Posted on 08/21/2010 7:17:45 AM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
Today, the U.S. Treasury released a $1 coin commemorating former President James Buchanan. And people aren't happy about it.
To understand why, some background is helpful. In 2007, thanks to a bill promoted by then-Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire, the Treasury began minting $1 coins with the likenesses of former Presidents, starting with George Washington.
The coins -- which have been appearing ever since, featuring a new President every three months -- are meant to improve use and circulation of America's dollar coins, which are often seen as an awkward misfit among currency, neither fish nor fowl.
Sununu's initiative drew inspiration from the 50 State Quarters Program, which launched in 1999. The runaway success of that effort, according to his legislation, "shows that a design on a U.S. circulating coin that is regularly changed... radically increases demand for the coin, rapidly pulling it through the economy."
The bill also suggested that a program wherein Presidents are featured on a succession of $1 coins, and First Spouses commemorated on gold $10 coins, could help correct a state of affairs where "many people cannot name all of the Presidents, and fewer can name the spouses, nor can many people accurately place each President in the proper time period of American history."
So the bill passed, and the Washington dollar coin appeared not long after. It was followed by Adams, Jefferson, et al., with the First Spouse coins minted alongside.
Now we're up to Buchanan, the fifteenth President, who took office in 1857 and turned things over to Abraham Lincoln in 1861, and whose coin (produced at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints and purchasable through the U.S. Mint website) has occasioned the aforementioned grousing. Here's where some feel the coin program is falling short:
1. The coins aren't circulating.
Many Americans have never gotten into the habit of using $1 coins, and as a result, over a billion commemorative Presidential coins are sitting around in a stockpile at the Federal Reserve. As BBC News reports, if these coins were stacked up and laid on their side, they'd stretch for 1,367 miles, or the distance from Chicago to New Mexico.
2. They don't seem to be educating people, either.
In February 2008, a year after the first presidential coins were minted, The New York Times reported that a survey had found large numbers of American teens to be woefully ignorant of their country's history. It was far from the first time Americans had gotten a dismal grade in history, suggesting that Sununu's commemorative-coin campaign isn't having much of an effect in that arena, either.
3. James Buchanan was kind of a crappy president.
In fairness, this is a grievance with a specific president, not the presidential coins program as a whole. Still, it seems to come up in all the coverage of the new coin: Buchanan wasn't very good at his job.
That's the consensus of historians, anyway, who have traditionally censured Buchanan for his failure to prevent the Civil War. Last year, a C-SPAN survey of historians granted Buchanan the dubious distinction of worst president ever.
Still, all of this isn't reason enough to declare the commemorative-coins program a total failure. If more coin collectors start avidly pursuing the presidential coins, it could have the effect of pushing down the national debt, thanks to the way the value of the coins fluctuates with their availability. And if the dollar coins were to catch on and replace paper $1 bills entirely, it could save the country between $500 and $700 million each year in printing costs.
Plus, if things stay on track, 2012 will see the release of the Chester A. Arthur dollar coin -- marking the first time that long non-commemorated president's face has ever appeared on any nation's currency. And who are we to deprive him of that?
Well, cowboy, look at the demographics in his town. That should explain it. Obama won three counties Crawford (home to Pittsburg), Douglas (home to Lawrence), and Wyandotte (home to Kansas City). The first two were home to large college populations, while Wyandotte had a significant African-American population. He lives in Kansas City.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/20/2036000.html
Yes, when it secures allies against your own countrymen with whom you expended so much blood and effort to rid our land of foreign domination. The Confederates were too feeble themselves to overrun Northern locales with a plundering army but they were perfectly happy and anxious to see a French or British army do the same.
We’ll never know for certain what Lee would have done had he been in Sherman’s place because he never was in that situation. The nearby presence of Meade’s large army meant that Lee was not able to undertake a long and unhindered campaign of destruction. But as I said in the other post, Lee and the Confederates would have been perfectly happy with a European army destroying Northern civilians so I cannot admire the morality of Confederate policy.
You mean the Union Captain I quoted was secretly on the Confederate side? Pepper also says on his way into Columbia the next day after the fire, he was met by crowds of soldiers:
"waving gold watches, handfuls of gold, jewelry, and rebel shinplasters [rb: paper money] in the air, and boasting of having burned the town." [page 312-313]
Hmmm. Maybe you ought to give Confederate accounts more weight rather than dismissing them or trying to play them down.
Once a state declares it independence, it becomes sovereign, the population of the remaining states become foreigners, "those people". If "those people" choose to take up arms, they become the enemy.
