Category Archives: Economics

On The Eve Of War: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Posted on April 6, 2021 by Bert Dunkerly

Before it was the Steel City, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was known as the Gateway to the West. The hilly city perched above three swift rivers had a population of 50,000, making it then as now the second largest city in the … Continue reading →

Posted in 160th Anniversary, Civilian, Economics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

On The Eve of War: Williamsburg, Virginia

Posted on April 1, 2021 by Bert Dunkerly

In 1860 the former capital of Virginia still had many tangible remnants of its colonial past, and would become quickly swept up in the coming war. Williamsburg had 1,895 residents in 1860, with 864 black and 1,031 white. Of the … Continue reading →

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The Secession of Mississippi

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Chris Mackowski

January 9, 2020, is the 160th anniversary of the secession of Mississippi Named for war hero Andrew Jackson, Jackson, Mississippi, was founded in 1821 at the intersection of the Natchez Trace and the Pearl River. Jackson himself had come through … Continue reading →

Posted in 160th Anniversary, Antebellum South, Economics, Politics, Primary Sources, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Maggie Walker and how she valued history

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Bert Dunkerly

The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article about African American banker Maggie Walker and her impact on the banking industry. I’m always glad to see her get recognition for her hard work in banking and her leadership in civil … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Personalities, Reconstruction, Slavery | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Granger’s Juneteenth Orders and the Limiting of Freedom

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Edward S. Alexander

Juneteenth is recognized as the symbolic end of slavery in the United States. Galveston, Texas, held out as a Confederate stronghold after Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Once occupied by Union forces, Major General Gordon Granger established his headquarters … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Memory, Newspapers, Primary Sources, Reconstruction, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

BookChat with Leon Reed, author of No Greater Calamity for the Country

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Chris Mackowski

I was pleased to spend some time recently with No Greater Calamity for the Country: North-South Conflict, Secession, and the Onset of Civil War, a new release by Leon Reed from Little Falls Books. Leon was kind enough to take a … Continue reading →

Posted in Antebellum South, Books & Authors, Economics, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

BookChat with Brian Luskey, Author of Men is Cheap

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Chris Mackowski

I was pleased to spend some time recently with a new book by historian Brian Luskey, associate professor of history at West Virginia University. Luskey is the author of Men Is Cheap: Exposing the Frauds of Free Labor in Civil War … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Authors, Common Soldier, Economics, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: “The Limits of Loyalty: Ordinary People in Civil War Mississippi”

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Meg Groeling

Easy as it is to imagine the Confederacy made up of a solid group of Union-hating slave owners and their friends, the reality of the situation is much more complex. Jarrett Ruminski, a freelance writer, researcher, and consultant, investigates this … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Books & Authors, Economics, Memory, Slavery | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Homestead Act, Early Republicans, and the Coming of the Civil War

Posted on January 1, 2018 by Todd Arrington

Nearly everyone knows that the Emancipation Proclamation became effective on January 1, 1863.  This document formally established abolition of slavery as one of the Union’s goals in fighting and winning the Civil War and enabled the North to recruit African … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Emerging Civil War, Lincoln, Reconstruction, Slavery | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

The Historic Harbors

Posted on November 4, 2017 by Chris Kolakowski

A couple of weeks ago I attended a leadership retreat where a speaker touted the longtime importance of Hampton Roads as a harbor and host to very important events in American history. This got me thinking: what are the most … Continue reading →

Posted in Antebellum South, Battlefields & Historic Places, Economics, Navies, Ties to the War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments