It was on this date in 1865 when General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Order #15. The phrase, “40 acres and a mule” has become permanently tied to this wartime occupation order. Sherman issued the order after consultation with Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, the latter having met with a group of prominent […]
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It was on this date in 1860 that Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden introduced the famous compromise legislation he and others hoped would head off a civil war. Too much, too late The doomed Crittenden Compromise called for six new amendments to the Constitution that would essentially revive the Missouri Compromise borders for slavery, strip
OTD in 1860 – the Crittenden Compromise is introduced Read More »
Gettysburg: A question of cost For all its fame, its glory, its countless acts of sacrifice and honor, for all of the reverence now bestowed, Gettysburg was a costly, missed opportunity for the Union. As we honor, and rightfully so, those who fought to preserve the Union during this sesquicentennial of the great battle, a
President Abraham Lincoln first shared with his entire cabinet a draft of what would become the Emancipation Proclamation on July 22, 1862. His plan received a mixed reception among his advisers given the dire times in which the administration faced. When teaching about the Emancipation Proclamation, the dynamics surrounding the processes leading up to
Engaging History Lesson: The Emancipation Proclamation Read More »