So evil men took advantage of the chgaos of war? War is rough. Those criminals were no worse than similar criminals associated with the Confederate army. The only difference was that the Union army at least tried to supress Confederate criminals while the Confederate authorities cared so little for South Carolina that they let the Union army run amok. More evidence for the worthlessness of the Confederate cause and more evidence that the rebs in power cared more their wealth that for their people they were supposed to protect.
If they were two different countries why then should y'all always be complaining about Sherman when your heroes were willing for a foreign ally to do the same to the Union states?
A first hand account always holds more weight with me. Dismissing the Southern Civilian and their account of what transpired is like dismissing survivors of Auschwitz and their first hand accounts...
November 19, 1864
I hastened back to my frightened servants and told them that they had better hide, and then went back to the gate to claim protection and a guard. But like demons they rush in! My yards are full.
. To my smoke-house, my dairy, pantry, kitchen, and cellar, like famished wolves they come, breaking locks and whatever is in their way. The thousand pounds of meat in my smoke-house is gone in a twinkling, my flour, my meat, my lard, butter, eggs, pickles of various kinds - both in vinegar and brine - wine, jars, and jugs are all gone. My eighteen fat turkeys, my hens, chickens, and fowls, my young pigs, are shot down in my yard and hunted as if they were rebels themselves. Utterly powerless I ran out and appealed to the guard.
'I cannot help you, Madam; it is orders.'
So are you going to dismiss this first hand account by strongly pro-Confederate Southern citizen Myra Inman of Cleveland, Tennessee?
"The soldiers (Nathan Bedford Forrest's) are dealing very badly, taking corn, leaving down fences, stealing horses, chickens, hogs and everything else they can see..."
If they did this to Inman property, property of a well-known and well-connected pro-rebel clan in Cleveland, I shudder to think what they did to poor Union families.
Do you dismiss this first-hand account?
April 8th
The young man that was shot Friday was from Sumner but no one can find out his name. Mrs. A and W was going from Col. G. and me! I think carrying him out to the pines. They say he wore a look of calm despair. The Yankees pretended that they were tired and sat down on the side of the road but made the soldier stand in the pike: he stood with arms folded across his noble heart (for well I know he was a noble Southron and eyes bent toward the ground as a pale as death while the yankees taunted him with such remarks as ‘I will have his boots;’ another would name something that he would.
Are you kidding me, Colonel? In the course of all our debates... I've drawn the conclusion. You're the kind of person that always wears his T-shirts inside out.
Surely you remember this old post of mine, Colonel.
To: 4CJ
Thanks for the information on the maltreatment of civilians by Union troops. They were mistreated out west as well. Here is a list of some Johnson Country, Arkansas women who were burned for the purpose of obtaining their money [Source: Houston Tri-Weekly Telegraph, April 12, 1865]:
- Mrs Wiley Harris, burned and whipped severely
- Mrs. Major Thompson, burned head, arms, and hands
- Mrs. O. Wallace, knocked down and whipped severely
- Mrs. Susan Wallace, feet burned severely
- Mrs. S. J. Howell, burned from knees down; but little hopes of recovery
- Mrs. Emma May (mother-in-law), feet burned severely
- Mrs. L. N. C. Swagerty, feet burned severelyI was curious how this came about and looked in the Official Records. I found the following in Series I, Volume 48, Part II, page 79. My blood runs cold on reading it. [Paragraph breaks mine for readability]
OFFICE CHIEF PROVOST-MARSHALL, FIRST DISTRICT,
Center Point, Ark., March 8, 1865.
Major-General FAGAN:
GENERAL: Having just returned from Johnson County I write you in order to give you some knowledge of the ill treatment of some of your old friends, outrages committed by the Federal soldiery. After being robbed of all their household, wearing apparel, and subsistence, they are then a subject of search for money. Not being satisfied on searching their persons, they are taken from their beds and placed upon beds of fire and tortured for the purpose of getting money.
Aunt Tish (Mrs. Howel) was taken from her bed and burned so severely that there is but little hope of her recovery. All the flesh from below the knee of one leg has dropped off. Mrs. Susan Willis at the same time burned severely on the feet. Mrs. Wiley Harris burned by placing her head in the fire, and then whipped almost lifeless. Mrs. Major-Thompson burned on head, arms, and hands. I must yet tell you that Isbell, my wife, was taken from her bed and placed upon coals of fire, and after being burned severely was made to go in the damp of night some 400 yards to get money, and made to walk a part of the way with her feet all in a crisp, Isbell's mother remaining at the house suffering with like punishment.
Notwithstanding these outrages, that of still deeper infamy is now the suffering pangs at heart of some of the helpless ladies of Johnson.
