By Nancy Spannaus[1] Jan. 8, 2021—In the midst of escalating racial and mob violence in the late 1830s, Abraham Lincoln raised the very same question which stands before us today: How can we save the institutions of our republic? His remarks were made in 1838, in an address at the […]
The Growth and Collapse of One American Nation, The Early Republic 1790-1861 By Donald J. Fraser Fraser & Associates, Roseville, California, 2020, 605 pp. A Book Review by Nancy Spannaus June 21, 2020—In examining the question of what defines an American identity, author Donald Fraser has chosen one of […]
By Nancy Spannaus April 14, 2020—On April 14, 1876, the great orator and champion of ending slavery, Frederick Douglass, keynoted the dedication of the Freedman’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. On this anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, I am reprinting the full commemorative speech below. The Freedman’s Memorial , also called […]
By Nancy Spannaus Feb. 13, 2020—Yesterday my husband and I attended the commemoration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday at the Lincoln Memorial for the third year in a row. The hour-long ceremony is hosted by the National Park Service and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States […]
By Nancy Spannaus December 26, 2019—It’s about time. Five prominent U.S. historians have come forward to challenge some egregious errors in the NY Times’ 1619 Project, a major intervention on the issue of American slavery’s role in the United States which the Times published in August of this year. The […]
By Bonnie James July 22, 2019–Abraham Lincoln gave the speech excerpted here, which came to be known as the “Electric Cord Speech,” as celebrations of the nation’s 82nd Independence Day were underway in 1858. Lincoln was then anticipating his Senate campaign against the “Little Giant,” Stephen A. Douglas. The famous […]
By Nancy Spannaus July 4, 2019—There was perhaps no more ardent supporter of the Declaration of Independence than Abraham Lincoln. He saw the Declaration as the moral foundation of the nation, upon which the Constitution was based. Thus, no matter how much the United States population fell short of its […]
By Nancy Spannaus June 30, 2019—A quick survey of the commentary on the recent Democratic presidential debates confirms that I am not the only person who was immediately struck by the contrast between these “sound-byte” events and the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. But I believe that in this time […]
By Nancy Spannaus June 16, 2019—In my Internet scanning today, I happened to note that it is the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s famous “House Divided” speech, which was given at the Illinois State Republican Convention in 1858. This was the convention which nominated Lincoln to run against Stephen Douglass for […]
By Nancy Spannaus Jan.11, 2021—Today marks the release of an invaluable video documenting the record of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton’s opposition to slavery. Under the title “The Evidence for Hamilton against Slavery,” independent researcher Marianne Als beautifully synthesizes text, imagery, and music to support her argument that not only is […]
By Angela Vullo December 17, 2020–As Christmas 2020 approaches, images of the same time period in 1932 come to mind: unemployment lines, swamped food banks, eviction notices, and more. The images are only overshadowed by the staggering number of deaths and other effects of the current deadly pandemic. While the […]
Giving Thanks for a Nation
By Nancy Spannaus November 26, 2020—Contrary to popular culture, Thanksgiving Day in the United States was never just about family. From the time of the Pilgrims, to George Washington, to Abraham Lincoln, it was about humbly expressing our gratitude for surviving as a nation (or a community), and committing ourselves […]