In “‘Loyal’ War Claims,” published on February 3, 1879, the New York Times turns against southern Unionists seeking claims for damage done by Union armies during the American Civil War (1861–1865), calling them “skulkers and sneaks.”
Category: Political Issues and Controversies
“A Feminist Novel: Miss Johnston’s ‘Hagar’ a Tale and a Theory” by Helen Bullis (November 2, 1913)
In a review published in the New York Times on November 2, 1913, the critic Helen Bullis considers Mary Johnston‘s Hagar as both a novel and a tract on woman suffrage and women’s rights more generally.
“Account of Col. George Mercer’s Arrival in Virginia, and his Resignation of the Office of Stamp Distributor” (October 31, 1765)
In this letter to the people of Williamsburg, dated October 31, 1765, George Mercer—the appointed stamp distributer for Virginia—describes a protest against the Stamp Act.
“Blake; or, The Huts of America” (1859)
Chapter 2 of Blake; or, The Huts of America, Martin R. Delany’s novel, first serialized in The Anglo-African Magazine, depicts a dinner scene in Natchez, Mississippi between a Mississippi planter, his wife, and a northern visitor. During the conversation, the three discuss the pressing political issues of the day, and the northern visitor reveals that she wants to take the favorite slave of the mistress on a trip to Cuba.
“Coalition Rule in Danville” (October 1883)
In this broadside, titled “Coalition Rule in Danville” and published in various places in October 1883, a group of twenty-eight white businessmen complain about Readjuster rule in the city in general and African Americans in particular. The so-called Danville Circular and responses to it helped raise tensions in Danville ahead of the Danville Riot, which left at least five people dead on November 3, 1883.
“Miscegenation” by Basil L. Gildersleeve (April 18, 1864)
In this essay, published in the Richmond Examiner on April 18, 1864, Basil L. Gildersleeve warns against the dangers of race-mixing. Gildersleeve was a professor of Greek and Hebrew at the University of Virginia from 1856 until 1873, and penned sixty-three editorials for the Richmond paper between October 1863 and August 1864.
“Miss Mary Johnston: A Suffrage Worker” (June 11, 1911)
In this interview, published in the New York Times on June 11, 1911, the novelist Mary Johnston speaks about the necessity of woman suffrage and connects that to her belief in eugenics.
“Sambo and the Ass” by Basil L. Gildersleeve (April 5, 1864)
In this essay, published in the Richmond Examiner on April 5, 1864, Basil L. Gildersleeve gives voice to the reluctance of many white Southerners during the American Civil War (1861–1865) to dispense with the institution of slavery. Gildersleeve was a professor of Greek and Hebrew at the University of Virginia from 1856 until 1873, and penned sixty-three editorials for the Richmond paper between October 1863 and August 1864.
“Standing Interrogatories,” Southern Claims Commission (1874)
In this version of its “Standing Interrogatories,” dated 1874, the Southern Claims Commission establishes the questions to be asked of claimants and witnesses attempting to receive reimbursement for the appropriation of property by Union armies during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Only southern Unionists were eligible, and the questionnaire was designed, in part, to establish a claimant’s loyalty. This is the third and final version of the commission’s interrogatories, expanded to more fully reflect the wide variety of Unionists the commissioners encountered.
“The Appeal” from Proceedings of the Convention of the Colored People of VA., Held in the City of Alexandria (1865)
In this excerpt from the Proceedings of the Convention of the Colored People of VA., Held in the City of Alexandria (August 2‒5, 1865), the Rev. John M. Brown asserts that both suffrage and the continued intervention of federal authority are necessary for procuring justice and equality for African Americans.