Oh, general, the story is true, sad, and sickening. May god avenge their wrongs. These outrages cannot be placed upon any other than the U. S. soldiery. The deserters from the Federal army occupied the county some time previous to the Federals holding post, and did not commit these outrages.
Shall we suffer all this? Have we no spirit to avenge their wrong? I hope the soldiery of Johnson County will not forget the Federal Second Arkansas Regiment, Second Kansas, Fourteenth Kansas, Colonel G. M. Waugh, and Colonel Stephenson, that they may, if ever chance offers, mete out to them like reward.
Hoping that some measures may be adopted that will avert any further outrages, I am, general, as ever, your friend and obedient servant,
L. N. C. SWAGERTY.835 posted on 09/08/2007 12:45:46 AM CDT by rustbucket
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To this you posted a response [your bold below]:
To: rustbucket
But that's only half the story. The Union authorities condemned the crimes and sought justice:
HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS, Lewisville, Ark., March 6, 1865.
Respectfully referred to Brig. Gen. M. Jeff. Thompson, commanding Northern Sub-District of Arkansas, who will take such measures as he may deem necessary to have the perpetrators of these outrages brought to justice. He will communicate with the Federal commander at Clarksville and demand the men who are guilty of such inhuman outrages.
By command of Major-General Magruder,
M. M. KIMMEL,
Major and Assistant Adjutant-General.
---------------------------------
HEADQUARTERS, NORTHERN SUB-DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS,
Harrisburg, April 12, 1865.
Respectfully forwarded to the commanding officer of the Federal forces in Arkansas at Little Rock, with a request that he either punish these fiends or turn them over to the C.S. military authorities for punishment.
M. JEFF. THOMPSON, Brigadier-General, Commanding.
It was never the policy of the Union Army to commit such senseless crimes.
837 posted on 09/08/2007 6:44:21 AM CDT by Colonel Kangaroo (Only Duncan Hunter would inspire a tagline from me)
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I pointed out that I never said the Union didn't punish the men, and I then provided punishment details from the newspaper story. And, of course, I noted that you were citing the correspondence of two Confederate generals as evidence of the virtues of the Union army.
"The soldiers (Nathan Bedford Forrest's) are dealing very badly, taking corn, leaving down fences, stealing horses, chickens, hogs and everything else they can see..."
Let's look at some other excerpts from Myra Inman's diary [Link]:
Pg. 230. ... The Yankees are taking our corn, potatoes, pork, salt, and never pay a cent and besides talk very insulting to us.
Pg. 232. ... He, Georgie and Pryor have come home, the Yanks have laid his farm waste. Wilders Yankee Cavalry camped on our lot from sun down until 12 o’clock, took corn, potatoes and straw and burnt a great number of our rails. [Fence rails, I suspect.]
Pg. 300. ... Two regiments of Yanks came to repulse the Rebels. They stole some of Mrs. Watkins’ corn, four pigs, three or four chickens, two hams of meat, and burnt a great many rails.
See? That’s my point. No difference between the Yankees and Confederates-both would steal the citizens blind. Except the Yankees were more likely to let their enemies keep their eyeballs.
Besides the racial aspect, the one big difference in war conduct between the two sides was that the dissidents in the South faces a more deadly and brutal governmental oppression in the South than troublemakers did in the North. Dissent could be fatal in Dixie.
Pilgrim’s Progress with Cump
First Presbyterian Church Union soldiers made the pulpit area into a bandstand and danced in the interior. The Confederates had used the church as a hospital earlier. Cheraw, SC
Hopewell AR Presbyterian Church and Burrel Hemphill Monument Burrel Hemphill was a slave of Robert Hemphill, who owned twenty two hundred acres near the church. When the Federal troops arrived, the Hemphill family fled, leaving Burrel in charge of the plantation. It is reported that he buried the family silver in the woods, but was caught by Union soldiers upon his return. According to his grandson, who witnessed the incident, Hemphill refused to tell the Union soldiers where to find the loot. The angry Federal soldiers then dragged Burrel to a spot near the church where they hanged him and shot up his body for target practice.
