.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Last year we saw "Van Gogh Alive" at the Dali Museum, our first of the relatively new "immersive experiences" that are popping up now. We loved it. Today, we're headed to "Beyond Van Gogh," a competitor.
Vincent van Gogh's life (1853-1890) was captured several years ago by Naifeh and Smith in a biography declared to be the most authoritative so far. The authors also challenged the long held suicide theory.
However, the main book on this post is Lust for Life, one of several biographical novels written by Irving Stone, made into a movie starring Kirk Douglas in 1956.
Van Gogh will forever be known as the Dutch post-impressionist painter whose fame came only after his death. He created at least 2,100 artworks which included 860 oil paintings. He only ever sold one painting in his life, about 7 months before his death. Today, several of his paintings have sold for record-breaking millions of dollars.
Throughout his life, Van Gogh suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions, spending time in psychiatric hospitals.
Now, about the ear. Truth is, nobody really knows the truth. What is known is that sometime after a quarrel (one of many) with the visiting artist Paul Gauguin, he used a razor to cut off part or all of his left ear. No one witnessed it. He wrapped the ear in paper and delivered it to a 17-year old cleaning girl at a brothel that he and Gauguin frequented. Van Gogh himself claimed to have no memory of any part of the episode.
Place
From 1888 to 1889, Van Gogh retreated to the rural city of Arles in the Provence region of southern France. He planned on creating a community of artists. This year was one of his most prolific, completing over 200 paintings and 100 drawings and watercolors. He did make some connections with a few other artists, and it was in Arles that he and Gauguin were quarrelsome roommates and where Van Gogh severed part or all of his left ear. From Arles, he entered the asylum at Sait-Remy. There, he painted The Starry Night.
Arles is still quite a beautiful town in France. Once a provincial capital of Ancient Rome, one can still see an aqueduct nearby and an amphitheatre in town from those times. The amphitheatre still hosts plays, concerts, and bullfights.
From 1888 to 1889, Van Gogh retreated to the rural city of Arles in the Provence region of southern France. He planned on creating a community of artists. This year was one of his most prolific, completing over 200 paintings and 100 drawings and watercolors. He did make some connections with a few other artists, and it was in Arles that he and Gauguin were quarrelsome roommates and where Van Gogh severed part or all of his left ear. From Arles, he entered the asylum at Sait-Remy. There, he painted The Starry Night.
Arles is still quite a beautiful town in France. Once a provincial capital of Ancient Rome, one can still see an aqueduct nearby and an amphitheatre in town from those times. The amphitheatre still hosts plays, concerts, and bullfights.
Thing.
The Portrait of Dr. Gachet depicts Dr. Paul Gachet, a homeopathic doctor and artist. After a year in the asylum at Saint-Remy, Van Gogh moved to the Paris suburb of Auvers to be closer to Dr. Gachet for treatment. Although Van Gogh was apprehensive on their first meeting, the pair quickly bonded, with Van Gogh calling him a "true friend" and "another brother."
Van Gogh painted two versions of the doctor. The one without the yellow books was given to Dr. Gachet, and his heirs bequeathed it to to France. It is now part of the collection of the Musee d'Orsay.
The first version, with the yellow books, was first acquired by a Frankfurt museum, but it was then confiscated and sold by Hermann Goering. In May 1990, it was sold at auction to a Japanese collector for $82.5 million ($163.4 million today), making it the most expensive painting ever sold at that time. The Japanese collector died in 1996. In 1998, an Austrian investment manager bought it, but he sold it a few years ago. The exact current whereabouts and owner are unknown today, however.
The Portrait of Dr. Gachet depicts Dr. Paul Gachet, a homeopathic doctor and artist. After a year in the asylum at Saint-Remy, Van Gogh moved to the Paris suburb of Auvers to be closer to Dr. Gachet for treatment. Although Van Gogh was apprehensive on their first meeting, the pair quickly bonded, with Van Gogh calling him a "true friend" and "another brother."
Van Gogh painted two versions of the doctor. The one without the yellow books was given to Dr. Gachet, and his heirs bequeathed it to to France. It is now part of the collection of the Musee d'Orsay.
The first version, with the yellow books, was first acquired by a Frankfurt museum, but it was then confiscated and sold by Hermann Goering. In May 1990, it was sold at auction to a Japanese collector for $82.5 million ($163.4 million today), making it the most expensive painting ever sold at that time. The Japanese collector died in 1996. In 1998, an Austrian investment manager bought it, but he sold it a few years ago. The exact current whereabouts and owner are unknown today, however.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Person.
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General U.S. Grant at Appomattox Court House Virginia. Tony Horwitz published Confederates in the Attic in 1998. It's a book based on research and interviews with people who had ties with the Civil War, 130 years after the war, a couple of decades before the more public discussion on memorializing the war developed. He meets and writes about reenactors, historians, etc., and visits several sites and monuments.
One of the chapters is based on a meeting with Alberta Martin, considered the last surviving Confederate widow at the time. (In reality, four widows of Civil War soldiers lived into the 21st century. Two widows outlived her, the last dying in 2020. The last person to receive a Civil War pension was Irene Triplett, daughter of a CW veteran, who died in 2020.) In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a sizable number of teen girls married elderly veterans for security, pension money, maybe prestige.
