Harper’s Weekly – February 26, 1859

Harper's Weekly archives ^ | February 26, 1859

[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.

Link to previous thread

[Homer_J_Simpson]

The Old Musician – 2
The Ball of the Season – 2-4
Editorials – 4-6
The Lounger – 6-7
The Murder of the Deaf and Dumb Boy in Utah – 8-9
Mr. Aspinwall’s Gallery – 10-12
The Napier Ball – 13-14
The United States Treasury at New York – 15-20
Did She Love Him? – 20-21
Morte-Passing Away – 21-22
I Make a Pre-Emption – 22-23
Chess Chronicle – 23
The Weekly Farmer – 23-24
The Revolution in Hayti – 24-26
Prince Napoleon’s Bride – 27-28
Miss Cicely’s Portrait – 28-30
Weekly Market Summary – 30
New York as a Nursing-Mother to Her Foundlings - 31

[the OlLine Rebel]

The bit about the Indian Aid is a great snapshot.

So, there were (white) people working for the rights of Indians back then. And the article author doesn’t deny there have been wrongs committed by the “white” man.

Then it also refers to those who contribute as “liberal white men”.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Continued from February 23 (reply #8.)

The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas

[Tax-chick]

Mr. Strong’s tribute to the memory of Mary Johnson is very touching. It’s an interesting exercise in influencing the future, since we know he intended his journal to be publication-ready. He might have been thinking of people 150 years (or more) in the future, and wanting them to appreciate the character and charitable works of Mary Johnson.

“Energetically doing good by systematic personal effort” is almost a classical aphorism of a worthy life. If it was in Latin ...

[BroJoeK]

"Then it also refers to those who contribute as 'liberal white men'."

Suggesting the authors & readers of this periodical may be something different?
Their objections here seem to be less that Indians don't need help and more that those claiming to help seldom actually do.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Here it is:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11926779/mary-c_-johnson

[the OlLine Rebel]

Can I ask what is this with the “Diary of George T Strong” - and what has it to do with the Harper’s Weekly?

I’m just confused about why this pops up.

Further, since such info has come up, I’d like to use it to update the Find-a-Grave site I posted, but I can’t understand what date we’re looking at, or why such posts keeps saying “continued” (i.e., why is a Feb 27 posted after apparently Feb 23, and are they actually connected to the Harper’s which states Feb 26?). So, I don’t know how I might go back and find when Johnson actually died, etc. I’m also assuming they are all 1859?

What is all the connection, please?

[x]

New Haven is actually a dark hole underground.

I can believe that.

Bridgeport even more so.

[BroJoeK]

"The United States Treasury at New York – 15-20"

"Now that the United States are reduced to borrowing money and the newspapers are full of accounts of large sums paid in gold to the Sub-treasury at New York..."

We should notice some things here:

1. It is claimed that "the United States is" was sometimes used long before the Civil War, but in this instance at least, that is not the case.

2. It is also claimed that ante-bellum Democrats were the more conservative, small government, frugal spending party.
   However, in the four peacetime years of Doughfaced Northern Democrat President Buchanan's administration, the national debt more than doubled (hello Pres. Obama!) and non-debt spending reached 2.6% of GDP in 1858.
   Under post-war "spendthrift" Republican President Grant, Federal spending, excluding debt payments, fell to 2.5% of GDP in 1871.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

What is all the connection, please?

I start a new thread each week headed by the Harper's Weekly that was published on that date 160 years ago. For the next seven days I post on the same thread excerpts from other sources that correspond to those days. These days (1859) most of those are from Strong's diary. For the benefit of readers who wish to follow a particular source back through time I post a link to the previous post from that source. The exception to that rule is for posts from civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com. I don't post links to previous posts for those but I do post a link to the site.

[Tax-chick]

Thanks, that’s very interesting.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Continued from February 27 (reply #4.)

The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas

[BroJoeK]

Democrat politician Dan Sickles, a flamboyant character whose aggressive self promotion was only exceeded by his poor judgement — he will live a very long life and remarry in 1871.
In the mean time his young wife will pass away and Sickles will lose something else near & dear to him...

[Tax-chick]

I knew he was a rotter all along.

[colorado tanker]

I had my medium conjure Dan Sickles on her crystal ball and all she could see was something about a peach orchard. What the devil could she have meant?

[Homer_J_Simpson]

"The movement was so deliberate, so methodical in execution, that John Gibbon, sitting his horse alongside Hancock, who had dismounted, wondered if the II Corps had somehow failed to receive an order for a general advance. Hancock knew better. Leaning on his sword and resting one knee on the ground, he tempered his surprise with amusement at the sight of Old Dan Sickles leading his soldiers to the war. 'Wait a moment,' he said, and he smiled grimly as he spoke, 'you'll see them tumbling back.'"

Shelby Foote, The Civil War Narrative, Voume Two, p. 495-496

[the OlLine Rebel]

Thanks for explaining. I was kind of lost. Very fun and informative!

[Tax-chick]

Is that like, “Results murky, ask again later.”?

I’d rather she’d seen him with a long jail sentence, the creep.

[colorado tanker]

My medium can be forgiven for not being able to see all the way to 1863 in a little town called Gettysburg, of all places.