Archive for May, 2007
« Previous EntriesA Strange Story
Thursday, May 31st, 2007The State Journal-Register ran a strange story yesterday.
Mary Stuader, a 78 year old woman from Montgomery County, Illinois, claims she has seen Abraham Lincoln…not a picture of the sixteenth president, but the man himself!
This isn’t a ghost story. She’s serious.
It goes something like this:
When Ms. Stuader was [...]
Kansas-Nebraska
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007Today is the 153rd anniversary of the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
The brainchild of Senator Stephen A. Douglas, the bill was controversial because it threatened to repeal the Missouri Compromise.
Abraham Lincoln’s reaction to the bill is interesting. He devoted the previous four years of his life to his law practice. He traveled the law circuit [...]
Workshop: "The Elusive Lincoln"
Tuesday, May 29th, 2007I came across another really good opportunity for teachers:
The Elusive Lincoln: Teaching and Learning about Abraham Lincoln through Documents and Images
Historic Southern Indiana presents the fourth annual Lincoln Institute for Teachers, June 14-15, 2007 at the University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN.
This is the fourth in a series of annual programs focusing on [...]
Memorial Day
Friday, May 25th, 2007I’ve gotten this email several times lately and thought I’d pass it along to you as you prepare to celebrate Memorial Day.
It’s a true story. Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told this story earlier this year to a crowd in Washington, D.C.
Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a [...]
Elmer Ellsworth
Thursday, May 24th, 2007He was born and raised in New York, but eventually moved to Chicago with dreams of becoming a lawyer.
Elmer Ellsworth was also interested in military history. He read all about the great battles, studied the tactics, and reveled in the countless deeds of valor. He became a colonel in Chicago’s National Guard Cadet [...]
William Harvey Carney
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007Here’s a name you might not recognize—William Harvey Carney. Well, he has a great story.
Born a slave in Norfolk, Virginia, Carney escaped to Massachusetts with his father prior to the Civil War. He spent the first part of his life as a sailor.
However, during the Civil War, Carney served [...]
"Southern Chivalry"
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007Charles Sumner (R-MA) served in the United States Senate for twenty-three years. He was, without doubt, a Radical Republican during the Civil War Era and Reconstruction. However, he was most famous for a tragic incident that occurred on the floor of the Senate in 1856.
On May 19th and 20th, Sumner delivered a speech [...]
Lincoln’s Medical History
Monday, May 21st, 2007I stumbled upon a couple of very interesting articles pertaining to Abraham Lincoln’s medical history.
The most recent issue of the Journal of Medical Biography contains an article detailing Lincoln’s bout with smallpox in November 1863.
Researchers Armond Goldman and Frank Schmalstieg reviewed Lincoln’s symptoms and found that the president complained of being weak and [...]
North & South Magazine
Sunday, May 20th, 2007I’m a long-time subscriber and strong advocate of North & South Magazine, but I have to admit the latest issue has me scratching my head a little bit.
Specifically, the editorial on page 4. I read that Terry Johnston recently stepped down after a two-year term. That is a shame. I thought the magazine was [...]
Nominated
Friday, May 18th, 2007It seems like Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Rudy Giuliani have already been running for president for a long time. Today, the campaign for president lasts for about two years. What a marathon!
There was a time when presidential campaigns were much shorter. On this day, 147 years ago, Abraham Lincoln won the [...]