Alberta Stewart (1906-2004) was an Alabama sharecropper's daughter who married vet William Martin in 1927. She was 21; he was 81. Ten months later, a son was born, making her the last widow whose marriage produced offspring. Proud Dad was 82 then. William died in 1931, and Alberta married his grandson from a previous marriage. They were married for fifty years, until his death in 1983.
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General U.S. Grant at Appomattox Court House Virginia. Tony Horwitz published Confederates in the Attic in 1998. It's a book based on research and interviews with people who had ties with the Civil War, 130 years after the war, a couple of decades before the more public discussion on memorializing the war developed. He meets and writes about reenactors, historians, etc., and visits several sites and monuments.
One of the chapters is based on a meeting with Alberta Martin, considered the last surviving Confederate widow at the time. (In reality, four widows of Civil War soldiers lived into the 21st century. Two widows outlived her, the last dying in 2020. The last person to receive a Civil War pension was Irene Triplett, daughter of a CW veteran, who died in 2020.) In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a sizable number of teen girls married elderly veterans for security, pension money, maybe prestige.
Alberta Stewart (1906-2004) was an Alabama sharecropper's daughter who married vet William Martin in 1927. She was 21; he was 81. Ten months later, a son was born, making her the last widow whose marriage produced offspring. Proud Dad was 82 then. William died in 1931, and Alberta married his grandson from a previous marriage. They were married for fifty years, until his death in 1983.
Place.
Another chapter of Confederates in the Attic deals with Andersonville, the notorious prison in southwest Georgia built to house captured Union men (and at least three women in disguise), formally known as Camp Sumter. Besides the campsite, today's historic site is also home to a national cemetery and to the National Prisoner of War Museum
Created in February 1864 and operating through April 1865, Andersonville prison, and others like it, marked a change in warfare. At the beginning of the Civil War, there were few facilities in either side for holding POWs, so prisoners were often exchanged after promises of no more combat. That proved futile, and prisons were built
Andersonville was located very near a rail line and deep in southwest Georgia. It consisted of a rectangular stockade, eventually covering 26.5 acres, with a projected capacity of 10,000. Over the course of a year, it held 45,000. The Confederate army an civilians in the area were dealing with major food shortages, and the prisoners added to the problem. Most prisoners had little or no protection from the hot Georgia sun, there was a real problem securing clean water, and diseases were common. There was even a group of Union prisoners who formed a gang called the Raiders, and they stole from and assaulted new prisoners as they arrived. Altogether, some 13,000 prisoners died, and they were buried in mass graves, marked after the war with rows of headstones, many marked Unknown. The commander of the prison, Captain Henry Wirz, became the only Civil War soldier to be tried (and executed) for war crimes, although other camps in the North were almost as bad and had comparable death rates
Andersonville is an extremely sobering site, and a must for those interested in the Civil War.
Another chapter of Confederates in the Attic deals with Andersonville, the notorious prison in southwest Georgia built to house captured Union men (and at least three women in disguise), formally known as Camp Sumter. Besides the campsite, today's historic site is also home to a national cemetery and to the National Prisoner of War Museum
Created in February 1864 and operating through April 1865, Andersonville prison, and others like it, marked a change in warfare. At the beginning of the Civil War, there were few facilities in either side for holding POWs, so prisoners were often exchanged after promises of no more combat. That proved futile, and prisons were built
Andersonville was located very near a rail line and deep in southwest Georgia. It consisted of a rectangular stockade, eventually covering 26.5 acres, with a projected capacity of 10,000. Over the course of a year, it held 45,000. The Confederate army an civilians in the area were dealing with major food shortages, and the prisoners added to the problem. Most prisoners had little or no protection from the hot Georgia sun, there was a real problem securing clean water, and diseases were common. There was even a group of Union prisoners who formed a gang called the Raiders, and they stole from and assaulted new prisoners as they arrived. Altogether, some 13,000 prisoners died, and they were buried in mass graves, marked after the war with rows of headstones, many marked Unknown. The commander of the prison, Captain Henry Wirz, became the only Civil War soldier to be tried (and executed) for war crimes, although other camps in the North were almost as bad and had comparable death rates
Andersonville is an extremely sobering site, and a must for those interested in the Civil War.
Thing
In Confederates in the Attic, Tony Horwitz visits Kingstree South Carolina, where there is a bit of mystery. Or maybe was.
In 1910, during the time that the United Daughters of the Confederacy were erecting Confederate soldier statues on every courthouse square in the South, an expectant crowd showed up for the dedication of its own Johnny Reb and were aghast when the statue was unveiled, revealing a Billy Yank (left photo) instead.
It seems there was a mix up of some sort. In York Maine, citizens looking for a Billy Yank got a Johnny Reb instead (right photo). How do they know? There are certain details that stand out, chiefly the hats. The statues were ordered from the same company.
I've looked, but I can't find whether one or both are still standing, but if they're not, it's a recent development. When asked, the citizens of both towns were content to let their little peculiarities stand.
In Confederates in the Attic, Tony Horwitz visits Kingstree South Carolina, where there is a bit of mystery. Or maybe was.
In 1910, during the time that the United Daughters of the Confederacy were erecting Confederate soldier statues on every courthouse square in the South, an expectant crowd showed up for the dedication of its own Johnny Reb and were aghast when the statue was unveiled, revealing a Billy Yank (left photo) instead.
