Today in 1853, Thomas H. Seymour, one of Connecticut’s most accomplished — and controversial — 19th century politicians, stepped down as as Governor. He resigned to accept a nomination by the New Hampshire born and quite unlikely President (he was nominated by the Democrats on their 48th ballot) Franklin Pierce to serve as the…
Tag: abraham lincoln
August 18: Connecticut Man with a Rifle Enters Lincoln’s Office
It would be easy to hold up Connecticut inventor Christopher Miner Spencer as an archetype of 19th century Yankee ingenuity: Not only was he a man who spent his whole life tinkering with machinery, filing patents, and aggressively marketing his creations, but as with so many other Connecticut inventors, his innovations changed the course…
July 26: Long Before The World Was “Woke,” These Lincoln Supporters Were “Wide Awakes”
The idea of being “woke” to the dimensions of racial injustice in America entered mainstream public awareness with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. But more than 150 years earlier, a group of young Abraham Lincoln supporters in Hartford declared themselves…
March 5: Abraham Lincoln Confronts Connecticut
Today in 1860, sectional tensions over slavery and its expansion into the country’s newly formed states and territories was nearing the breaking point. It was a crucial election year, and members of the nation’s political parties were actively trying to decide who would be their standard bearers in the upcoming presidential campaign. For the…
February 10: The Civil War’s Biggest Wedding: “General Tom Thumb” & “The Queen of Beauty”
Born in 1838 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, legendary entertainer Charles Sherwood Stratton, a.k.a. “Tom Thumb,” began touring with internationally famous showman and fellow Connectican P. T. Barnum at the tender age of five. Stratton had first attracted Barnum’s attention because of his unusually small size; he had dwarfism and never grew taller than 42 inches…
February 10: The Civil War’s Biggest Wedding: “General Tom Thumb” & “The Queen of Beauty”
Born in 1838 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, legendary entertainer Charles Sherwood Stratton, a.k.a. “Tom Thumb,” began touring with internationally famous showman and fellow Connectican P. T. Barnum at the tender age of five. Stratton had first attracted Barnum’s attention because of his unusually small size; he had dwarfism and never grew taller than 42 inches…
March 5: Abraham Lincoln Confronts Connecticut
Today in 1860, sectional tensions over slavery and its expansion into the country’s newly formed states and territories was nearing the breaking point. It was a crucial election year, and members of the nation’s political parties were actively trying to decide who would be their standard bearers in the upcoming presidential campaign. For the…
December 8: “The Learned Blacksmith” . . . & Patriotic Pacifist
Elihu Burritt, a self-educated lecturer who was arguably the most famous pacifist of the 19th century, was born in New Britain, Connecticut today in 1810. As the 10th child of a shoemaker, young Elihu (rhymes with “Tell-a-Few”) was unable to devote much time to schooling; as a teenager, he apprenticed himself to a local…
October 15: Governor Resigns to Go to Russia
Today in 1853, Thomas H. Seymour, one of Connecticut’s most accomplished — and controversial — 19th century politicians, resigned as Governor to accept nomination by President Franklin Pierce as the United States’ minister to Russia. It was the latest in a long list of prestigious accomplishments for Seymour, whose popularity was at its peak….
August 18: Connecticut Man with a Rifle Enters Lincoln’s Office
It would be easy to hold up Connecticut inventor Christopher Miner Spencer as an archetype of 19th century Yankee ingenuity: Not only was he was a man who spent his whole life tinkering with machinery, filing patents, aggressively marketing his creations, but like so many other Connecticut inventors, his innovations changed the course of…
July 26: Long Before People Were “Woke,” These Abraham Lincoln Supporters Were “Wide Awakes”
The idea of being “woke” to the dimensions of racial injustice in America entered mainstream public awareness with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. But more than 150 years earlier, a group of young Abraham Lincoln supporters in Hartford declared themselves…
March 5: Candidate Abraham Lincoln “Wakes Up” Hartford
Today in 1860, sectional tensions over slavery and its expansion into the country’s newly formed states and territories was nearing the breaking point. It was a crucial election year, and members of the nation’s political parties were actively trying to decide who would be their standard bearers in the upcoming presidential campaign. For the…