Posted on 04/23/2019 5:38:00 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, Harpers 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.
April 23, SATURDAY. Tonight at Wrey Moulds funny little house in Twenty-sixth Street, hearing his little musical club. I think they out-do us. Organ and piano accompaniments, eight-handed and difficult music clearly rendered at sight. Cherubinis Fourth Mass, a couple of movements from Mozarts Seventh (far the finest of his shorter Masses I think certainly most lovely from credo to finale), parts of the Lobgesang, and so on. Performers not generally in society, I think; some of them semi-professional. My old grammar school teacher Dr. Quin is among them.
The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas
Who is being hanged?
April 24. Cisco says his friend Butterworth tells him he advised Sickles to challenge Key or else to give him notice and kill him in a street collision, but that Sickles avowed his preference for an ex parte assassination. Also, that the fair and frail Theresa says with great naivete: It was too bad of Dan to publish that paper I wrote for him. Ill never have anything more to do with Dan if he behaves that way.
Ellie with her papa tonight at the Rev. Mr. Lords lecture on Oliver Cromwell, and much delighted.* Tackled Rev. Lord afterwards and told him that he had not done full justice to Charles I.
* The Rev. John Lord (1810-1894), who made a great success as historical lecturer delivering some six thousand discourses on many topics. His eight-volume Beacon Lights of History was long a popular subscription set.
The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas
Evidently the author - Paul Pyne.
April 26. Sickles acquitted, of course. Ellie at the Beldens this evening. Everyone says the next steamer must bring news of war in Europe.
The Diary of George Templeton Strong, Edited by Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas
Sickles will reconcile with Teresa, much to the disgust of his supporters. A standup move, in my opinion.
WASHINGTON, April 29, 1859.
DEAR WEED, The southern and western politicians have habits and usages different from ours. They come upon me with a directness which confounds me. I have two or three subjects submitted by them which I propose to you now, because in the hurry of preparing my business for departure for Europe I must save time. You can keep this letter at hand and refer to it at leisure.
Many southern gentlemen express to me a wish that the national convention may be held somewhere on the border. Without expressing any opinion about it as an abstract question, I think our friends ought to know that it was understood at Washington that Humphrey Marshall intends to go over to the Democrats. If Louisville should be suggested as the place, the committee would of course consider Mr. Marshall's position in connection with the subject. It might have a bearing against such a selection.
The Baltimore is in trouble. Mayor Swayne, Judge Lee, Mr. Cole, and others there want to have the paper reorganized and brought into the position of an organ in that State and for the country south of the Potomac, of the Republican party. They had Simon Cameron over there a week or two ago to confer. They think they will need some funds from the North, but I am satisfied that if they only had the benefit of your advice and Cameron's, they would be able to subscribe all the funds they want, and would promptly do so. Cameron and I promised them that we would ask you to meet him there. Cameron knows them all, and he will go at any time.
Speaking of Cameron, I promised him when he left Washington to spend a day or so with him on my way home. He took me to his house, told me all was right. He was for me, and Pennsylvania would be. It might happen that they would cast the first ballot for him, but he was not in, etc. He brought the whole legislature of both parties to see me, feasted them gloriously, and they were in the main so generous as to embarrass me.
I have Stetson's letter to you. Corwin is uneasy and fidgety; but persons who live in Ohio have excuses. They are inheritors of a noble reversion, and they would like to extinguish the present estate without being able or willing to pay its cost. He wrote me a month ago, inclosing a pitiful piece of twaddle from a correspondent of the Express, saying that he was against me as everybody else was. He contradicted the allegation, and said that the Cincinnati Gazette would contain an authorized denial. . . .
You will find John S. Pendleton, of Virginia, bold enough and well disposed for anything. The man in the District of Columbia is Henry Addison, now Mayor of Georgetown. He is wise, honest, indomitable and unreserved. You may send him safely anywhere.
SOURCE: Harriet A. Weed, Editor, Life of Thurlow Weed Including His Autobiography and a Memoir, Volume 2, p. 256-7
I should think Republicans meeting in Louisville would not have been conducive to their health.
Not good at all. I'm sure if Mr. Lincoln was consulted he would have helpfully pointed out the value of holding the convention in a northern state, where the Republican nominee was sure to come from. But not New York or Ohio, where the 2 front-runners were from, so as to give neither an unfair advantage. But another northern state. Indiana or Illinois, maybe. I have no idea whether he was so consulted but I do recall reading that the choice of Chicago was not accidental and Mr. Lincoln did have a spoon in the pot.
Abe didn’t have a lot of cards to play for the 1860 nomination, but he sure was a crafty player. :-))
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