It seems there was a mix up of some sort. In York Maine, citizens looking for a Billy Yank got a Johnny Reb instead (right photo). How do they know? There are certain details that stand out, chiefly the hats. The statues were ordered from the same company.
I've looked, but I can't find whether one or both are still standing, but if they're not, it's a recent development. When asked, the citizens of both towns were content to let their little peculiarities stand.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Person.
Today, we're seeing a production of one of Stephen Sondheim's lesser known works, "Assassins", a musical about and starring presidential assassins and would-be assassins.
When it comes to the Garfield assassination in 1881, Candice Millard's book Destiny of the Republic is the book to read.
Charles Guiteau, born in Illinois in 1841. In 1860, he joined the Oneida Community, a utopian religious cult in New York, led by John Humphrey Noyes, whom Guiteau admired, even worshipped. Although the cult practiced "group marriage" and "free love" - all adult members were free to have sex with each other - Guiteau was widely rejected during his five years there, and Noyes labeled him insane.
Over the next several years, he became a lawyer, but spent much of his time moving one step ahead of bill collectors and angry clients that he had cheated. He became active in Republican politics in 1880, at the height of the debate over the allocation of government jobs - should they based on merit or dispensed as favors to supporters. He believed that his work, writing a speech in favor of Garfield and delivering it once or twice, entitled him to the ambassadorship in Vienna or Paris. He communicated this in numerous letters once Garfield was president. Not surprisingly, he was offered neither position, so he resolved to kill Garfield, who favored merit, in order to make Vice-President Arthur, who supported patronage, President. Naturally, Arthur would then reward him with an ambassadorship. It didn't exactly work out. Guiteau was hanged on June 30, 1882 for shooting Garfield in the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station.
Today, we're seeing a production of one of Stephen Sondheim's lesser known works, "Assassins", a musical about and starring presidential assassins and would-be assassins.
When it comes to the Garfield assassination in 1881, Candice Millard's book Destiny of the Republic is the book to read.
Charles Guiteau, born in Illinois in 1841. In 1860, he joined the Oneida Community, a utopian religious cult in New York, led by John Humphrey Noyes, whom Guiteau admired, even worshipped. Although the cult practiced "group marriage" and "free love" - all adult members were free to have sex with each other - Guiteau was widely rejected during his five years there, and Noyes labeled him insane.
Over the next several years, he became a lawyer, but spent much of his time moving one step ahead of bill collectors and angry clients that he had cheated. He became active in Republican politics in 1880, at the height of the debate over the allocation of government jobs - should they based on merit or dispensed as favors to supporters. He believed that his work, writing a speech in favor of Garfield and delivering it once or twice, entitled him to the ambassadorship in Vienna or Paris. He communicated this in numerous letters once Garfield was president. Not surprisingly, he was offered neither position, so he resolved to kill Garfield, who favored merit, in order to make Vice-President Arthur, who supported patronage, President. Naturally, Arthur would then reward him with an ambassadorship. It didn't exactly work out. Guiteau was hanged on June 30, 1882 for shooting Garfield in the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station.
Place
After deciding to kill President Garfield, Charles Guiteau purchased a pistol and spent the next few weeks practicing.
He learned that President Garfield and his wife would be at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station, departing for a New Jersey beach resort.; there, he lay in wait. When Garfield arrived, Guiteau shot him twice from behind. One bullet struck the first lumbar vertebra but did not sever the spinal cord. Guiteau surrendered, and Garfield spent the next 11 weeks in agony, dying on September 19, 1881.
The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station was located at the corner of 6th St NW and B St ( now Constitution Avenue). The site is now the location of the West Building of the National Gallery of Art. The station was operational from 1872 to 1907, and it was demolished in 1908.
After deciding to kill President Garfield, Charles Guiteau purchased a pistol and spent the next few weeks practicing.
He learned that President Garfield and his wife would be at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station, departing for a New Jersey beach resort.; there, he lay in wait. When Garfield arrived, Guiteau shot him twice from behind. One bullet struck the first lumbar vertebra but did not sever the spinal cord. Guiteau surrendered, and Garfield spent the next 11 weeks in agony, dying on September 19, 1881.
The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station was located at the corner of 6th St NW and B St ( now Constitution Avenue). The site is now the location of the West Building of the National Gallery of Art. The station was operational from 1872 to 1907, and it was demolished in 1908.
Thing
When Guiteau shot President Garfield in July 1881, one bullet pierced the first lumbar vertebra, missing the spinal cord. Doctors did not expect him to live through the night, but his vital signs remained strong, and he was lucid. However, his condition fluctuated, he struggled to keep down solids, and the Washington summer heat didn't help any. Doctor after doctor tried and failed to locate the bullet. Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell invented a metal detector for the job, but it didn't work, probably because he was on a metal-springed bed, which caused interference, and nobody thought to move him.
Unfortunately, 1881 was a time when doctors were divided over the role of sterilization and cleanliness, so conventional wisdom holds that Garfield could have survived if anti-sepsis efforts had been uniform and doctors were better able to treat infection. He died September 19, 11 weeks after being shot.
