After Abraham Lincoln drew his last breath, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton said, “Now he belongs to the ages.” Stanton had spent the night sending messages to military officials and government personnel in response to the assassination. Yet he was neither the Cabinet member closest in the line of succession or, for that matter, closest to Lincoln.
April, 2015
Tex Rickard and the Making of Modern Sports
One of the most important, if perhaps least known, figures in modern American sports history is George “Tex” Rickard. In some ways, his story is almost too extraordinary to be true.
Seven Things You Didn’t Know about Lee’s Surrender at Appomattox
Seven surprising items about Lee’s Surrender on April 9, 1865.
We Are All Americans: Ely Parker at Appomattox
“I am glad to see one real American here,” General Robert E. Lee said to one of the somber men gathered in the parlor of Wilmer McLean’s home in Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865.
An Ode to the Suffrage Organizer
With women’s history month having drawn to a close, it is a good time to reflect on the suffrage movement and more particularly, on the role of the suffrage organizers.
Ten Myths in American History
In honor of our 100th article, here are ten myths that our contributors have debunked.
How the Federal Government Saved New Orleans from Disaster a Century Ago
Charles Lundene, a Swedish sailor, arrived in New Orleans from who knows where around the beginning of May 1914. By late June, he was living at a homeless shelter, where he developed a severe fever.
Winter’s Missionaries: The Shakers Go West
110 years ago, three men set out on a bitter cold January 1 to walk from upstate New York to Virginia, and then over the Appalachians to Kentucky and Ohio. These were Shaker missionaries. Their goal was to spread the Shaker faith to the western United States.