Feature Article #1
Jonathan Rees on Eugene V. Debs
On June 16, 1918, Eugene V. Debs gave a speech at Nimisilla Park in Canton, Ohio before 1,200 people. Read the speech today, and it is difficult to see why it led to his arrest and prosecution for sedition. As Debs’s foremost biographer, Nick Salvatore, explains, Debs had said many of the same things before [...]
Feature Article #2
Joan E. Cashin on LBJ and race
In August we observe the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. The bill, one of the greatest achievements of LBJ’s term, is celebrated for making the suffrage a reality for millions of black voters.
Many people were surprised that Johnson turned out to be so progressive on the issue [...]
Feature Article #3
Charles L. Zelden on the Voting Rights Act of 1965
August 6 is the 43rd anniversary of the signing into law of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Designed to combat race-based (and as later amended, ethnic-based) discrimination in voting, the act has proven to be one of the most successful pieces of civil rights legislation ever adopted. In fact, one can argue that the [...]
Feature Article #4
Joan E. Cashin: Abraham Lincoln as Writer
Next year, the nation celebrates the anniversay of Abraham Lincoln’s birth in Kentucky in 1809, and many historical conferences will mark the event. Only two among many: one in Louisville, Kentucky, in October 2008 (see www.filsonhistorical.org/callforpapers%202008.html), when scholars will compare and contrast Lincoln with Jefferson Davis. (Both of them are Kentucky natives, believe it or [...]
Feature Article #5
Scott A.G.M. Crawford on Eisenhower and Civil Rights
In the article I wrote about Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell address for Milestone Documents in American History, I made the observation that Eisenhower’s presidency saw “very limited progress with respect to civil rights.” A cautionary tale: this comment needs revisiting. Last Christmas I visited Little Rock, Arkansas, and was exposed to the saga of what [...]