When Guiteau shot President Garfield in July 1881, one bullet pierced the first lumbar vertebra, missing the spinal cord. Doctors did not expect him to live through the night, but his vital signs remained strong, and he was lucid. However, his condition fluctuated, he struggled to keep down solids, and the Washington summer heat didn't help any. Doctor after doctor tried and failed to locate the bullet. Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell invented a metal detector for the job, but it didn't work, probably because he was on a metal-springed bed, which caused interference, and nobody thought to move him.
Unfortunately, 1881 was a time when doctors were divided over the role of sterilization and cleanliness, so conventional wisdom holds that Garfield could have survived if anti-sepsis efforts had been uniform and doctors were better able to treat infection. He died September 19, 11 weeks after being shot.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Person.
Yesterday, we saw a very good production of the Stephen Sondheim musical "Assassins," about presidential assassins and would-be assassins. I'm no fan of musicals usually, but it was quite good.
Today's book is another by essayist Sarah Vowell, Assassination Vacation. Vowell travels cross country to various sites and monuments associated with presidential assassinations. There is a lot of education in the book, presented in a very entertaining way.
Robert Todd Lincoln, oldest son of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, has quite a dubious place in assassination history. Not only was he trying to woo Lucy Hale, a Senator's daughter and the most talked about girl in DC, while she was secretly engaged to John Wilkes Booth, but he was also involved in three Presidential assassinations.
He was present when his father died. He was Garfield's Secretary of War and at the train station with him on July 2, 1881, when Guiteau shot Garfield. In 1901, he visited William McKinley as the President was seemingly recuperating from Leon Czolgosz's bullet; a week later, McKinley died of infection.
Add to that the facts that all three of his brothers died in childhood, and that, in 1875, he went to court to have his mother declared insane and hospitalized ( She was released from the asylum three months later, and successfully had the insanity ruling reversed a year later ), and I think you'd have to agree that Robert Todd Lincoln was a very tragic figure
Yesterday, we saw a very good production of the Stephen Sondheim musical "Assassins," about presidential assassins and would-be assassins. I'm no fan of musicals usually, but it was quite good.
Today's book is another by essayist Sarah Vowell, Assassination Vacation. Vowell travels cross country to various sites and monuments associated with presidential assassinations. There is a lot of education in the book, presented in a very entertaining way.
Robert Todd Lincoln, oldest son of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, has quite a dubious place in assassination history. Not only was he trying to woo Lucy Hale, a Senator's daughter and the most talked about girl in DC, while she was secretly engaged to John Wilkes Booth, but he was also involved in three Presidential assassinations.
He was present when his father died. He was Garfield's Secretary of War and at the train station with him on July 2, 1881, when Guiteau shot Garfield. In 1901, he visited William McKinley as the President was seemingly recuperating from Leon Czolgosz's bullet; a week later, McKinley died of infection.
Add to that the facts that all three of his brothers died in childhood, and that, in 1875, he went to court to have his mother declared insane and hospitalized ( She was released from the asylum three months later, and successfully had the insanity ruling reversed a year later ), and I think you'd have to agree that Robert Todd Lincoln was a very tragic figure
Place.
In Assassination Vacation, Sarah Vowell devoted a chapter to the long wrangling over the construction of a Lincoln memorial. The desire to build one arose soon after his death, and it soon became a divisive issue. Of course, the idea wasn't popular among southerners and southern congressmen.
Several proposals were made in the late 1800s, pictured here, but none gained enough support. From 1901 to 1908, five bills to create a memorial were killed by Speaker of the House Joe Canon of Illinois. He felt that all of the plans were too grandiose and too large-scale; he was known to be very fiscally conservative. And the proposed site was deemed unsuitable, recently dredged swampland, populated by undesirables. Finally, a sixth bill was passed, after he lost the office of Speaker.
The commission created to build the memorial chose the Greek temple-like structure, but that caused more controversy. People argued that it had nothing to do with Lincoln; some proposed a simple log cabin. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright called the design "ridiculous and asinine."
Sculptor Daniel Chester French worked on the statue from 1913 to 1922. The dedication ceremony took place in 1922. Robert Lincoln was present, as were a number of prominent black Americans --- WHO WERE SEATED IN A SEGREGATED SECTION. (Sigh)
In Assassination Vacation, Sarah Vowell devoted a chapter to the long wrangling over the construction of a Lincoln memorial. The desire to build one arose soon after his death, and it soon became a divisive issue. Of course, the idea wasn't popular among southerners and southern congressmen.
Several proposals were made in the late 1800s, pictured here, but none gained enough support. From 1901 to 1908, five bills to create a memorial were killed by Speaker of the House Joe Canon of Illinois. He felt that all of the plans were too grandiose and too large-scale; he was known to be very fiscally conservative. And the proposed site was deemed unsuitable, recently dredged swampland, populated by undesirables. Finally, a sixth bill was passed, after he lost the office of Speaker.
The commission created to build the memorial chose the Greek temple-like structure, but that caused more controversy. People argued that it had nothing to do with Lincoln; some proposed a simple log cabin. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright called the design "ridiculous and asinine."
Sculptor Daniel Chester French worked on the statue from 1913 to 1922. The dedication ceremony took place in 1922. Robert Lincoln was present, as were a number of prominent black Americans --- WHO WERE SEATED IN A SEGREGATED SECTION. (Sigh)
Thing.
