The Hamburg Massacre took place in South Carolina in July of 1876. It was another of the low-water marks of the era of American history we call Reconstruction, the twelve years following the end of the Civil War. Hamburg was a small town in South Carolina, just across the Savannah River that forms the state’s […]
Tag: Republican Party
The Clinton Massacre of 1875 – A Bloody Key to American History
A few events in history are so emblematic of their times that we rightly call them keys to understanding something larger. The Clinton Massacre of 1875 is one such event. Clinton was a small town in Mississippi in 1875. In September of that year, Republican supporters organized a large rally in support of their candidates […]
Review of America, the Farewell Tour – What Does it Argue?
This review of America, the Farewell Tour will be a little different than many of my other reviews. The book appeared in 2018 and is the work of respected journalist Chris Hedges. It is nonfiction. I’ve read one book by Hedges in past, American Fascists. It proved rather prescient, so I gave this one a […]
Thomas Nast and Santa Claus
Thomas Nast and Santa Claus go together. More on their relationship shortly. But first, who was Thomas Nast? Thanks largely to Thomas Nast, the political cartoon is an art form. Even if you don’t look at them regularly, you know the style. Most feature recognizable caricatures of public figures along with short text. The actions […]
Thaddeus Stevens, the Man Who Should be an Icon
It’s unlikely you know much about Thaddeus Stevens. Unless you enjoyed his portrayal by Tommy Lee Jones in the 2012 movie Lincoln, you may not recognize his name at all. This is unfortunate and deserves to be rectified. Thaddeus Stevens is, in fact, one of the great American statesman of the mid-19th century. Before the […]
The Saturday Night Massacre and Watergate
For the second straight day, 1973 was a critical year in US history. October 20 marks the anniversary of the event in the Watergate Crisis known as the Saturday Night Massacre. The Saturday Night Massacre involved president Richard Nixon ordering Attorney General Elliot Richardson and then Deputy AG William Ruckelshaus to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald […]