Albert Hazlett was among several of John Brown’s raiders who were not with their leader on the morning of October 18, 1859 when US Marines attacked the engine house at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Instead, Hazlett and Osborne Anderson watched the short battle from afar. The two men had left Harpers Ferry undetected late on October […]
2
Jul
10
Albert Hazlett – Trial in Carlisle, October 1859
Posted by sailerd Published in Antebellum (1840-1861), Historic Periodicals, Recent Scholarship1 comment
2
Feb
10
Worth a Thousand Words: Photographs of Lincoln
Posted by Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Images, Lesson PlansWritten by Kaye Passmore and Amy Trenkle for the National Endowment for the Humanities, Picturing Lincoln is another Picturing America lesson plan. Using art as a medium to teach, students are asked to look at a photograph of Abraham Lincoln and make assessments. Later, students read a short biography of the president before exercising their […]
18
Sep
09
Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865
Posted by sailerd Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Letters & Diaries, Recent ScholarshipHoratio Nelson Taft’s diary (January 1861-May 1865) is available online from the Library of Congress and provides an interesting look at life in Washington D.C. during the Civil War. While Taft worked at the US Patent office, his children played with “Willie” and “Tad” Lincoln. “Our three boys and the Two Lincoln boys have been […]
25
Aug
09
Digitizing the Lincoln Administration
Posted by Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Images, Lesson Plans, Letters & Diaries, MapsAmong the many websites and digital projects bringing the 19th century to the World Wide Web is the Lincoln Archives Digital Project from researcher Karen Needles. This ambitious project began in 2002 with the goal of digitizing all federal records from the Lincoln administration, including every cabinet and every agency. The project is the first of […]
16
Jun
09
Long Lost Lincoln Letter Finds Its Way Home
Posted by Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Recent NewsOn May 28, National Public Radio informed readers of a recent acquisition by the National Archives of a letter written by Lincoln to Secretary of Treasury, Salmon P. Chase. The letter was donated by Lawrence Cutler, a private collector, who waited until Lincoln’s bicentennial. Lincoln’s brief note, written just five days before his famous address […]
28
Apr
09
Sometime simplistic websites are just the resource needed to teach even some of the most complex and important issues. Abraham Lincoln is a clear example of a topic which contains countless resources both on and offline. The History Place is a simple, yet effective, website which covers a vast variety of topics. For example, their […]
3
Dec
08
The Daily Show on the 'Team of Rivals'
Posted by Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Recent News, VideoJohn Stewart’s The Daily Show on Comedy Central recently aired a clip about Obama’s “Team of Rivals.” Many compare this move to the team of rivals Lincoln created during his administration. While the clip may not have as much information as other resources, it certainly is a creative and comical way to introduce the topic […]
19
Nov
08
Was Lincoln's "Team of Rivals" a myth?
Posted by Matthew Pinsker Published in Civil War (1861-1865), General Opinion, Recent NewsI argued yesterday in an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times that Lincoln’s experience with cabinet-making (the famous “Team of Rivals”) was more of a cautionary tale than a model to follow. Consider this inconvenient truth: Out of the four leading vote-getters for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination whom Lincoln placed on his original team, […]
31
Oct
08
Helpful websites for Johnson Impeachment (1868)
Posted by Matthew Pinsker Published in Historic Periodicals, Images, Reconstruction (1865-1880)Two websites currently stand out for the access they provide to primary sources about the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in 1868. The first from Douglas O. Linder’s quite exceptional “Famous Trials” series. Linder, a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) has put together invaluable primary source packets on trials from Socrates to […]
19
Oct
08
Lincoln and Civil Liberties
Posted by Matthew Pinsker Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Lesson Plans, VideoYesterday at a teacher training workshop at the Lincoln Cottage in Washington, I discussed Abraham Lincoln’s use of war powers and his approach to civil liberties with a group of K-12 colleagues from the DC and northern Virginia area. We had an excellent exchange at a forum hosted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation […]
