereby separating the island from the rest of the state. 2009 marks 200 years since Kaskaskia became the capital of the Illinois Territory, with Governor Ninian Edwards presiding.
A small brick building on Kaskaskia Island today houses the 650-pound bell that was cast in France as a gift to the French who first settled Illinois. Exactly two years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the “Liberty Bell of the West” rang out to celebrate the capture of Kaskaskia, the westernmost military action of the Revolutionary War, by Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark. Twenty-five years later in 1803 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (brother of George Rogers Clark) visited here and added men and supplies for their Expedition of Discovery.
To reach the Kaskaskia Bell, take the river bridge from Chester, Illinois, across the Mississippi River. Take Missouri Highway 51 west to Highway H, then north (right) to St. Mary, Missouri, and turn east onto the new bridge at the Kaskaskia Bell marker and follow the signs.
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Civil War in the News
By Samuel P. Wheeler | May 14, 2009
The war might have ended in 1865, but the battle over Civil War memory remains especially fierce. A number of news stories have recently appeared on my radar:
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Topics: Confederacy, Pop Culture, Secession | 1 Comment »
Upcoming Book Series Looking for Submissions
By Samuel P. Wheeler | April 2, 2009
Legal History of the Civil War Era
~From the Mexican War to Jim Crow~
A Series of Books Published by Southern Illinois University Press
Edited by Christian G. Samito
Abraham Lincoln identified a “new birth of freedom” during the Civil War era, when the government and people of the United States undertook the most comprehensive reconsideration of legal and political issues since the constitutional convention in 1787. Americans confronted the countours of governmental power and considered the boundaries of civil liberties during wartime. Legislation fueled national development, nationalized the monetary and banking system, and promoted both the coercive power of government, through taxation and conscription, and its role in taking care of citizens, though the provision of pensions for Civil War veterans. Wartime experiences, and the triumph of unionism on the battlefield, allowed for the creation of a stronger nation-state. Millions of Africans Americans marched out of bondage into inclusion in a newly defined national citizenship, called for an enduring freedom, and began to enjoy civil and political rights for the time. At the same time, a racist counter-revolution in the South sought to tamp out this new enjoyment of citizenship rights by African Americans, as well as to intimidate white Republican governments.
This exciting new series from Southern Illinois University Press is the first to focus on the rich legal history of the period from the Mexican War to Plessy v. Ferguson and Jim Crow. The series will explore legal history from different angles, ranging from presidential leadership to legislative mandates, and from judicial interpretation to the impact society had on legal development, and how law, society, and politics mixed during this period to shape American legal development. Broad topics to be covered include, but are not limited to:
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Slavery
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Abolitionism
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The Republican Party
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Civil Liberties During Wartime
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War Powers
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Economic Development and Modernization
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The Expansion of the Federal Government
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Confederate Legal History
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The Redefinition of American Citizenship
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Changes in Legal Thought and Education
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Suffrage Movements
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Race Relations
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Native Americans
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African Americans and the Union Military
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Rights Developments During Reconstruction
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The Rise of Jim Crow
Books in the series will be written with a high scholarly caliber and will also be accessible to an interested non-academic audience. In addition to making significant contributions to historiography, these volumes will be important and relevant, often covering topics bearing on issues that continue to be debated today. The primary audience for this series consists of professional historians, political scientists, law professors, and practicing attorneys, as well as students in undergraduate, graduate, and law school classes. The wider audience fascinated by the Civil War era and its legacy—and increasingly interested in the history of American legal development—will find these books particularly appealing as well. Although the majority of the books will be overviews and monographs, themed essay compilations and selected edited collections of papers from important legal thinkers will be welcome in the series. Ideally, books in the series will be up to 95,000 words in length and may include as many as twenty graphic images.
About the Series Editor:
Christian Samito obtained his law degree from Harvard Law School and his Ph.D. in American history from Boston College. Samito is currently teaching a seminar on the legal history of the Civil War and Reconstruction at Boston University School of Law and a course on the Civil War and Reconstruction at Boston College through its history department. Samito’s book Changes in Law and Society During the Civil War and Reconstruction: A Legal History Documentary Reader is forthcoming from Southern Illinois University Press in July 2009, and another book, Becoming American Under Fire: Irish Americans, African Americans, and the Politics of Citizenship during the Civil War Era, is forthcoming from Cornell University Press in November 2009. Samito edited two collections of Civil War letters, published by Fordham University Press in 1998 and 2004. He also practices law in Boston and can be reached at CGS1865@aol.com.