One of the sites visited by Sarah Vowell on her Assassination Vacation was the Florida gravesite of Lewis Powell, one of the executed co-conspirators of John Wilkes Booth.
Photographer Alexander Gardner was allowed special access to make photos of the conspirators as they awaited trial. The pictures taken of Powell created quite a stir; some women even wrote letters pleading for clemency and proposing marriage. He probably does go down in history as the sexiest assassin in American history.
Powell's assignment that night was to kill Secretary of State William Seward as Booth was killing Lincoln. Seward was an old man recovering from serious injuries incurred in a carriage accident. Powell showed up at Seward's house claiming to have medicine. He pushed his way past the servant who opened the door and made his way upstairs. There were two nurses in the room, a male and a female. Powell slashed the male with a knife, knocked the female down, and jumped on top of Seward, stabbing him three times in the throat and twice in the face. He then ran out of the house, only to be captured a few days later. Seward survived; he had metal braces on his jaw and neck from the carriage injuries which deflected the stabs
Over the next several weeks, Powell's actions and interrogation performances led some to believe he was half-witted or insane. He was found guilty and hanged on July 7, 1865, along with Mary Surratt, David Herold, and George Atzerodt.
One of the sites visited by Sarah Vowell on her Assassination Vacation was the Florida gravesite of Lewis Powell, one of the executed co-conspirators of John Wilkes Booth.
Photographer Alexander Gardner was allowed special access to make photos of the conspirators as they awaited trial. The pictures taken of Powell created quite a stir; some women even wrote letters pleading for clemency and proposing marriage. He probably does go down in history as the sexiest assassin in American history.
Powell's assignment that night was to kill Secretary of State William Seward as Booth was killing Lincoln. Seward was an old man recovering from serious injuries incurred in a carriage accident. Powell showed up at Seward's house claiming to have medicine. He pushed his way past the servant who opened the door and made his way upstairs. There were two nurses in the room, a male and a female. Powell slashed the male with a knife, knocked the female down, and jumped on top of Seward, stabbing him three times in the throat and twice in the face. He then ran out of the house, only to be captured a few days later. Seward survived; he had metal braces on his jaw and neck from the carriage injuries which deflected the stabs
Over the next several weeks, Powell's actions and interrogation performances led some to believe he was half-witted or insane. He was found guilty and hanged on July 7, 1865, along with Mary Surratt, David Herold, and George Atzerodt.
.jpg)
Person.
Henry Clay, "the Great Compromiser," was born on April 12, 1777, in Virginia. Along with Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun, he was part of the "American Triumvirate," probably the most famous and powerful politicians who never served as President. From roughly 1800 to 1850, their alliances, feuds, and political machinations dominated American politics.
H.W. Brands wrote one of my favorite books in the past few years, Heirs of the Founders, about them- published in 2018.
Clay began his law practice in Kentucky in 1797. He won election to the Kentucky state legislature in 1803 and the US House of Representatives in 1810. He was elected Speaker in 1811. As tensions mounted with Britain, he became a leading War Hawk, advocating war in order to expand and develop Kentucky and the West. He developed the plan known as the American System which called for federal infrastructure improvements, support for the national bank, and high protective tariffs.
When sectional tensions over slavery arose in 1830 over admitting Missouri as a slave state, he fashioned the Missouri Compromise, or Compromise of 1820. Losing the election of 1824, he became John Quincy Adams' Secretary of State and a spot high on the long list of Andrew Jackson's enemies, who claimed that the two had made a "corrupt bargain" in order to defeat Jackson. He ran against Jackson in 1832. As a Senator in 1833, he developed a compromise to resolve the tariff/nullification crisis. His last presidential run was in 1840, and his last compromise was the Compromise of 1850.
He was another figure whose life was best by tragedy. He and his wife Lucretia had 11 children. The six girls all died young. Henry Jr. was killed in the Mexican War, and Theodore spent the second half of his life in an asylum. That left three sons, farmer Thomas, lawyer and Congressman James, and horse breeder John.
Henry Clay, "the Great Compromiser," was born on April 12, 1777, in Virginia. Along with Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun, he was part of the "American Triumvirate," probably the most famous and powerful politicians who never served as President. From roughly 1800 to 1850, their alliances, feuds, and political machinations dominated American politics.
H.W. Brands wrote one of my favorite books in the past few years, Heirs of the Founders, about them- published in 2018.
Clay began his law practice in Kentucky in 1797. He won election to the Kentucky state legislature in 1803 and the US House of Representatives in 1810. He was elected Speaker in 1811. As tensions mounted with Britain, he became a leading War Hawk, advocating war in order to expand and develop Kentucky and the West. He developed the plan known as the American System which called for federal infrastructure improvements, support for the national bank, and high protective tariffs.
When sectional tensions over slavery arose in 1830 over admitting Missouri as a slave state, he fashioned the Missouri Compromise, or Compromise of 1820. Losing the election of 1824, he became John Quincy Adams' Secretary of State and a spot high on the long list of Andrew Jackson's enemies, who claimed that the two had made a "corrupt bargain" in order to defeat Jackson. He ran against Jackson in 1832. As a Senator in 1833, he developed a compromise to resolve the tariff/nullification crisis. His last presidential run was in 1840, and his last compromise was the Compromise of 1850.
