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Author Archives: Christopher Shelley
The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address–151 Years Ago Today Happy Gettysburg Address Day! Here’s Steve Earle Singing “Dixeland,” warming up for Garrison Keillor’s reading of the best two minutes in American political history.
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Lincoln's Words
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
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Libertarians for Lincoln!
Well, maybe not all of them. But while working on the “Lincoln and Race” series, I came across a remarkable set of webpages. Thanks to John McKee Barr at Loathing Lincoln, I have discovered at least one libertarian who is … Continue reading
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Secession
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Constitutional History, Libertarian, Secession, Slavery, Timothy Sandefur, Union
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The Racism of Abraham Lincoln, Part 4
The Emancipation of Abraham Lincoln The pivotal moment in both the Civil War and in Lincoln’s views on race occurred on January 1, 1863, when Lincoln signed the final version of the Emancipation Proclamation. While criticized by contemporaries and scholars for … Continue reading
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Lincoln's Words, Racism, Slavery
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation, Eric Foner, James Oakes, Libertarian, Racism, Slavery, Thomas DiLorenzo, Union
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Slavery, The Economist, and the Worship of Capitalism
The term is over, I am off to Northern California for some casual debauchery. I will finish my series on Lincoln and race when I get back. But in the meanwhile, here’s a brilliant post in That Devil History by Jarret Ruminski. … Continue reading
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The Racism of Abraham Lincoln, Part 3
From Colonization to Emancipation Thus far, we have examined Lincoln’s words to understand his racism. That’s important because statesmen (especially Lincoln) live by their words. But we must also examine his deeds—specifically, we need to look at Lincoln’s policy initiatives … Continue reading
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Lincoln's Words, Racism, Secession, Slavery
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, cause of the Civil War, Civil War, Emancipation Proclamation, Eric Foner, Libertarian, neo-Confederates, Ordinances of Secession, Racism, Secession, Secession Commissioners, Thomas DiLorenzo, Union
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The Racism of Abraham Lincoln, Part 2
The Context of Lincoln’s Racism So let’s start with absolute reality, stripped of both wishful thinking and ideology: Abraham Lincoln was a racist. Yes, it’s true. For many of us, this is disappointing. But the simple fact that Lincoln was a … Continue reading
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Lincoln's Words, Racism, Slavery, Uncategorized
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Eric Foner, Libertarian, Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Racism, Thomas DiLorenzo, Union
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The Racism of Abraham Lincoln, Part 1
The Racism of Abraham Lincoln In early August, this came across my feed: Lincoln’s handwriting confirmed in nineteenth-century book on racism Experts have confirmed that handwriting in an Illinois library’s copy of Types of Mankind is that of the Great … Continue reading
Phil Leigh Leaves “Emerging Civil War”
Well, that was fast. No sooner do I discover a Libertarian foil to argue with than I receive this email: Mr. Shelley, My name is Kristopher White and I am one of the editors of Emerging Civil War. I wanted … Continue reading
Posted in Reconstruction, Uncategorized
Tagged Emerging Civil War, Fourteenth Amendment, Phil Leigh, Reconstruction
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Phil Leigh Hates the Fourteenth Amendment
When I was in grad school taking courses in Constitutional history, we would argue. In one class on religion and the Constitution, my adversary made a point about the First Amendment being the most important amendment. The instructor, Tom Morris—the … Continue reading
Posted in Civil War, Reconstruction
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Akhil Reed Amar, Black suffrage, Civil War, Constitutional History, Dred Scott v. Sanford, Emancipation Proclamation, Eric Foner, Fourteenth Amendment, Libertarian, Phil Leigh, Racism, Radical Republicans, Reconstruction, Thaddeus Stevens
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The True Blue Federalist 