Archive for October, 2008
Douglas Goes Negative in 1860
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008With less than a week to go before the 2008 presidential election, you may have noticed the political ads have gotten increasingly more negative. Several commentators have spoken out against the negative tone. Story Here, Here, and an example Here. All of this got me thinking about “negative ads” in the nineteenth century. I came [...]
Lincoln Hits the Campaign Trail Yet Again
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008Abraham Lincoln made yet another appearance in the 2008 Presidential Election. Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden invoked the sixteenth president’s name yesterday while on the stump in Greenville, North Carolina. According to Biden, Barack Obama is hardly the first presidential candidate to endure harsh personal attacks. Biden cited a number of examples, which included attacks on Thomas Jefferson’s Christianity, Abraham Lincoln’s [...]
A New Prefix!
Monday, October 27th, 2008I was sitting at my desk this morning reviewing my lecture notes when I heard a strange greeting. “Good morning Dr. Wheeler.” When I spun around to see who said it, I saw my dissertation advisor standing in the doorway. “You’ll have to get used to hearing that now,” she said. Though it will probably [...]
Book Signing: The Madness of Mary Lincoln
Friday, October 24th, 2008Jason Emerson, author of The Madness of Mary Lincoln, will be signing books at the Barnes & Noble in Carbondale on Saturday from 2-3 pm. Emerson will also be presenting a talk at the Friends of Morris Library annual dinner later in the evening. What: Friends of Morris Library annual dinner Where: Reception at Morris [...]
Tomorrow: 4th Annual Civil War Lecture Series
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008Southern Illinois is in for a treat tomorrow. The Fourth Annual Civil War Lecture Series takes place at John A. Logan College. This year’s featured speaker is author Gary Ecelbarger, who has written a new book on the election of 1860, The Great Comeback: How Abraham Lincoln beat the Odds to Win the 1860 Republican [...]
Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008I am quite sorry for my recent abscence from the blogosphere. Thank you for your emails. I suppose the only thing I can tell you right now is that I have quite a good reason for being scarce. More on that later. At any rate, I want to be sure to tell you about a [...]
What if the Lincoln-Douglas Debates Happend Today?
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008We are just a few hours away from the second debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. I’m looking forward to watching it. Today also marks the 150th anniversary of the fifth Lincoln-Douglas debate, which was held in Galesburg, Illinois. The coincidence got me thinking: what if Lincoln and Douglas squared off on national television today? [...]
New Evidence of Lincoln’s Anger?
Monday, October 6th, 2008A new letter written by Abraham Lincoln has surfaced. You can read more about this discovery, as well as the context of the letter, on the Discovery Channel’s website. The reporter seems surprised that Lincoln displays a fair amount of anger in this letter. However, take a moment to read my quick translation. In my view, [...]