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March 2009 Speaking Engagements
By Samuel P. Wheeler | March 20, 2009
My speaking schedule has picked up and I thought I might pass along a couple of upcoming dates to you.
Print This PostTomorrow evening, March 21, 2009, I will be the keynote speaker at the Jackson County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner. The event will be held at the Giant City Lodge, in Giant City Park, Makanda, Illinois. Doors open at 5:30, followed by dinner at 6:30. Tickets are $30 per person. My comments will focus on “The Lincoln Legacy.”
On Saturday, March 28, 2009, I will be at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois, attending the 29th Annual Illinois History Symposium. This year’s theme is “Abraham Lincoln in Ante-Bellum Illinois, 1830-1861.” I am scheduled to present a paper, “Every Spot a Grave: The Poetry of Abraham Lincoln,” in Crispin Hall, Room 202, beginning at 10:00 am. My session lasts until 11:45.
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Studio Macbeth Brought Lincoln Back to Life
By Samuel P. Wheeler | February 23, 2009
I received a number of emails from readers over the weekend regarding the History Channel’s recent special, “Stealing Lincoln’s Body.” Indeed, there was a plot to steal Lincoln’s body in 1876. Though I was able to forget about those incompetent body snatchers, another aspect from the film still lingers in my mind.
What did you think about the graphics?
A company called Studio Macbeth brought Lincoln back to life in this program. I received an email from these folks several months ago. They told me about their work and let me view a few pictures. At the time, I was impressed, but their work on this documentary absolutely blew me away.
They have since begun a blog, which you can view here.
I dug up a brief youtube clip (at the top of this post), in which these folks walk viewers through their creative process. Give it a look and tell me if it isn’t remarkable to see “Lincoln” walking down the street.
Though I look forward to someday seeing Steven Spielberg’s take on Lincoln, I suspect a feature-length film using Studio Macbeth’s technology would be incredibly intriguing.
In the meantime, I see the History Channel has already made plans to release “Stealing Lincoln’s Body
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Five Lincoln Podcasts from Bloomberg.com
By Samuel P. Wheeler | February 20, 2009
Bloomberg.com has uploaded a series of intriguing Lincoln-related podcats. I listened to several of them and was impressed; the guests were first-rate, while the conversations were wide-ranging.
I might also add that these podcasts are quite handy. You can download the audio files onto your computer for future use and you can even upload the podcasts onto your ipod. Just click the listen/download prompts at the end of each description to begin listening:
Print This PostJames McPherson
McPherson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, talks with Bloomberg’s Tom Keene about his new book, Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln’s Civil War leadership. Listen/DownloadMichael Beschloss
Beschloss, author and presidential historian, talks with Bloomberg’s Tom Keene about Abraham lincoln’s life and legacy and his book, Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How they Changed America, 1789-1989. Listen/DownloadHarold Holzer
Holzer, author of Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861, talks with Bloomberg’s Tom Keene about similarities between the 16th U.S. president and Barack Obama, the 44th. Listen/DownloadDoris Kearns Goodwin
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin talks with Bloomberg’s Tom Keene about her book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Listen/DownloadMario Cuomo
Former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo talks with Bloomberg’s Tom Keene about Abraham Lincoln and Cuomo’s books, Why Lincoln Matters: Today More than Ever, and Lincoln on Democracy. Listen/Download
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College Freshman Discovers Lincoln’s Fingerprint
By Samuel P. Wheeler | February 19, 2009
This is one of the most remarkable stories I have come across in quite some time. I definitely learned something new this morning.
Lydia Smith, a Miami University freshman, was transcribing a number of letters at Miami’s Walter Havighurst Special Collections library, but there was one that caught her eye. Yes, it was written by Lincoln, but there was more. The letter contained a smudge, but on close examination, Smith concluded the smudge looked a lot like a fingerprint.
