In 1861, at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, Union general Benjamin Butler refused to return three runaway slaves to their owners, even though Federal law required him to do so under the Fugitive Slave Act. Butler had a different take. Southern law … Continue reading →
As a genealogist, archivist, and historical researcher, I know that one of the most difficult tasks for people tracing their Southern African American ancestry is to find generations before 1870. The 1870 Federal census marked the first time that persons … Continue reading →
One of the finest works on American slavery is Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made.Written in 1974 by the late Eugene Genovese, it is a study that still stands the test of time. Genovese’s focus is on the … Continue reading →
It often bothers me when I hear people say, “Lincoln set the slaves free.” He did not. What he did do was to issue a proclamation that – by declaration – freed those persons held in bondage in certain specific … Continue reading →
150 years ago, the entire reason for the Civil War changed. Although the majority of men in the Northern ranks enlisted to restore the Union, on Jan. 1, 1863, President Lincoln’s final Emancipation Proclamation declared that all persons held in … Continue reading →