Tag Archives: Columbia South Carolina

gradual recovery

President Ulysses S. Grant’s fifth presidential Thanksgiving proclamation per Pilgrim Hall Museum: BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – A PROCLAMATION The approaching close of another year brings with it the occasion for renewed thanksgiving and acknowledgment … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

pleasant surprise

Sir Isaac Newton isn’t usually the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Christmas. From The Daily Phoenix, Columbia, South Carolina, December 25, 1872: Christmas. The learned have long been divided in opinion as to the … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, American Culture, American Society, Postbellum Society, The Election of 1872 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

guns and egg-nog

And the firecrackers look like fun, too As Reconstruction was presumably trudging on, a New York City newspaper provided its readers with a couple glimpses of Christmas celebrations from the land down under, down under the Mason-Dixon line. From Harper’s … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction, Southern Society | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

kudos to the chief

On July 22, 1866 President Andrew Johnson reported to Congress that his administration had sent the recently passed Constitutional Amendment to the states for ratification. He used the occasion to explain his opposition to the amendment. He thought it was … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, Postbellum Politics, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction, Southern Society | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

exterminate them!

A Seneca County, New York newspaper in 1864 said it was skeptical about reports of the horrible conditions in Southern prison camps – until it spoke with a couple native sons who had survived the experience: RETURNED PRISONERS. Lieut. CORT. … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Civil War prisons, Northern Society | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The High Cost of Freedom

From The New-York Times January 15, 1861: THE EXPENSES OF SECESSION. — The Columbia South Carolinian publishes an ordinance just passed by the City Council “to raise supplies for the year 1861.” Besides a tax of 85 cents on every … Continue reading

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Secession and the Interregnum | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment