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The Reality of the Underground Railroad

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:56:02 +0000

The Underground Railroad depended on secrecy and members kept no written records. And it's difficult to even assess who exactly was a member of the organization.

There were men like Levi Coffin, a Quaker who ran an Underground Railroad network in Ohio and Indiana, who were intimately involved in efforts to move fugitive slaves northward. But there were also hundreds or even thousands who participated from time to time, or even offered help spontaneously.

Others, like the courageous former slave Harriet Tubman, used skill and deception to venture southward and lead others to freedom.

In recent years many myths about the Underground Railroad have circulated, and many of them are difficult to judge. After the Civil War, some members wrote memoirs, and their recollections form a solid basis of knowledge. And what we know for sure about the Underground Railroad is an amazing story of human ingenuity and bravery in the face of injustice.

Full article: The Underground Railroad

Illustration: Levi Coffin, an organizer of the Underground Railroad/Library of Congress

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Images of British India

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:29:23 +0000

In the 19th century the British Empire's greatest possession was India, where employees of the East India Company settled in and melded British society with Indian ...

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Brokered Conventions of the 1800s

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:12:02 +0000

With all the talk in the media about brokered political conventions, and whether one could happen later this year, it's the perfect time to look back at the early history ...

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Valentines Were a 19th Century Fad

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:26:32 +0000

If you think Valentine's Day has become too commercialized, you may take solace in knowing that a New York Times editorial said essentially the same thing in the mid-1850s.

According to the newspaper, the sending of Valentines, a popular fad by that time, had "no useful feature, and the sooner it is abolished the better."

The editorial writer did not get his wish. In the years following the Civil War the number of Valentines being being sent actually increased, and postal workers bragged about how many they delivered.

And as the 19th century ended, Valentines were not just an enduring tradition. The British artist Kate Greenaway had turned them into an art form.

Full article: History of St. Valentine's Day in the 1800s

Photograph: Woman admiring Valentine card, from a 19th century stereograph/Getty Images

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Civil War Bumper Stickers

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:37:55 +0000

Bumper stickers did not exist during the Civil War, of course. But portable expressions of patriotism did, in the form of envelopes bearing illustrations and slogans.

Capitalizing on patriotic feelings in the North, printers sold thousands of envelopes bearing images of soldiers, flags, eagles, and other patriotic symbols, such as the goddess-like figure of Columbia.

The fad for such envelopes seems to have started with the first hostilities in 1861. One of the earliest incidents to take on heroic status, the death of Col. Elmer Ellsworth, inspired notable examples of patriotic envelopes.

The use of embellished envelopes continued throughout the war, and countless designs were created and manufactured. A gallery of images, highlights of a collection of Civil War envelopes at the Library of Congress, showcases some surprising examples of portable patriotism.

Vintage images: Civil War Envelopes

Illustration: Depiction of Columbia on a Civil War era envelope/Library of Congress

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Abraham Lincoln's Birthday

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:51:18 +0000

On the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, we naturally think back on his remarkable life. We all remember the basics: he was born in a log cabin in Kentucky on February 12, 1809, lived in Indiana, and eventually settled in Illinois and became a successful lawyer.

A timeline of his early years points out some highlights, and a look at an early speech by Lincoln...

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Charles Dickens Bicentennial

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:04:02 +0000

The greatest literary figure of the Victorian era, Charles Dickens, was born 200 years ago tomorrow, on February 7, 1812.

A bright boy who endured stress and struggle, including a humiliating stint of child labor in a shoe polish factory, Dickens would grow up to make his name in London as the creator of comic characters in The Pickwick Papers in the 1830s.

His books, including classics such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities, became incredibly popular even as the content of his writing grew more serious. The characters he created became household words on both sides of the Atlantic, and Dickens himself was one of the most famous people on earth.

His work discipline was legendary, and it probably aged him prematurely. And his personal life, especially in his later years, was often troubled. But the reputation of Dickens as a writer has never diminished, and his books are still in print and widely read.

To mark the bicentennial of Charles Dickens there will be commemorations in London, and around the world, this week and throughout the year. Organizations ranging from museums to libraries to television networks are planning special events. And if it has been years since you've read anything by Dickens, 2012 is the time to get back to his work.

Charles Dickens:

Photograph: Charles Dickens, circa 1850/Getty Images

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A Letter From a Former Slave

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:45:01 +0000

A letter from a former slave to his master has gone viral on the internet this week. The letter, in which the freedman chides the Tennessee man who had owned ...

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Seven Facts About the Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:47:48 +0000

Every political season brings a cascade of talk about the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, with commentators on television, and even some candidates, invoking them as the high point of political discourse.

Everybody seems to believe those seven debates in Illinois in 1858 were awesome. But what's the reality?

First of all, they weren't even debates in the way we think of a debate. They were more like dueling speeches, and long speeches at that.

And the content was pretty rough. Most TV networks today would shy away from broadcasting the crude race-baiting and racial slurs that were tossed about in front of cheering audiences in towns across Illinois in the summer and fall of 1858.

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates are important, of course, They were a milestone in American history, and they certainly elevated Abraham Lincoln and put him on the road to becoming a national figure.

Reading a few basic facts about how Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln did battle will demonstrate that what you've heard about the Lincoln-Douglas Debates is not necessarily accurate.

Read the full article: Seven Facts About the Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Illustration: Depiction of a Lincoln-Douglas Debate/Getty Images

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Assassination Attempt on Andrew Jackson

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:58:53 +0000

Today is the anniversary of the first assassination attempt on an American president, which was foiled by bad luck and the notorious anger of the target, President Andrew Jackson.

On January 30, 1835, President Jackson visited the Capitol to attend the funeral of a member of Congress. After Jackson passed through the rotunda, a man armed with a pistol stepped out from behind a pillar and pulled the trigger.

The gun misfired, making a loud, but harmless, noise. The attacker, a Washington resident named Richard Lawrence, pulled out a second pistol, and tried again. That gun also misfired.

Andrew Jackson, who had been shot at plenty of times, and had even carried one enemy's pistol ball in his body for decades, reacted in his usual fashion. He took his walking stick and proceeded to give Lawrence a good thumping.

Lawrence survived the beating by the president, and was put on trial, where the prosecuting attorney was Francis Scott Key, who, of course, is better remembered today for writing "The Star-Spangled Banner." As Andrew Jackson was so controversial, and had plenty of enemies, some people believed Lawrence might have been part of a conspiracy. But he was judged to be insane and committed to mental institution.

Read the full article: Andrew Jackson Survived an Assassination Attempt

Illustration: Andrew Jackson, who carried a walking stick and used it against an attacker/Getty Images

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