The Hamburg Massacre – A Tragic, Bloody Day In U.S. History

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 […]

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 […]

What Happened in 1872

Some years become etched into our collective memory. People worldwide will remember the years 2020 and 2021 for the impact of Covid-19. As I type this, 2022 witnesses Russia’s baseless invasion of Ukraine. For many older Americans, 1963 will forever be the year President Kennedy was assassinated. But what about years that don’t seem so […]

The Red River of Manitoba & Manifest Destiny – 2 of 3

The Red River Resistance This is a continuation of the previous post detailing how half of Canada nearly joined the United States in 1869. The theater of action was the Red River of the North, the river dividing North Dakota from Minnesota. We left off by establishing that the Canadian government had a powerful need […]