Category Archives: Postbellum Politics

“kill the beast”

During Washington Birthday remarks in 1866 President Andrew Johnson identified Northerners Wendell Phillips, Senator Charles Sumner, and Congressman Thaddeus Stevens as being just as much traitors to their country as the rebels who fought against the Union for four bloody … Continue reading

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anti-siesta

150 years ago today the United States Congress got so riled up that the House even canceled its intended Washington’s birthday holiday. Congress would be taking care of business the next day, but it wouldn’t exactly be business as usual. … Continue reading

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unfunded mandate

In November 1867 the state of Georgia conducted an election to choose delegates for a convention that would rewrite the state constitution. The convention convened in early December 1867 in Atlanta; one of the first issues it faced was the … Continue reading

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happy bleak year

Duties evaded in the past press with increasing urgency in the future. On Christmas Day 1867 an editorial in The New-York Times lamented the terrible condition of the American South: “the Christmas Day of 1867 will be a black day … Continue reading

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bipartisan hoopla

Harold Holzer called Abraham Lincoln’s speech at the the Cooper Institute in New York City on February 27, 1860 his “watershed, the event that transformed him from a regional leader into a national phenomenon. Here the politician known as frontier … Continue reading

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still in veto mode

In late November 1867 the 40th United States Congress reconvened after about a four months’ absence. In his Third Annual Message, which he sent over to the Capitol on December 3rd, the president didn’t exactly welcome Congress back to town. … Continue reading

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“a sorry exhibit”

On November 21, 1867 the Fortieth U.S. Congress reassembled amid a great deal of curiosity about the possible impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. The spectator section in the House was packed an hour before the start time, but the Judiciary … Continue reading

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conspiracy theory

150 years ago a northern periodical thought that the United States Congress would probably eventually impeach and convict Andrew Johnson, but it was worried that the president was conspiring to ignore that result as he had been ignoring the will … Continue reading

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sitting it out

150 years ago Georgia conducted a five day election to determine if a state constitutional convention should be held, and, if so, who would be sent as delegates. Evidently many white conservatives didn’t vote. Here’s an early report from Savannah, … Continue reading

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safety first

According to the October 1, 1867 issue of The New-York Times a riot broke out 150 years ago today at a rally in Savannah, Georgia. The speaker apparently urged confiscation of white-owned land for ex-slaves. After things calmed down the … Continue reading

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