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Tag Archives: 1850s
Chorus of the Union
Before the last month or so, my awareness of Stephen Douglas was that he had sparred against Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln-Douglas debates. I did not realize until reading 1858 that these debates were not part of the 1860 presidential … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged 1850s, 1860s, Abraham Lincoln, America Civil War, Edward McClelland, history, Illinois, Stephen Douglas, the impending crisis
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End Year Short Rounds: Frankenstein, Merlin, and Stephen Douglas
Although I ostensibly took a break from the blog on Christmas eve to focus on real life and all that, part of my brain is resolutely blog-oriented and insisted I keep reading so that I did not fail the Science … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews, science
Tagged 1850s, Astronomy, chemistry, history, Jefferson Davis, Mark Miodownik, Mary Roach, medicine, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Douglas, the impending crisis
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Bosom Friends
James Buchanan remains the United States’ only bachelor president – he was technically joined in this feat by Cleveland for one term, but by the time 22 had returned as 24, he had found his better half. Buchanan, though, despite … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, Alabama, Hail to the Chief, James Buchanan, Selma, Thomas Balcerski
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1858
1858 is a history of the second year of James Buchanan’s administration, a year notable less for what Buchanan did than for what he refused to do while the slavery debate burned white-hot. He maintained that slavery was no longer … Continue reading
The Expatriation of Franklin Pierce
Continuing in the tragedy of Franklin Pierce, I chose to follow a short biography of him with this, a more focused look Pierce’s exit from the presidency, when he found himself wholly isolated. Four years ago, he had earned a … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged 1850s, 1860s, American Civil War, biography, Franklin Pierce, Garry Boulard, Hail to the Chief, history, Jefferson Davis, the impending crisis
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From Hero to Zero: Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce wasn’t high on my interest list of presidents to read about for this America @ 250 project until I learned that he was intimate friends with Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina. Pierce and Davis served together in … Continue reading
Posted in General, history, Reviews
Tagged 1840s, 1850s, biography, Franklin Pierce, Hail to the Chief, history, Michael F Holt, the impending crisis
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Martin Van Buren
Who is Martin Van Buren? When I cast the name into the pool of my imagination, I can see his face reflected there, framed by wild sideburns and seeded by a guide to the US Presidents I read cover to … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged 1820s, 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, biography, Hail to the Chief, history, Martin Van Buren, the impending crisis
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The Battle Cry of Freedom
Battle Cry of Freedom is widely regarded as the finest single-volume history of the Civil War — and after finally reading it, I understand why. McPherson compresses an era of extraordinary complexity into a narrative that feels both sweeping and … Continue reading
Posted in General, history, Reviews
Tagged 1850s, 1860s, American Civil War, history, James McPherson, military
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