Sally Field Reflects on Mary Todd Lincoln

Like many of you I am looking forward to seeing Speilberg’s film, Lincoln.  There is quite a buzz, which I hope translates into a good showing at the box office.  As long as we don’t get carried away with critiquing the film along the narrow lines of historical accuracy we should be just fine.  I [...]

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Dedication of Battle of Island Mound State Historic Site

The Battle of Island Mound marked the first time that African-American troops were engaged in Civil War combat, nearly a year before the battle depicted in the film Glory. Battle of Island Mound State Historic site encompasses Camp Africa, where the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry were camped in 1862 before a pitched battle with pro-Confederate [...]

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Scalia on the Legality of Secession

A few years ago a screenwriter, Dan Turkewitz, solicited the opinions of all nine Supreme Court justices on their views of the legality of secession.  Apparently, Turkewitz was working on a screenplay in which the state of Maine attempts to secede from the United States to join Canada.  Only one justice responded and it turned [...]

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Contemplating a Different Trail

I moved to Boston in July 2011 and I’ve loved every minute of it.  It’s a beautiful city and for a history buff it really does feel like I am a kid in a candy store.  That said, I’ve lived two lives since arriving here and I am now wondering if it is time to [...]

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Prayers For the Descendants of Invaders

Update: Once again, the post was removed. I can only imagine the personal courage behind these sincere words of concern from the SHPG for those Northerners in the path of hurricane Sandy.  As the descendant of people who would not arrive in this country until the early twentieth century, I truly appreciate Carl’s willingness to [...]

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Will the Confederacy Decide the 2012 Election?

Update: Andrew Sullivan attempts to explain his statement, but only manages to dig a deeper hole for himself. According to Andrew Sullivan, the Confederacy lives or at least the racism that pervaded those specific states during the Civil War era and it may decide the 2012 election.  More specifically Sullivan argued this morning on ABC’s [...]

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Should We Still Associate Racism With Confederate Heritage?

The following clip was pulled from a recent NEH panel on the legacy of emancipation.  It included Ed Ayers, Gary Gallagher, Christy Coleman, Eric Foner, and Thavolia Glymph.  I highly recommend viewing the entire session if you have the time, but for now check out this short clip from the Q&A.  In it an African-American [...]

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Quiet Hounds Sing About Andersonville

This video was just uploaded to Vimeo this afternoon.  From the video description: “Sabotage Film Group and the Quiet Hounds took to these very grounds where so many were lost.  ‘Beacon Sun’ is an Ode to these lost souls.”  Nicely done.

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John Brown Lives!

This event has been a long time in the making and I signed on to take part when I was still living in Virginia.  John Brown Lives! is a small organization led by Martha Swan, which focuses on public and educational outreach around issues related to freedom and oppression in history and in our world [...]

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