Category Archives: 150 Years Ago This Week

News from 150 years ago

birthday bashing

Back in 1861 even small towns celebrated Washington’s Birthday with cannon fire and bells. Five years later there were definitely some fireworks in Washington, D.C. as a crowd looked for a speech from President Andrew Johnson. It was a couple … Continue reading

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veto takes

On February 19, 1866 President Andrew Johnson vetoed the Freedmen’s Bureau Extension bill. Here is a review of commentary from more modern scholars. Walter Stahr points out that Mr. Johnson vetoed the bill because he agreed with Southern whites who … Continue reading

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just saying no

150 years ago today President Andrew Johnson vetoed legislation that would have extended the jurisdiction of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Here is an 1896 summary. (However, the date of the veto is the 19th) From The Struggle between President Johnson and … Continue reading

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president’s day

Big doings in Washington, D. C. 150 years ago today as the nation’s capital commemorated the birthday of the martyred Abraham Lincoln.

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tailor retailored?

In February 1866 a Convention of Colored Men met in Washington, D.C. to protest the South’s Black Codes. On February 7th a delegation of participants met with President Johnson. From The Struggle between President Johnson and Congress over Reconstruction by … Continue reading

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“power to enslave”

In early 1866 Congress debated a proposed Constitutional amendment that that would change the apportionment of representatives to Congress. According to the February 1, 1866 issue of The New-York Times the text read: ARTICLE – . Representatives and direct taxes … Continue reading

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“the Government of Freedmen.”

150 years ago this week New Yorkers could read about South Carolina’s enactment of a Black Code for the governance of freedmen. Eric Foner summarizes the code, which: contained provisions, such as prohibiting the expulsion of aged freedmen from plantations, … Continue reading

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new year mystery

This cartoon recalls President- elect Lincoln’s address at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall on February 22, 1861, but you could look at it in a Janus-like way. Mr. Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 because of his principles. Looking ahead he is certainly … Continue reading

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work on

Thankfully the American Civil War ended in 1865. Apparently the federal government felt it could let down its defenses a bit on the nation’s northeast corner. From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 30, 1865: The coast batteries in Maine dismantled. … Continue reading

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Virginia freedmen

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 30, 1865: The freedmen’s Bureau of Virginia. The reader will find in this morning’s paper the purport of the report of Colonel Brown, Assistant Commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau for the State of Virginia, … Continue reading

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