“Of the structure of government…he is singularly and wonderfully ignorant” Gideon Welles on U.S. Grant
When Ulysses S. Grant was elected president on November 3, 1868, one jaundice-eyed observer of the chief executive-elect was Lincoln’s Secretary of the Navy Gideon…
Woodrow Wilson Home in South Carolina to Include Story of Reconstruction and Jim Crow
The Woodrow Wilson Home in Columbia, South Carolina, is reopening after a years-long retoration. The home was once used as a shrine to the late…
William Seward Takes a Train Ride With President Elect Grant Nov. 1868
I found this story charming and telling. William Seward and Gideon Welles were the most prominent men in Andy Johnson’s cabinet in 1868. Johnson had…
Harriet Jacobs Describes Her Relief Work Among Liberated Former Slaves Near Savannah in 1866
Illustration: Freedpeople in Charleston from Frank Leslie’s April 25, 1865. Harriet Jacobs is today well-known as the author of Incidents in the Life of a…
“The main reliance…must be upon the black population” Coming to terms with free Black labor 1868
The Richmond Whig was a staunch opponent of Republican Reconstruction plans, but as this article indicates it could be realistic in its assessment of the…
When Louisa May Alcott Endorsed “No Irish Need Apply”
Like many of her background, Louisa May Alcott had strong prejudices against Irish immigrants. While we remember her for Little Women, Alcott was a frequent…
Troubled Refuge: Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War by Chandra Manning
Troubled Refuge: Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War by Chandra Manning examines the interplay of black refugees who arrived by the thousands into Union…
Atlantic Magazine Says “Six Degrees of Song of the South” One of the Best Podcasts of the Year
The Atlantic Magazine recently named Six Degrees of Song of the South one of the best podcasts of the year. The series focuses on the…
NY Times- ‘Jo Was Everything I Wanted to Be’: 5 Writers on ‘Little Women’
The New York Times has reflections from five women authors on how the book Little Women influenced their work. Julia Alvarez, Virginia Kantra, Anna Quindlen,…
Video of Charleston Emancipation Day Celebration
Charleston claims the oldest continuous public celebration of the January 1, 1863 signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Here is video of the New Year’s Eve…