Rape & The Civil War
President Lincoln’s General Orders No. 100, also known as the Lieber Code of 1863, set clear rules for engaging with enemy combatants. But the code also clarified how Union soldiers should treat civilians, and in particular women. Largely forgotten today, the Lieber...
Mitchel Thompson's War
On Aug. 1, 1860, an article in the Chicago Tribune proclaimed, “Great doings in Warren County.” The reporter recounted the immense surge in political support for the Republican presidential candidate, Abraham Lincoln, in the northwest farm regions. At a flagpole...
Was Lincoln a Tyrant?
When Abraham Lincoln took office in March 1861, the executive branch was small and relatively limited in its power. By the time of his assassination, he had claimed more prerogatives than any president before him, and the executive branch had grown enormously....
Battlefield Passovers
It was April 24, 1864, at the height of the American Civil War, and in between his duties as an infantryman, young Isaac J. Levy sat down in camp on one of the intermediate days of Passover to write a short letter to his sister back home. Levy, who served in the 46th...Obiter Dicta
In the last days of East Germany, when government officials detected that their power was unraveling, they ratcheted up enforcement Read More
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NORTH CAROLINA: Two ‘Human’Caused’ Fires Found at 16th Century Historic Site Two fires were discovered simultaneously at a North Carolina historic site dedicated to England’s first settlements on the continent — and Read More