David J. Kent's Blog, page 22
February 2, 2021
Lincoln Heads to Hampton Roads for a Peace Conference
On February 2, 1865, Abraham Lincoln headed to Hampton Roads in Virginia for a peace conference. It almost killed the 13th Amendment. The House of Representatives was deep into debate about the 13th Amendment to end slavery in the United States. Extraordinary efforts were made on behalf of the administration... Continue reading
January 30, 2021
Big News! New Book on the Way!
If you follow my Facebook page (which you can do here if you don’t already), you may have already heard about my big news. For those who don’t (and why don’t you?), here is both the news and some additional info. Ready? BIG NEWS! I’m happy to announce that I... Continue reading
January 25, 2021
Lincoln’s Jewish Spy
On January 25, 1865, Abraham Lincoln directed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to give Lincoln’s Jewish spy and “cheroperdist” a pass to go into southern territory. “I wish you to give Dr. Zacharie a pass to Savanna, remain a week and return, bringing with him, if he wishes, his father... Continue reading
January 20, 2021
How Abraham Lincoln Started HBCUs, At Least Indirectly
Abraham Lincoln is responsible for the creation of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). At least indirectly. In early July 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Land-Grant College Act. His predecessor James Buchanan had vetoed the idea in 1859, but with Lincoln’s encouragement, Senator Justin Morrill reintroduced it for easy congressional... Continue reading
January 15, 2021
The Day Lincoln Met Louis Agassiz, Famous Scientist and Polygenist
Louis Agassiz arrived at the White House on January 15, 1865 with Massachusetts Congressman Samuel Hooper. The famous scientist would have his one and only meeting with Abraham Lincoln. While the two influential men had never met before, Hooper was well-known to Lincoln. It was Hooper’s home in Washington DC... Continue reading
January 12, 2021
That Time Conservatives Refused to Accept an Election – Lessons from Lincoln
The election results were decisive. The new president-elect had won the popular vote by a substantial margin and had won more electoral votes than his competitors combined. The election had been secure, and the results were unequivocal. Yet the conservative faction rebelled against the result. They said they would not... Continue reading
January 5, 2021
Why Was the Emancipation Memorial Statue Removed in Boston?
As part of my series on Confederate monuments I recently examined why the Robert E. Lee statue was removed from statuary hall in the Capitol. Not long after, the Emancipation Memorial featuring Abraham Lincoln was removed from a park in Boston. While not a Confederate monument, the Emancipation Memorial removal... Continue reading
January 1, 2021
The Year in a Writer’s Life – 2020
Heck of a year, wasn’t it? I’m sure I’m not alone in admitting that the year in a writer’s life didn’t go exactly as planned. And yet, looking back on what I wrote for 2019, I realize 2020 wasn’t that different, at least as far as the writing part goes.... Continue reading
December 29, 2020
The Year in Science Traveling – 2020
Well, this shouldn’t take long. Normally I catalogue all the traveling I did over the past year. Like everyone else in 2020, I experienced a case of travelus interruptus due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. To say that put a damper on my travel intentions is an understatement. Most of... Continue reading
December 24, 2020
Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions for 2020
Given COVID, the election, the post-election, and everything else that happened this year, it should come as no surprise that my Abraham Lincoln book acquisition pattern was different that in previous years. While last year I had a big jump in the number of new Lincoln books I acquired (82),... Continue reading
