Posted in Podcast Podcasts

Listen to Keith Harris, The Rogue Historian, Interview Pat Young on Blogging the Civil War and Reconstruction

Last week I was interviewed by The Rogue Historian himself, Dr. Keith Harris, about blogging the Civil War and Reconstruction. If you like lively conversation…

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Posted in Freedmen's Bureau

The Freedmen’s Bureau Shut Down on January 1, 1869

The Freedmen’s Bureau was essentially shuttered in January 1, 1869. Only education services (and some medical services) continued. Across the South bureau agents and other…

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Posted in Freedmen's Bureau

Rejoicing at News that the Infernal Freedmen’s Bureau to Close at End of 1868

Those who hoped to advance the cause of white supremacy after the Civil War found themselves stymied by the Freedmen’s Bureau. This Federal agency set…

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Posted in Veterans

The National Military Asylum Cared for 4.000 Disabled Soldiers in 1868

The New York Times reported on the good work of the National Military Asylum in 1868. Unfortunately, it lauded the great economies practiced in caring…

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Posted in Ku Klux Klan

KKK Raiders Defeated by “Negroes” in Livingston, Tenn. Dec. 30, 1868

The Ku Klux Klan rampaged through Tennessee in 1868, but as this article demonstrates, the local African American communities were ready to risk everything to…

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Posted in Suffrage

Mississippi Republicans Demand Racial Equality in 1869 Party Platform

When the Mississippi Republican Party met in July 1869 to consider its new platform, it was one of the first political party conventions in American…

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Posted in Andrew Johnson

Book Review: The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation by Brenda Wineapple

The Impeachers:The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation by Brenda Wineapple published by Random House (2019) 576 pp. Hardcover $32.00,…

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Posted in Elections

An “African Carpet-Bagger” Was First Black Man Elected to Congress 1868

John Menard’s parents were People of Color from Louisiana who moved to Illinois, where John was born. He completed college in Illinois. In 1865 he…

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Posted in Confiscation Act freedom papers White Supremacy White Supremacy Apologetics

Freedom Under the Confiscation Act 1862: What the “Emancipation Paper” Said and How It Threatened Slavery

The March 1862 Confiscation Act allowed the Union Army to free slaves who had been employed in the service of the Confederacy. In this article…

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Posted in Civil War Videos

Kevin Levin Speaks at National Archives About the Black Confederate Myth

My review of Kevin Levin’s new book Searching for Black Confederates was my second most popular article over the last month. Yesterday, the historian spoke…

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