Posted on 09/24/2019 4:57:43 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Free Republic University, Department of History presents U.S. History, 1855-1860: Seminar and Discussion Forum
Bleeding Kansas, Dred Scott, Lincoln-Douglas, Harper’s Ferry, the election of 1860, secession – all the events leading up to the Civil War, as seen through news reports of the time and later historical accounts
First session: November 21, 2015. Last date to add: Sometime in the future.
Reading: Self-assigned. Recommendations made and welcomed.
Posting history, in reverse order
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by reply or freepmail.
The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas
Eye-opening editorial on the habits of the German-born American citizens to enjoy the outdoors and entertainment on Sunday, as opposed to quietly and dutifully observing the sabbath like the rest of Americans, and the chastisement that HW hands out to the Germans, warning against infringing on this time-honored American tradition, and bespoiling it with European weekend excesses. Alas.
Yes, that was interesting. I noticed that the writer presented the question as (in today’s terms) a binary choice: either everyone must observe Sunday quietly at church or at home, or everyone must observe Sunday with outdoor frivolity of the beer-drinking sort. “My way or the highway,” as it were.
They would probably faint at the sight of a Sunday tailgate party outside an NFL stadium.
LOL, so true ... and a lot of other things.
Another thing I always notice is that Harper’s makes jokes about fashion and other personal-consumption topics. Today’s Wall Street Journal, however, is totally dead serious.
Our mining company will consist of between twenty-five and thirty well equipped with tools. You can tell Uncle Dan it will be impossible for me to visit him before next spring. If my life is spared, I will be tired of work by that time, and I shall visit my relatives and friends in Iowa, if I can get leave of absence. At present, I am bound by all that is honorable to continue in the course. We go in to win, at all hazards. So if you should hear of a failure, it will be after a desperate struggle, and loss of capital on both sides. But that is the last of our thoughts. Everything seems to work to our hands, and victory will surely perch upon our banner. The old man has had this operation in view for twenty years, and last winter was just a hint and trial of what could be done. This is not a large place,2 but a precious one to Uncle Sam, as he has a great many tools here. I expect (when I start again travelling) to start at this place and go through the State of Virginia and on south, just as circumstances require; mining and prospecting, and carrying the ore with us. I suppose this is the last letter I shall write before there is something in the wind. Whether I shall have a chance of sending letters then I do not know, but when I have an opportunity, I shall improve it. But if you don't get any from me, don't take it for granted that I am gone up till you know it to be so. I consider my life about as safe in one place as another.
2 Haper’s Ferry.
SOURCE: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of John Brown, p. 545
I feel like I'm watching a train wreck in slow motion.
Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865, edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher
The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas
I tracked this Onderdonk situation back a while, trying to get a sense of what actually went on. Based on what Mr. Strong says, it sounds sort of Joe Biden-ish, a guy who paw, fondle, and sniff, but didn’t seem to be going anywhere with it. Maybe.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.