Civil War and Reconstruction (Fall 2009)

Juniata College
Tag cloud for these 7 episodes
Agriculture Anti-slavery Civil War Crime/Violence Crime/Violence, Economy, Law, Slavery, Urban Life/Boosterism Death Education Espionage Health/Death Law Politics Race Relations Science/Technology Women african americans
HS 309 examines the political, social military and economic origins and consequences of Civil War and Reconstruction.

Episodes


  1. date October 5, 1974map Suffolk, Massachusettstags african americans, Race Relations, Education

    South Bostonians, mostly Irish-Americans, felt frustrated and angry after just three weeks of forced busing in 1974 according to the New York Times. Federal Judge W. Arthur Garity ordered busing because he felt that “the local school authorities operated a deliberately segregated system.” During the three weeks school was open, there had already been altercations, including “a lunch-tray hurling,...


  2. date August 13, 1971map Harris, Texas, San Francisco, California, Sedgwick, Kansas, Oakland, Michigantags african americans, Law, Education

    In 1971, schools attempting to overcome segregation faced fierce opposition in the North. The year before the South passed the North in integration of schools and the North’s integration record continued to decline in the 1960s. The question facing Americans was whether the busing plans would overcome the opposition. Some cities moved forward with the forced integration via busing, but other cities...

  3. John Brown Gives his Last Speech to the Court
    date November 2, 1859map JEFFERSON, Virginiatags Crime/Violence, Law, Anti-slavery

    John Brown, noted abolitionist, was arrested after his raid on Harper’s Ferry in early October 1859. He was taken to Charles Town, in present day West Virginia to be tried. Early in the trial, a surprise telegraph arrived that placed Brown’s sanity in question, but the court eventually disregarded the insanity plea largely aided by Brown himself who pronounced that he of all people, should know...

  4. McCormick’s Improved Reaper Takes to The Fields
    date August, 1832 to 1832map ROCKBRIDGE, Virginiatags Agriculture, Science/Technology

    Cyrus McCormick gave a public demonstration of his newly improved Reaper near the little town of Lexington, Virginia in 1832. Around 100 people were present to watch the twenty-three year-old innovator’s contraption take to a field of grain. Herbert N. Casson explained in his book, Cyrus Hall McCormick: His Life and Work, that the crowd included “several political leaders of local fame, farmers,...

  5. Union Private Describes Raiders at Andersonville Prison
    date April 8, 1864 to April 20, 1864map SUMTER, Georgiatags Crime/Violence, Civil War, Health/Death

    In 1864, Robert Knox Sneden, a Union private and mapmaker, lived as a prisoner in the notorious Andersonville Prison. During his stay, Sneden kept a diary of the conditions and daily monotony of the captives. Occasionally he gave up trying to write a daily account and would lump his entries together by the week as he did from April 8 to 20, in 1864. This particular week, Sneden talked about a group...

  6. Charles Hudson Speaks Against the Annexation of Texas
    date January 20, 1845 to December 29, 1845map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Crime/Violence, Economy, Law, Slavery, Urban Life/Boosterism, Politics

    In the fierce debate over the annexation of Texas, Charles Hudson, took the floor of the House of Representatives in hopes of preventing the admission of Texas to the Union.  A Whig member of the House of Representatives, representing Massachusetts, as well as a Universalist minister, Hudson emphasized the selfish motives of the Southern advocates for annexation. The admission of Texas to the Union...

  7. Funeral Services held for Rose O’Neal Greenhow
    date October 1, 1864map NEW HANOVER, North Carolinatags Death, Espionage, Women

         Funeral proceedings were held on October 1, 1864 to lay to rest noted Confederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow. Greenhow worked in an elaborate spy network that encompassed Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas. Greenhow became one of the standouts in the spy-ring, supplying vital information to the Rebel forces at critical points during the start of the Civil War. Her greatest achievement...