Today in History–April 16–the Library of Congress features abolition. On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia. Learn more about the abolition of slavery in the United States capital by visiting the Today in History section, then follow the links below to access primary sources and teaching resources related to abolition…
Today in History–April 9–the Library of Congress features the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant on this day in 1865. Learn more about the surrender by visiting the Today in History section, then follow the links below to access thousands more Civil War resources. Lee’s surrender primary source set “THE END! SURRENDER OF LEE!…”,…
Today in History–February 9–the Library of Congress features a letter Walt Whitman wrote on this day in 1888 noting corrections to his poem “O Captain! My Captain!” published that year by The Riverside Literature Series No. 32. Whitman informed the publishers that they had not printed the most recent version Whitman had revised for the…
Today in History–February 8–the Library of Congress celebrates the birth of writer Jules Verne, born on this date in 1828, by featuring air balloons and airships. Around the time Verne’s first book–Five Weeks in a Balloon–came out in 1863, the U.S. Army was using hydrogen gas balloons in Civil War reconnaissance missions. See what you can learn about air balloons and airships by visiting…
Today in History–December 29–the Library of Congress features Andrew Johnson, born on this date in 1808. Learn more about our nation’s 17th president (1865-69), a self-educated career politician and infamous for being the first of three presidents impeached by the House of Representatives by visiting the Today in History section then click the links below to access more stories and primary…
Today in History–December 6–the Library of Congress features Salmon P. Chase, nominated as Supreme Court Chief Justice by President Abraham Lincoln on this day in 1864. Learn more about the architect of the first two clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment who also served as Governor of Ohio, a U.S. Senator, and Lincoln’s secretary of the treasury, by…
The Civil War Glass Negatives collection provides access to about 7,000 views and portraits made during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and its immediate aftermath, many by Mathew Brady (biographical note) and Alexander Gardner. Taking photographs during the Civil War was a complex, time-consuming process difficult to master in a studio setting and even more difficult when…
Today in History–November 9–the Library of Congress features Confederate officer Henry Wirz, executed as a war criminal on this day in 1865. Wirz was the commanding officer in charge of the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia, also known as Camp Sumter. Learn more about Banneker by visiting the Today in History section, then follow the links below to access more primary sources and teaching…
Today in History–November 8–the Library of Congress features the Trent Affair, which was sparked on this day in 1861 when U.S. Navy Captain Charles Wilkes commanded the crew of the U.S.S. San Jacinto to intercept the British mail steamer Trent and arrest Confederate commissioners James M. Mason and John Slidell. Find out more about this international incident and Charles Wilkes by visiting the Today in History section,…