Category Archives: 150 Years Ago This Week

News from 150 years ago

radical convention

Posted on September 7, 2016 by SUMPTER

During the 1866 campaign season a “radical convention” met in Philadelphia from September 3-7. Southern “loyalists” participated; it seems they were loyal to Congress and the radical Republican approach to Reconstruction. Here is Charles Ernest Chadsey’s 1896 take on President … Continue reading →

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cornerstone ceremonies

Posted on September 6, 2016 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today Andrew Johnson’s “Swing Around the Circle” made it to Chicago for the ostensible purpose of the tour – to participate in the ceremonies laying the cornerstone of the Stephen A. Douglas monument. The actual laying of … Continue reading →

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“first low point”

Posted on September 3, 2016 by SUMPTER

On September 3, 1866 Andrew Johnson’s Swing Around the Circle stopped in Cleveland, Ohio. William Stahr referred to President Johnson’s Cleveland speech as the “first low point” of the tour. The crowd was full of hecklers, and the president responded … Continue reading →

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short stop

Posted on September 1, 2016 by SUMPTER

On September 1, 1866 President Andrew Johnson’s swing around the circle tour stopped at a small town in the Finger Lakes region of New York. It was just a six minute stop as the train slowly progressed across the Empire … Continue reading →

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train trip

Posted on August 28, 2016 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today President Andrew Johnson and a group of federal dignitaries began what would become known as the Swing Around the Circle, an eighteen day or so speaking tour in which President Johnson took his case to audiences … Continue reading →

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“wholesale slaughter”

Posted on July 30, 2016 by SUMPTER

On July 30, 1866 a riot broke out in New Orleans. Louisiana Governor James Madison Wells had called for a convention to “enfranchise blacks, prohibit ‘rebels’ from voting, and establish a new state government.” Opponents, including members of the city … Continue reading →

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lightning votes

Posted on July 19, 2016 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this week Congress took almost all of three hours to override a presidential veto In February 1866 President Andrew Johnson vetoed a bill to extend the jurisdiction of the Freedmen’s Bureau. The U.S. Senate was unable to … Continue reading →

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four score and ten

Posted on July 4, 2016 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today Massachusetts state representative George Bailey Loring delivered an Independence Day oration at Newburyport, Mass. He paid homage to Abraham Lincoln and declared the supremacy of the federal government. He disagreed with President Andrew Johnson’s objection to … Continue reading →

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kudos to the chief

Posted on June 24, 2016 by SUMPTER

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 →

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southern states’ side

Posted on June 22, 2016 by SUMPTER

In early June 1866 Congress passed what would become the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 150 years ago today President Andrew Johnson reported to Congress that the amendment had been dutifully sent to the states for their consideration. … Continue reading →

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