A granite marker honors Burrel Hemphill:
"In Memory of Burrel Hemphill Killed by Union Soldiers February, 1865. Although a Slave He Gave His Life Rather Than Betray a Trust. He was a member of Hopewell". Blackstock, SC
Old Brick Church The confederate soldiers, when retiring before Sherman in his march through the area, destroyed the bridge over Little River. Sherman's men tore up the flooring and sleepers of the church for material to rebuild the bridge. Although the church is not generally open to the public, a door facing inside the church still holds a handwritten apology for the defacement. It is simply signed "A Yankee". Winnsboro, SC
Old Presbyterian Church Originally erected in 1862, this church replaced a wood structure built in 1835. The building is in early Gothic style architecture and has 16-inch thick walls of plaster that are marked to resemble stone. During the War, Sherman’s soldiers stabled their horses inside the church. Many of Lancaster's early community leaders are buried in the graveyard adjoining the church which also contains the graves of veterans of five wars. Lancaster, SC
Old St. David's Church 1770 Used as a hospital by both armies, St. David's also survived use by both armies during the American Revolution. There are marked Confederate graves in the cemetery and unmarked Union and Confederate ones. Sherman's troops marched by this site to cross the pontoon bridges at the end of Church Street. Cheraw, SC
St. John's Episcopal Church Searching for St. John's silver communion service, the Yankee troops were said to have unearthed a freshly covered grave site believing it to be a possible hiding spot for the silver. Having only found a coffin, it is claimed that they removed the body of Major Manigault and with curses placed the body up, with the face toward the church, which in the meantime had been set on fire. Winnsboro, SC
St. Peter's Catholic Church Saber marks on the outside columns and a burn mark on the floor inside bear testimony to Sherman's occupation of Cheraw. Cheraw, SC
Ursuline Convent, Columbia, SC A group of sixty female student sought refuge in the chapel of the Ursuline Convent . In the dark of the night they could see the flames from burning building as they prayed and said the rosary. With a crashing bang at the door, a mob of drunken soldiers swarmed the alter, stripping it of sacred gold vessels. A priest rescued the nuns and girls and took them to a nearby church. A few hours later they witnessed the burning convent collapse into a mess of fiery debris. Laughing soldiers taunted the nuns. Rudely blowing cigar smoke in their faces, on scoundrel jeered;
"Oh, holy! Yes, holy! We're just as you are! Now, what do you think of God? Ain't Sherman greater?
Many Union men did what they could to protect the women, children, elderly men, and their property, often at the risk of their own lives. I would imagine their voices lifted to heaven to join with Ellen Sherman's to seek forgiveness for such evil deeds.
Ellen Sherman's last years on earth were not the peaceful ones expected of a famous conqueror's wife.
She refused to attend the theater with Sherman, one of his great delights. He explained to his daughter Elly,
“Your Mama won't go because she is afraid the theater will take fire and burn up, of course there is little or no danger, but when one gets that idea it takes away all the pleasure and satisfaction factor”
Maybe she lived in fear the theaters she attended would go up in flames like the churches, theatres, great halls of learning, and homes her Cump instigated, then permitted to "take fire and burn up".
sources "Citizen Sherman" by Micheal Fellman
South Carolina Historial Society
(June the 30th, 1863 1
My Dear Cousin) 2
I write you a few lines this morning which will inform you that my self & brother are both well and getting on fine. And I much hope this may reach you in due time and find you all enjoying the best of health and all other blessings. I have no news of importance to write. We have been near Chambersburg for several days. And I reckonwe will stay several days longer. We have quite a nice time since we have been in Pennsylvania. In the way of something to eat we can get plenty of milk & butter and apple butter that is very good.
[Page 2]
The citizens in this country all seem to be afraid of us they treat us very kind though. I believe it is done through fear. The most of our Virginia boys treat them verykind though there is some of our extreme southern troops has treated the people badly. I am sorry they do so. It is against General Lee's orders to interrupt private property. This is a very flourishing looking Country the crops all look fine.
It has never felt the effect of the war, though I guess if we stay here long it will feel the effect of it. Our quartermasters & commissaries has gotten a great many necessities for our army since we have been in this state.
[Page 3]
There is but very few people that charge us any thing for milk or butter. I believe that had as lief give us such things as to take our money, and they are afraid to refuse us while they have such things.
The people in this Country are very much split up about the war. They don't unite like our people do. I don't think this war can last much longer if it does I believe the North will have war with itself. The Democrats say they will not take sides with the abolitionists. They say we are fighting for our rights and the abolitionist are fighting for money, and I believe the Democrats will raise against them if the war last much longer.
[Page 4]
I am staying at a private house guarding the man & property. He boards me free while I stay with him. I am fairing finely. I believe I have written enough for the present unless it was better than what it is. So I will close, you must write to me soon and gave me all news the last letter I got was dated the 13th instant 3 if you don't hear from us again soon you may not be uneasy for it is very doubtful about our mail passing again soon. Nothing more but give my love to all the family and share a large portion for yourself.
I remain as ever your friend and Cousin,
Jimmie Booker
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