He was another figure whose life was best by tragedy. He and his wife Lucretia had 11 children. The six girls all died young. Henry Jr. was killed in the Mexican War, and Theodore spent the second half of his life in an asylum. That left three sons, farmer Thomas, lawyer and Congressman James, and horse breeder John.
Place.
Henry and Lucretia Clay built a plantation outside of Lexington Kentucky called Ashland. It encompassed over 500 acres and about 50 enslaved people. They grew corn, wheat, rye, and hemp. He also imported thoroughbred Arabian horses and became involved in racing.
The plantation was purchased in 1866 by John Bowman who intended to make it part of the new Kentucky University. In 1882, Clay's great granddaughter and her husband purchased it in 1882. Their daughter made it an historic house museum in 1950. The National Parks System took it over in 1961.
Henry and Lucretia Clay built a plantation outside of Lexington Kentucky called Ashland. It encompassed over 500 acres and about 50 enslaved people. They grew corn, wheat, rye, and hemp. He also imported thoroughbred Arabian horses and became involved in racing.
The plantation was purchased in 1866 by John Bowman who intended to make it part of the new Kentucky University. In 1882, Clay's great granddaughter and her husband purchased it in 1882. Their daughter made it an historic house museum in 1950. The National Parks System took it over in 1961.
Thing.
The original version of this full-length portrait of Henry Clay was completed in 1843 and hangs in the Union League, Philadelphia. The massive original version of the portrait, 9 ft. 3 in. x 6 ft., was commissioned by a group of prominent Philadelphia Whigs as a campaign piece for Clay's 1844 bid for the presidency of the United States. The painting is described in detail in John Neagle Philadelphia Portrait Painter, by Robert W. Torchia, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, (1989), pp. 93-108. Torchia describes the iconography in the work " the plow stands for traditional agriculture, the shuttle for the cotton and wool textile concerns, and the anvil for the iron-mining industry. Their harmonious juxtaposition is meant to suggest a state of peaceful, productive econimic cooperation." He continues "The globe is turned to show the South American continent and Isthmus of Panama in order to draw attention to Clay's diplomatic accomplishments in the part of the world.......the draped flag also served to signify the expansion of American influences over the Western Hemishpere." . Naegle painted a second version of the portrait that hangs in the United States Capitol, Washington D. C.
(Taken from Freeman's Auctions website )
The original version of this full-length portrait of Henry Clay was completed in 1843 and hangs in the Union League, Philadelphia. The massive original version of the portrait, 9 ft. 3 in. x 6 ft., was commissioned by a group of prominent Philadelphia Whigs as a campaign piece for Clay's 1844 bid for the presidency of the United States. The painting is described in detail in John Neagle Philadelphia Portrait Painter, by Robert W. Torchia, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, (1989), pp. 93-108. Torchia describes the iconography in the work " the plow stands for traditional agriculture, the shuttle for the cotton and wool textile concerns, and the anvil for the iron-mining industry. Their harmonious juxtaposition is meant to suggest a state of peaceful, productive econimic cooperation." He continues "The globe is turned to show the South American continent and Isthmus of Panama in order to draw attention to Clay's diplomatic accomplishments in the part of the world.......the draped flag also served to signify the expansion of American influences over the Western Hemishpere." . Naegle painted a second version of the portrait that hangs in the United States Capitol, Washington D. C.
(Taken from Freeman's Auctions website )
.jpg)
.jpg)
Person.
On April 13, 1796, Old Bet became the first elephant (Asian) to set foot in America, arriving in Salem Massachusetts. (There had been prehistoric mammoths and mastodons.) While there are several books about the unusual animals being exhibited for the first time in Europe or America, Monte Reel's book Between Man and Beast takes the story of the first European sighting of gorillas and places it in the context of the controversy of Darwin's theory of evolution and European imperialism.
The explorer in question is Paul Du Chailu, born in 1831 or 1835 or 1839 in Paris or New Orleans or New York or Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Nobody knows for sure. In his youth he accompanied his father to live on the west coast of Africa on the Gabon River. In 1855, he was hired by the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia to explore west Africa. He emerged from the jungle in 1859 with 20 preserved gorilla skins and claimed to be the first European to have ever seen them. Two of the skins were stuffed and posed in fierce, threatening postures, and Du Chailu hit the lecture circuit, becoming a huge celebrity in the U.S. and the U.K..
The timing was remarkable. Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, immediately opening up a massive debate in the US and Europe over his evolution theory and man's place in the world. Du Chailu fueled the debate with his lectures. Readers and listeners argued. Was the gorilla linked to man? The debate over evolution also fed the racial discourse of the time, feeding theories of racial superiority. There was a rise in Christian fundamentalism to counter evolution. And Du Chailu and his gorillas were in the middle of it all.
He continued to lecture and to explore Africa, collecting and describing dozens of animals that were unknown in the west, and he published several popular books about his African adventures. In the 1870s, he turned his attention to the study of the history and cultures of Scandinavia, publishing books on the Norse. He died in 1903.
On April 13, 1796, Old Bet became the first elephant (Asian) to set foot in America, arriving in Salem Massachusetts. (There had been prehistoric mammoths and mastodons.) While there are several books about the unusual animals being exhibited for the first time in Europe or America, Monte Reel's book Between Man and Beast takes the story of the first European sighting of gorillas and places it in the context of the controversy of Darwin's theory of evolution and European imperialism.
