Tag Archives: Slavery

white lion, black cargo

400 years ago this month the first Africans arrived in the colony of Virginia in what is now the United States. According to Encyclopedia Virginia, in the summer of 1619 two English privateers, the White Lion and the Treasurer attacked … Continue reading

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corrections

From The New-York Times January 24, 1867: No More Negroes to be Sold in Maryland … ANNAPOLIS, Wednesday, Jan. 23. The Maryland Legislature have passed an act abolishing an article in the code permitting the sale of negroes into slavery … Continue reading

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for what it’s worth

As has been well-documented, William H. Seward did not think the United States Constitution was the most important law in the country. Especially in the context of determining whether slavery should be eradicated, he believed there was “a higher law … Continue reading

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it was all worth it

The war has been worth all that it cost the nation; the sacrifice has been great, but the benefit greater. President Andrew Johnson proclaimed December 7, 1865 a national Day of Thanksgiving. I don’t know if the first part of … Continue reading

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chains into ploughshares

A poem from 150 years ago celebrated peace and the victory of freedom and free labor over slavery: From The Atlantic Monthly, VOL. XVI.—NOVEMBER, 1865.—NO. XCVII. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Our modern Veteran’s Day springs from Armistice Day: The shooting finally stopped … Continue reading

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“Is this Democratic?”

150 years ago today Daniel Sickles wrote a letter to Hugh Judson Kilpatrick criticizing the New Jersey Democrat 1865 platform (see last section of the linked post). Moreover, New Jersey Democrats were even lagging behind South Carolina: The party in … Continue reading

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“devout joy at the salvation of the country”

From The New-York Times July 6, 1865: THE CELEBRATION OF INDEPENDENCE DAY. The observance of the National Anniversary was characterized everywhere throughout the country by a sober heartiness and earnest enthusiasm, in perfect keeping with the peculiarities of the occasion. … Continue reading

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suffering exodus

From The New-York Times June 6, 1865: The Destitution of the Freedmen in Alabama. The following letter has been received by Mr. F.G. SHAW, the President of the National Freedman’s Relief Association. It discloses a state of things which loudly … Continue reading

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General Grant agrees

150 years ago yesterday General Grant issued a congratulatory order to the troops. He zeroed in on slavery as the “the cause and pretext of the rebellion.” From The New-York Times June 5, 1865: THE LIEUT.-GENERAL TO OUR ARMIES.; Grant … Continue reading

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“A bark canoe in a tempest on mid-ocean”

150 years ago this week the Utica Morning Herald & Daily Gazette (at the Library of Congress) devoted its front page to a reprint of an article that assessed Abraham Lincoln’s historical significance. The president did not seem up to … Continue reading

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