Archive for March, 2008
« Previous Entries“Wishing to be Happy while She is Otherwise”
Thursday, March 27th, 2008This is one of my favorite Lincoln letters.
He had just received a letter from his recently married friend Joshua F. Speed.
On this date in 1842, Lincoln penned an extraordinary reply.
In the first 200 words, Lincoln conveys how happy he is for his friend, but then he transitions to his own sad situation:
I am not going [...]
Notes from a Microfilm Reader
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008I spent some time at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library last weekend. If you’ve never killed an afternoon scanning microfilm, you’re missing out.
Of course, I’m only half-joking.
I admit, the microfilm experience can be frustrating. It can be difficult to locate the right microfilm reel or the right article within the reel. Equipment can be difficult [...]
Lincoln on Ebay 1
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008I like to check the auction sites for Lincoln-related items. Though I have never bid on a Lincoln document or a period piece, I like to know what is out there. Ebay is one of the sites I monitor.
I thought it would be fun to pass along interesting items for your viewing pleasure. Recently, I [...]
Standing Where Lincoln Stood?
Monday, March 24th, 2008Dozens of communities throughout the Midwest claim to have a connection to Abraham Lincoln. Signs marking the spot where he slept or spoke are not uncommon. Proving or disproving such claims is often quite difficult. Historians might assemble their evidence, but local tradition is often a hard thing to contradict. Today, I found a nice [...]
Five Years Ago Today
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008March 19, 2003
10:16 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.
On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein’s [...]
Slavery: “A Positive Good”
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008Today is John C. Calhoun’s birthday. I admit, the outspoken senator from South Carolinia is not one of my favorite characters in American history, but he is terribly significant.
I recently re-read one of Calhoun’s most well-known speeches. Delivered on the floor of the United States Senate in 1837, Calhoun defended the institution of slavery. While [...]
Ready to be President on “Day One”
Monday, March 17th, 2008Hillary Clinton often says she will be ready to be president on “day one.” No need for a “week of orientation” or any “on the job training.” No, if elected, she will “hit the ground running.”
The message is clear. She believes she has more experience than her Democratic rival, Barrack Obama. After all, while Barrack [...]
“The Jewel of Liberty”
Thursday, March 13th, 2008Good news is sweet to hear, especially when recent news has been particularlly sour. Abraham Lincoln had reason to be happy on this date in 1864.
The war was still going on, but Louisiana was already on the road toward Reconstruction. On February 22, 1864 the state held an election. The results were encouraging.
The new governor [...]
The Slaves Called Her Moses
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008“I was conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say–I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger,” remembered Harriet Tubman.
She escaped from slavery, but that was not enough. She returned more than a dozen times and led an estimated 300 [...]
1864: “Clear Before My Own Conscience”
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008The president needed a general.
Though he “never professed to be a military man or to know how campaigns should be conducted,” Abraham Lincoln was nonetheless frustrated by the inaction of Generals George McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, Joseph Hooker, and George Meade. Too often, these procrastinating generals forced him into issuing ill-conceived military orders. By 1864, he [...]