The explorer in question is Paul Du Chailu, born in 1831 or 1835 or 1839 in Paris or New Orleans or New York or Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Nobody knows for sure. In his youth he accompanied his father to live on the west coast of Africa on the Gabon River. In 1855, he was hired by the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia to explore west Africa. He emerged from the jungle in 1859 with 20 preserved gorilla skins and claimed to be the first European to have ever seen them. Two of the skins were stuffed and posed in fierce, threatening postures, and Du Chailu hit the lecture circuit, becoming a huge celebrity in the U.S. and the U.K..
The timing was remarkable. Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, immediately opening up a massive debate in the US and Europe over his evolution theory and man's place in the world. Du Chailu fueled the debate with his lectures. Readers and listeners argued. Was the gorilla linked to man? The debate over evolution also fed the racial discourse of the time, feeding theories of racial superiority. There was a rise in Christian fundamentalism to counter evolution. And Du Chailu and his gorillas were in the middle of it all.
He continued to lecture and to explore Africa, collecting and describing dozens of animals that were unknown in the west, and he published several popular books about his African adventures. In the 1870s, he turned his attention to the study of the history and cultures of Scandinavia, publishing books on the Norse. He died in 1903.
Place.
Three gorillas shot by Paul Du Chailu on subsequent expeditions in the 1860s were stuffed and can still be seen in the Ipswich Museum in the UK. The museum was founded in 1846 and opened in 1847 for the purpose of educating the working classes in natural history. It is home to very respectable Victorian era collections of British archaeology, Egyptology, and natural history.
Three gorillas shot by Paul Du Chailu on subsequent expeditions in the 1860s were stuffed and can still be seen in the Ipswich Museum in the UK. The museum was founded in 1846 and opened in 1847 for the purpose of educating the working classes in natural history. It is home to very respectable Victorian era collections of British archaeology, Egyptology, and natural history.
Things.
Paul Du Chailu's exploits and lectures pushed the gorilla forward into debates over evolution and into political and popular culture. Thomas Nast, the leading American political cartoonist of his day, and Punch, the British political humor magazine, published numerous cartoons satirizing the contemporary times. In American politics, none other than Abraham Lincoln was called a gorilla by several people including his one-time commander in chief George McClellan.
Paul Du Chailu's exploits and lectures pushed the gorilla forward into debates over evolution and into political and popular culture. Thomas Nast, the leading American political cartoonist of his day, and Punch, the British political humor magazine, published numerous cartoons satirizing the contemporary times. In American politics, none other than Abraham Lincoln was called a gorilla by several people including his one-time commander in chief George McClellan.
.jpg)
Person.
Another book by Tony Horwitz, Midnight Riding, the story of John Brown and his raid on Harpers Ferry that was one of the most pivotal moments in history. If not for John Brown, the election of 1860, sectional tensions over slavery, and the Civil War would have looked vastly different. His life and legacy are still debated today - in my classroom even- the question being, "Was he a hero or a terrorist?"
John Brown (1800-1859) was born in Connecticut to very strict Calvinist parents who brought him up to believe in righteous punishment as an instrument of the divine. He came to believe that he was, in fact, predestined, chosen, by God to bring an end to slavery, a horrible sin against God. He and his family ( He fathered a total of 20 children, almost half of whom died in infancy.) served as conductors on the Underground Railroad. In the late 1840s, he developed a plan for a "Subterranean Pass-Way," a real underground passage through the Allegheny and Appalachian Mountains, linked by a chain of forts manned by abolitionists and formerly enslaved people. While he knew he couldn't free four million people, his plan was to help enough to escape so as to permanently disrupt the slave economy.
The Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act made him even more committed. In 1855, he and five of his sons arrived in Kansas with a wagon load of guns, determined "to help defeat Satan and his legions." They participated in the mini-civil war, Bleeding Kansas, attacking pro-slavery settlements.
In 1858, he decided it was time to "take the war into Africa (the South)." He sought out Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, who became great friends and admirers, but stopped short of participation in the Harpers Ferry Raid, believing it would fail. Nevertheless, he secured financial backing from 6 wealthy abolitionists and recruited 21 other men, including 3 sons. The plan was to seize the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry Virginia, now West Virginia. (More on "Place" later.)
Another book by Tony Horwitz, Midnight Riding, the story of John Brown and his raid on Harpers Ferry that was one of the most pivotal moments in history. If not for John Brown, the election of 1860, sectional tensions over slavery, and the Civil War would have looked vastly different. His life and legacy are still debated today - in my classroom even- the question being, "Was he a hero or a terrorist?"
John Brown (1800-1859) was born in Connecticut to very strict Calvinist parents who brought him up to believe in righteous punishment as an instrument of the divine. He came to believe that he was, in fact, predestined, chosen, by God to bring an end to slavery, a horrible sin against God. He and his family ( He fathered a total of 20 children, almost half of whom died in infancy.) served as conductors on the Underground Railroad. In the late 1840s, he developed a plan for a "Subterranean Pass-Way," a real underground passage through the Allegheny and Appalachian Mountains, linked by a chain of forts manned by abolitionists and formerly enslaved people. While he knew he couldn't free four million people, his plan was to help enough to escape so as to permanently disrupt the slave economy.
The Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act made him even more committed. In 1855, he and five of his sons arrived in Kansas with a wagon load of guns, determined "to help defeat Satan and his legions." They participated in the mini-civil war, Bleeding Kansas, attacking pro-slavery settlements.
In 1858, he decided it was time to "take the war into Africa (the South)." He sought out Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, who became great friends and admirers, but stopped short of participation in the Harpers Ferry Raid, believing it would fail. Nevertheless, he secured financial backing from 6 wealthy abolitionists and recruited 21 other men, including 3 sons. The plan was to seize the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry Virginia, now West Virginia. (More on "Place" later.)
Place.
John Brown selected his target, the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry Virginia, now West Virginia, which held over 100,000 muskets and rifles. On October 16, 1859, he led his 21 men in the attack. They had over 200 Sharps rifles and almost 1000 pikes.
The plan was to seize the arsenal and to distribute the guns and pikes to the thousands of Virginia slaves who would rise up and revolt as soon as they got the word. Slavery in Virginia would collapse, and the collapse would spread quickly.
Taking the lightly guarded complex was easy. Then, after stopping a train, Brown let it go. The train's personnel immediately telegraphed the alarm at the next stop. By that time, armed townspeople had been roused, and, by morning, Brown and his men were surrounded and pinned down. No massive slave armies appeared. The "battle" lasted throughout the day. On October 18, a detachment of Marines, commanded by Colonel Robert E Lee arrived. The Marines charged, battered down the door, and in three minutes, it was over. Ten of Brown's men were killed, including two of his three sons, five escaped, including the third son, and seven were captured along with Brown.
The captured men were tried in Virginia courts, because murder and inciting a slave insurrection we're not federal crimes. Found guilty after 45 minutes of deliberation, Brown was hanged in December 2, 1859, and the others were hanged a week later.
In the North, Brown became a hero, martyr, and freedom fighter. In the South, he became the incarnation of evil, the embodiment of Yankee enmity and hatred of the South and their "peculiar institution." His raid removed all doubts in minds on both sides that war was inevitable.
John Brown selected his target, the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry Virginia, now West Virginia, which held over 100,000 muskets and rifles. On October 16, 1859, he led his 21 men in the attack. They had over 200 Sharps rifles and almost 1000 pikes.
The plan was to seize the arsenal and to distribute the guns and pikes to the thousands of Virginia slaves who would rise up and revolt as soon as they got the word. Slavery in Virginia would collapse, and the collapse would spread quickly.
Taking the lightly guarded complex was easy. Then, after stopping a train, Brown let it go. The train's personnel immediately telegraphed the alarm at the next stop. By that time, armed townspeople had been roused, and, by morning, Brown and his men were surrounded and pinned down. No massive slave armies appeared. The "battle" lasted throughout the day. On October 18, a detachment of Marines, commanded by Colonel Robert E Lee arrived. The Marines charged, battered down the door, and in three minutes, it was over. Ten of Brown's men were killed, including two of his three sons, five escaped, including the third son, and seven were captured along with Brown.
The captured men were tried in Virginia courts, because murder and inciting a slave insurrection we're not federal crimes. Found guilty after 45 minutes of deliberation, Brown was hanged in December 2, 1859, and the others were hanged a week later.
In the North, Brown became a hero, martyr, and freedom fighter. In the South, he became the incarnation of evil, the embodiment of Yankee enmity and hatred of the South and their "peculiar institution." His raid removed all doubts in minds on both sides that war was inevitable.
Thing.
In preparation for his raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, John Brown entered into a contract with Charles Blair, a Connecticut blacksmith, to produce 1000 pikes, each 7 feet long including a 10 inch blade, for $1 each. After some hiccups in production because Brown was late with payments, 954 pikes were delivered first to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and then to a small farm in Maryland that Brown had rented, just a few miles from the arsenal
The pikes were meant to arm the thousands of enslaved Virginians who would rush to Harpers Ferry as soon as they heard about Brown's raid, or so he thought. No army of slaves ever materialized.
Some of the pikes became souvenirs and were used as propaganda by both sides. Edward Ruffin, a pro-slavery Virginian, sent a dozen to Southern governors with a label saying "sample of the favors designed for us by our Northern brethren." Some Northern abolitionists, like Wendell Phillips, waved pikes around at rallies and lectures as they lionized John Brown as a martyr.
In preparation for his raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, John Brown entered into a contract with Charles Blair, a Connecticut blacksmith, to produce 1000 pikes, each 7 feet long including a 10 inch blade, for $1 each. After some hiccups in production because Brown was late with payments, 954 pikes were delivered first to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and then to a small farm in Maryland that Brown had rented, just a few miles from the arsenal
The pikes were meant to arm the thousands of enslaved Virginians who would rush to Harpers Ferry as soon as they heard about Brown's raid, or so he thought. No army of slaves ever materialized.
Some of the pikes became souvenirs and were used as propaganda by both sides. Edward Ruffin, a pro-slavery Virginian, sent a dozen to Southern governors with a label saying "sample of the favors designed for us by our Northern brethren." Some Northern abolitionists, like Wendell Phillips, waved pikes around at rallies and lectures as they lionized John Brown as a martyr.
No comments:
Post a Comment