The King Cake of Mardi Gras Season and Reconstruction in New Orleans
Many Mardi Gras Season dinners often include a King Cake. The cake has a little plastic baby baked into it. The person getting the baby…
David Ruggles Home Stop on the Underground Railroad
David Ruggles was one of the most effective organizers of the Underground Railroad in New York City. Ruggles was a free Black man from Norwich,…
Banners at the Albany Mall Interpret the History of the Underground Railroad in NY
When friends hear that I am going to the Albany Mall, they often think I am going shopping, albeit 180 miles from where I live…
Find My Civil War & Reconstruction Photo Tours of History Sites on Google Earth
As many of you know I had a medical issue last March that led to me taking A LOT of very long walks. I try…
Massive NY Rally for Blair & Seymour and Against Negro Dominance October 6, 1868
If you have ever wondered what a mass rally for a presidential candidate was like in the 1860s, this list of the massive Democratic parade…
Books on Slavery for Children from School Library Journal
The School Library Journal, a respected trade publication, has a list of books to use with students that focus on slavery in the United States….
Ashburn Colored School A Jim Crow Era One Room School House for Blacks-Only
Several years ago while I was driving to Ball’s Bluff Battlefield in Northern Virginia I came upon this sign announcing that I was at the…
When Jourdon Anderson Was Asked by His Former Owner to Return to Work After the Civil War
The Reconstruction Era National Historical Park recently shared this: In August 1865, Jourdon Anderson, a freedman living in Dayton, Ohio, addressed a letter to his…
Learning for Justice Has Advice for Talking to Children About Slavery
Learning for Justice offers guidance for educating children about slavery. The guide begins by stressing the importance of slavery in creating modern racial dynamics in…
Louisiana Senator John Slidell Explains Why His State Seceded from the Union in His Farewell Address
Senator John Slidell announced his resignation from the Senate on February 4, 1861 after his state, Louisiana, issued a declaration that it was seceding from…