Though this is news to me, we actually have a copy of Lincoln’s thumbprint on file. In late August 1864, the president signed an autograph; however, as he was handing it to an admirer, he put his thumb onto the wet ink. ”The finger marks are also [Lincoln's],” the autograph hunter later explained. “They will do as the olden times seals that were made by impressing the thumb on the wax.”
Apparently, Smith remembered seeing a copy of this letter. As she scanned the fingerprint in the Special Collections library, she concluded that it looked familiar.
It turns out she has a remarkable eye for detail.
Miami University sent the letter to the folks at The Papers of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield. They analyzed the letter and confirmed that the smudge was indeed Lincoln’s fingerprint. Now, there are two examples of the sixteenth president’s fingerprint on record.
Forget majoring in history; I would encourage Smith to puruse a career in forensic science!
UPDATE: Dr. John Sotos tells me that he believes there is another copy of Lincoln’s fingerprints. In his book, The Physical Lincoln, Sotos wrote about Lincoln’s November 1863 illness in some detail. In particular, he examined Lincoln’s brief note, written on November 27, 1863, to Secretary of State William Seward. “When magnified,” Sotos writes, “the smudges over the word ‘improving’ and the number ‘1863′ are seen to be fingerprints. They are probably Lincoln’s, as he would have had a fever at this stage of his illness: sweating accompanies fever, and sweating leads to fingerprint stains.” [Sotos, 157]
An absolutely fascinating observation, don’t you think? If you are interested in reading more about Sotos’ book or if you want to order a copy, click HERE.
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The Votes are in…Where Does Lincoln Rank?
By Samuel P. Wheeler | February 18, 2009
We do strange things to the past. Consider what happens to our former presidents. We carved four of their portraits onto the side of a mountain in 1927. Though we seem to have given up such gigantic tributes, today we reduce many of them to mere caricatures of their former selves. Take, for example, this strange collection of presidential bobbleheads (pictured above–left to right: Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and George Washington).
Historians have a penchant for arranging and rearranging, interpreting and revising the past. Beginning in 1948, historian Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. asked his colleagues to rate past presidents. The process repeated itself in 1962, when seventy-five historians rated past presidents. Indeed, similar polls were conducted in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2005.
So how does Lincoln do in these presidential polls?
He has done quite well; in fact, he has never finished lower than third. The top three usually goes something like this: Lincoln, George Washington, and Franklin Roosevelt.
If you haven’t heard yet, C-SPAN has conducted a new presidential poll. They asked sixty-five American historians to rate America’s past presidents. And the survey says…
For the first time since 1999, Lincoln has recaptured the top spot!
According to the Associated Press, several presidents shifted positions in this most recent poll:
If you want to learn more about the survey, C-SPAN offers a number of resources:
Of course, I might add, I have already heard from the anti-Lincoln crowd and they are outraged! Never mind that Jefferson Davis’ name is nowhere to be found on that list, these folks want to know more about the historians who participated in the poll. Do any of them come from universities in the American South?
The list of historians is not hard to find; I encourage them to peruse this list at their leisure.
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Winner of the 2009 Lincoln Prize Sees Lincoln in Obama
By Samuel P. Wheeler | February 17, 2009
The OUP Blog, from the folks at Oxford University Press, has been busy lately. The Bicentennial appears to have inspired a number of Lincoln-related posts. I look forward to pointing out a few of them to you.
The first post of note was written by Craig L. Symonds. You may have heard Symonds’ name in the news. His book, Lincoln and his Admirals
In his recent blog post, Symonds offers some reflections on Lincoln and Obama. “My own recent study of Lincoln has confirmed in my mind several aspects of Lincoln’s leadership style that already seem to be part of Obama’s world view, which should stand him in good stead as he considers how to manage (or end) two wars, and then stabilize and then revitalize a collapsing economy,” Symonds writes.
From there, I must say, his discussion becomes less about Obama and much more about Lincoln; specifically, Symonds is interested in the sixteenth president’s first major crisis, Fort Sumter. Is there a lesson somewhere in this case study for the 44th president? Give Symonds’ post a read and judge for yourself.
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Topics: Bicentennial, Blogs, Current Politics, Legacy, Lincoln Prize, Pop Culture | No Comments »
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