“An Heir to the Throne, or the Next Republican Candidate” satirizes the Republican Party’s stand on slavery in the 1860 presidential election. Democrats attacked Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party for rejecting the expansion of slavery into new territories. Louis Maurer, the artist of this 1860 Currier & Ives cartoon, depicted the ultimate allegiance between […]
20
Jul
10
“An Heir to the Throne,” 1860 political cartoon
Posted by solnitr Published in Antebellum (1840-1861), Imagesno comment
19
Jul
10
Louis Maurer (1832-1932) lived to be 100 years old—fulfilling one century’s worth of accomplishments. The New York Times described Maurer in his obituary as a “lithographer, painter, cabinetmaker, shell expert, wood and ivory carver, anatomist, crack shot, winner of a blue ribbon in the first New York horse show, and the first to ride a […]
16
Jul
10
The German artist, Louis Maurer, drew upon an American sport—baseball—for this pro-Lincoln political cartoon, which Currier & Ives published in September 1860, only two months before the presidential election of 1860. Maurer created a parody of the four main presidential candidates (from left to right): Constitutional Union Party candidate John Bell, Northern Democratic Party candidate […]
14
Jul
10
“The Impending Crisis,” 1860 political cartoon
Posted by solnitr Published in Antebellum (1840-1861), Images, Rare Books, Recent ScholarshipThe Republican Party held its second national convention beginning at noon on May 16, 1860 in Chicago. The presidential nominees included the veteran statesmen Edward Bates, Salmon P. Chase, Simon Cameron, and William H. Seward, as well as a new senator from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln. Although Seward was the favorite going into the convention and […]
13
Jul
10
“The Undecided Political Prize Fight,” 1860 political cartoon
Posted by solnitr Published in Antebellum (1840-1861), ImagesThe Election of 1860 mirrored the divided nature of the United States both in the presidential candidates and the voting results. The four major candidates represented three parties, a result of sectional discord: Stephen Douglas (northern Democratic party), John Breckinridge (southern Democratic party), Abraham Lincoln (Republican party), and John Bell (Constitutional Union party). This pro-Breckinridge […]
12
Jul
10
The Battle of Five Forks, April 1, 1865
Posted by solnitr Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Maps, Rare Books, Recent ScholarshipOn September 23, 1897 Horatio Collins King, a member of Dickinson College Class of 1858, received a Medal of Honor for his acts of bravery during the battle of Five Forks. As quartermaster of the first cavalry division of the Army of the Shenandoah, King fought in one of the final Eastern battles of the […]
8
Jul
10
Dickinson College 1860 Commencement
Posted by solnitr Published in Antebellum (1840-1861), Historic PeriodicalsDickinson College‘s 1860 commencement exercises occurred on Saturday evening, July 7, 1860. Two local papers’ contrasting reports on the evening demonstrate the partisan nature of nineteenth century newspapers. The Carlisle paper, The Herald, founded by Ekuries Beatty in 1799 originally supported the Whig party, but by 1860 printed articles with a strong Republican bias. In […]
1
Jul
10
Hallowed Grounds Google Map
Posted by solnitr Published in 19th Century (1840-1880), Maps, Places to VisitUsing free tools from Google Maps, we have launched a dynamic new map of Pennysylvania’s hallowed grounds that attempts to chart the burial locations of black soldiers from Pennsylvania who fought in the Civil War. In particular, this map-in-progress highlights cemeteries that hold the remains of the 100 Voices, or representative figures being memorialized by […]
28
Jun
10
The Underground Railroad in Columbia, Pennsylvania
Posted by solnitr Published in 19th Century (1840-1880), Images, Places to Visit, Rare BooksNineteenth-century historian Robert Clemens Smedley labeled the town of Columbia, Pennsylvania as the birthplace of the organized structure that we now know as the Underground Railroad. Smedley’s posthumously published account of the Underground Railroad’s presence in Pennsylvania, History of the Underground Railroad in Chester and the Neighboring Counties of Pennsylvania (1883), is available on Dickinson […]
23
Jun
10
William P. Willey’s April 1861 letters
Posted by solnitr Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Letters & DiariesWilliam Patrick Willey, Dickinson College Class of 1862, was determined to graduate even though all odds seemed to be against him. As a junior in college, Willey’s world erupted as his country went to war with itself after the battle of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Ten days later Willey wrote his father, the […]
