Posted in Book Reviews

New York Times Notable Books of 2021 on 19th Century America

It is that time of year. Publications are putting out their “Best Of” lists of books. Here are non-fiction books the New York Times has…

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Posted in Ku Klux Klan

Historic Brattonsville Opening Reconstruction Era General Store to Tell Story of a Murder

Historic Brattonsville in York County, South Carolina is restoring a general store that was the scene of an inquest into the killing of James Williams,…

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Posted in Civil War Memory of Reconstruction USCT

In 1866 Milton Bradley Sold a “Home Theater” Where Americans Could Watch the Civil War Unfold Before Their Eyes

After the Civil War, Americans were sold ways of “experiencing” the war vicariously. Some of the more popular forms included stereoscope  photographs which provided a…

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Posted in Civil War USCT

Podcast: How Robert Gould Shaw’s Missing Ft. Wagner Sword Was Found and Identified

When Robert Gould Shaw led the 54th Massachusetts into battle at Fort Wagner outside of Charleston he carried a brand new sword given to him…

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Posted in Book Reviews

Smithsonian Scholars Favorite Books of 2021-19th Century Picks

Smithsonian Magazine publishes a list of new books every year that the scholars at the Smithsonian have picked as their favorites. These are individual choices…

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Posted in Memory of Reconstruction

David Blight Responds to the Attack on the Teaching of History

David Blight, one of America’s foremost historians and the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Frederick Douglass, has an article in The Atlantic responding to the coordinated…

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Posted in Black Officeholders Monuments

More Than a Thousand Attend Unveiling of New Statue to Reconstruction Texas Senator

A new statue of Reconstruction legislator Matthew Gaines was unveiled at Texas A&M University on Saturday. Gaines had been enslaved at birth and was twenty…

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Posted in Book Reviews

“All That She Carried” Wins National Book Award for Nonfiction

Tiya Miles won the National Book Award for Nonfiction for “All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake.” According to…

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Posted in Book Reviews

Washington Post Review of New 1619 Project Book Asks What “1619” Really Means

Carlos Lozada reviews the new 1619 Project book in today’s Washington Post. The review is decidedly mixed, incorporating criticism, praise, and confusion in one review!…

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Posted in Memory of Reconstruction

Recording of Discussion by Eric Foner & Henry Louis Gates on DuBois “Black Reconstruction”

Here is the recording from the Schomburg Center of Henry Louis Gates and Eric Foner discussing W.E.B. DuBois book Black Reconstruction. The discussion starts about…

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