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Category Archives: Politics
What if…Joseph Lane of Oregon had become President in 1861?
A few years ago, I was fascinated by the possibility that a certain Joseph Lane, rather than Abraham Lincoln, might have become President in 1861. I actually accumulated quite a file of research and notes, which I have since lost. … Continue reading
What If…Zachary Taylor Was Alive During the Civil War?
On July 9, 1850, the 12th president of the U.S. died only 16 months into his first term. But what if Zachary Taylor lived to see the Civil War? Suppose that war did not come to the U.S. sooner had … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged secession, What if?, What-If-2022, Winfield Scott, Zachary Taylor
2 Comments
Book Review: Benjamin Butler’s Noisy, Fearless Life
Andrew Jackson once said, “I was born for the storm, and a calm does not suit me.” The same could have been said by one of Jackson’s admirers, Benjamin Butler. He was accused throughout his career of rank opportunism, incompetence, … Continue reading
Jefferson Davis vetoes a slave-trade bill
On February 28, 1861, in Montgomery, Alabama, the newly-installed President of the newly-established Confederate States of America contemplated one of the first proposed Confederate laws sent him by the new Congress. Under the bill’s terms, importing black people into the … Continue reading
Book Review: A House Built by Slaves
A House Built by Slaves offers a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, as seen through the eyes – the usually-but-not-uniformly-sympathetic eyes – of black visitors to the White House. The narrative also combines accounts of these visits with accounts of the … Continue reading
Unpublished — The International War: Alabama Claims Documentation
This source is not exactly unpublished, but close. It was printed once—long ago—by the U. S. government. Until recently, it was scarce and mostly unknown. And it is a treasure trove of primary source material for the international and naval … Continue reading
Battle Born: Nevada’s Rapid Rise to Statehood
ECW welcomes back guest author Katy Berman In mid-October, 1864, a telegram containing 16,543 words arrived at the War Department in Washington D.C.[1] It was Nevada’s new state constitution, and President Abraham Lincoln was glad to have it. With it, … Continue reading
Posted in Personalities, Politics
Tagged 1864 Election, Abraham Lincoln, James Nye, Katy Berman, Nevada, Nevada constitution, Nevada statehood, Nevada territory, telegram
6 Comments
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates Continue: The Supreme Court and Choice
The following is revised from an article first posted here on November 3, 2016. Politics and the Supreme Court are much in the news today, as they were in 1858 when Abraham Lincoln debated Stephen Douglas for the U.S. Senate … Continue reading
Blockade, Privateering, and the 1856 Declaration of Paris
In April 1861, the commanders in chief of both the United States and Confederacy issued far ranging proclamations. Abraham Lincoln declared a blockade of Confederate ports while Jefferson Davis issued a call for privateers to make war on US seaborne … Continue reading
Echoes of Reconstruction: President Grant Reorganized the White House As Soon As He Took Office
ECW is pleased to welcome back Patrick Young, author of The Reconstruction Era blog Ulysses S. Grant was sworn in as president on March 4, 1869. The immensely unpopular incumbent Andrew Johnson was finally deposed. The new President’s wife Julia Dent Grant … Continue reading