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Category Archives: Causes of the war
October 1, 1862: Frederick Douglass on the Emancipation Proclamation
Frederick Douglass, in Douglass’ Monthly for October 1862, celebrates the Emancipation Proclamation, and calls for renewed resolve to defeat the rebellion. EMANCIPATION PROCLAIMED Common sense, the necessities of the war, to say nothing of the dictation of justice and humanity … Continue reading
September 30, 1862: The Richmond Daily Dispatch does not care for the Emancipation Proclamation
The editor of the Richmond Daily Dispatch, predictably, isn’t too happy about the Emancipation Proclamation. There’s also a certain element of “I told you so” in there. Southern radicals had insisted that the Republicans would abolish slavery, and here they … Continue reading
Posted in Abolitionism, Causes of the war
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July 26, 1862: Can the ignorant Yankees know Greek?
“Skedaddlers’ Hall,” Harrison’s Landing The Richmond Daily Dispatch presents an “ingenious” theory of the origin of the term “skedaddle” — but there’s some doubt, since it requires some of the “greasy mechanics” to know Greek, which is of course the … Continue reading
Posted in Causes of the war
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June 17, 1862: War explodes myths
The New York Times editorialist holds that war has shown the world some truths. First that Cotton isn’t really king, but for most of the editorial, that bravery isn’t exclusive to the aristocratic South and absent from the “greasy mechanics” … Continue reading
Posted in Causes of the war, Cotton
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May 23, 1862: Ladies of the South
The Richmond Daily Dispatch seems now to have come around to the view that southern ladies may occasionally forget themselves to the extent of berating the Yankee invaders. Still, they can hardly be blamed, as the Yankee officers are no … Continue reading
Posted in Causes of the war, Gender
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September, 1861: Douglass — “Cast Off the Mill-Stone” of slavery
Frederick Douglass The official Union policy was still that the war was to be fought solely to preserve the Union, and that the government had no intention of abolishing slavery in the states where it existed. Lincoln, though his personal … Continue reading
Posted in Abolitionists, Causes of the war, Frederick Douglass, Slavery
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August 31, 1861: Which way will Kentucky go?
The New York Times ran an editorial dissecting Kentucky secessionists’ outrage over a proposed direct tax; in the Times’ analysis, if they secede to avoid the Union tax, they’ll wind up in the Confederacy paying a higher one. It’s another … Continue reading
Posted in Causes of the war, Confederacy, Kentucky, States' Rights
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August 21, 1861: Jeff Thompson reads them the riot act
Missouri would be the scene of atrocities committed by both sides during the war, and the secessionist troops, untethered to any formal Confederate command, were often the worst. However, Jeff Thompson was having none of this lawless private feuding, and … Continue reading
Posted in Causes of the war, M. Jeff Thompson, Slavery
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July, 1861: “Our position and that of our enemies”
I’ve posted occasionally from DeBow’s Review, the influential journal of agriculture and slavery apologetics. In the July 1861 issue, an article by A. Featherston makes it clear (once again) that to Southern whites, the main issue in the war was … Continue reading
Posted in Causes of the war, Confederacy, Cotton, Slavery
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July 14, 1861: “Negro Patriotism” in the south
Much like some modern apologists, white southerners were anxious to find evidence that black southerners were on their side. The Augusta Constitutionalist was pleased to report on an example of such “Negro Patriotism”. Negro Patriotism.— There is a negro man … Continue reading
Posted in Causes of the war, Georgia, Slavery
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