Monthly Archives: January 2018
Abraham Lincoln in Art and Photographs
Here’s Professor Mark Pohlad of DePaul University, a professor of art history. He’s talking about how Lincoln was depicted in images, through art and photography. The video’s description reads, “DePaul University professor Mark Pohlad taught a class on representations of President Abraham Lincoln in art and photographs. He described how images of Lincoln might reach different audiences, such […]
Reading the Man Chapters 16-20
With the government running again, we continued our discussion this week. Chapter 16 starts with Wesley Norris’ telling his story of how he, his sister Mary, and one of their cousins ran away from Arlington and were captured near Westminster, Maryland, just short of the Pennsylvania border. They were brought back to Arlington, and Lee […]
Race, Suffrage, and the 15th Amendment
Here’s law professor Michael Klarman of Harvard Law School delivering a presentation on the weaknesses of the 15th Amendment and how those weaknesses were exploited to deny African Americans their right to suffrage. The video’s description reads, “Professor Michael Klarman talked about what he sees as the flaws of the 15th Amendment and the exploitation and […]
Reading the Man Chapters 11-15
Due to Cadet Bone Spurs reversing his position and causing a government shutdown, the Gettysburg National Military Park folks were forced to cancel this part of the book discussion, but I’ll go through what the chapters covered. Chapter 11 is titled, “Crenellations.” “Crenellation was a common word in Robert E. Lee’s vocabulary. It refers to […]
Legacies of Appomattox: Lee’s Surrender in History and Memory
Here’s Professor Elizabeth Varon of UVa giving an outstanding lecture on Appomattox and its results. The last ten minutes of the video repeat a portion of the talk and can be skipped.
W. E. B. DuBois on Robert E. Lee
Dubois wrote this powerful essay in March of 1928: Each year on the 19th of January, there is renewed effort to canonize Robert E. Lee, the great confederate general. His personal comeliness, his aristocratic birth and his military prowess all call for the verdict of greatness and genius. But one thing–one terrible fact–militates against this, […]
The Andromeda
The citation for this case is 69 US [2 Wall.] 481. This is another case of attempted blockade running. The case was argued on 25 January 1865 and decided on 13 February 1865. The USS Pursuit captured the schooner Andromeda off the Cuban coast on May 20, 1862. She was headed to Havana after having begun her […]
Commemorating Post-Civil War Reconstruction in National Parks
Here’s a panel discussion on the commemoration of Reconstruction by the National Park Service, and how Beaufort, South Carolina was chosen as the site of the Reconstruction Era National Monument. The video’s description reads, “Historians talked about the challenges of interpreting the post-Civil War period in the national parks and about the first Reconstruction-era monument in […]
Slavery at Presidential Plantations
This is an excellent panel discussion on slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, James Madison’s Montpelier, and James Monroe’s Highland. The Q&A at the end is also good. The video’s description reads, ” Historians and university leaders discussed free speech and academic freedom on college campuses, and the responsibility of administrators, faculty and students when sharing ideas. […]
Reading Like a Historian
This is a terrific book by Sam Wineburg, Daisy Martin, and Chauncey Monte-Sano. It gives us strategies and examples for teaching history in middle school and high school. The book takes eight situations from American History, providing readings and comparing how high school students viewed the readings with how graduate students in history who were […]
Student of the American Civil War 
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