DOCSLIB.ORG

Importance on Our Minds. Mr

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Desert Shield/Storm. February 1991. Nothing flies away from us so fast as time, when we have much of :importance on our minds. Mr. ·nooley, the fictional Irish-American commentator invented by a newspaper columnist, said that scales and clocks were not to be trusted to decide anything that's worth deciding. 1/llhy tell~ time by a clock? he asked. Every hour is the same to a clock and every hour is different to me. Some are long, and some are short. But they all grow shorter as we find more of them behind us than before us. The Irish poet W. B. Yeats said that the young and the beautiful have no enemy b~t t:ime ••• which may mean that to my class of people time has become a friend. But how quickly the now becomes the then, and today becomes yesterday, and last month, and three years ago. It was on the night of November 8, 1989 that the world witnessed by live satellite TV the fall of the wall in Berlin, and the sudden lifting of the threat of military invasion into the ancient heart of Europe, and the nuclear threat to civilization. People danced in great joy on what had been for a generation the symbol of a divided and hostile and ugly world. If the Russians aren't coming, then who is? we asked ourselves, and people spo~e of a balanced budget, and a peace divi• dend, and and new and peaceful world a-borning. But how quickly it all collapsed, with the final• ity of the wall itself. One year and three weeks after I stayed up late into the night to watch the deliriously happy people dancing and hugging and sharing champagne at the party that was the funeral wake for a separated eastern block of captive nations, in new·York the security council of tne UN acted to ase military force against the Arab republic of Iraq. At that moment, on Thursday, November 29, 1990, the dancing stopped in mid-step ,4 and the dream of peace and plenty came crashing down into nightmare. It was only the second time in the 45-yr history oft he UN that the peace-keeping international body had voted to fight to protect a member of the commun• ity of nations, whose territorial integrity and political independence was threatened by an ag• gressor's unprovoked invasion. The other time was in June, 1950, when the invader was an artifi• cial state on the northern end of Korea, whose objective itwis to unite the two wrongfully sev• ered portions of the Korean nation into a whole. After a three-year war, and 50,000 U.S. cas• ualties, followed by 35 yrs of military occupation along a demilitarized zone, the country re• mains divided. Patriots on both sides of that line are constantly at work to undo the UN's intervention and restore the unity of a divided nation. I begin with the experience in Korea to suggest that the record of UN military action to compel the retention of imaginary political lines upon the earth is not one to inspire confidence. Then as now most of the troops, and therefore most of the expected casualties, will be American. But how quickly time has erased the memory, and the bitterness, of the Korean conflict. This time the military complement is called a coalition and not a UN police force, but still it is true that the greatest proportion of them are American. That situation, and that UN vote to approve military force to carry out a UN resolution, explains why we are gathered here today to discuss what happened, and "'1.y, and what it might mean to this present generation and the country in which they live. The present conflict began on August 2 of last year, when the Iraqd. war machine rolled al• most unresisted across a line in the sand between their own country and the Emirate of Kuwait. At first they announced, in Baghdad, and in Washington, and at the United Nations, that their incursion would be a brief one, to insure the security of their southern border. But very quick• ly it became clear that they intended to annex the territory of Kuwait and make it the 19th prov• ince of their country. Firstt~ust understand why the Iraqli.s decided.to invade a neighboring country, and why they intended to keep it. As you all know, in the past 10 yrs Iraq has waged a bloody and costly war against her neighbor to the east, Iran. It was fought over oilwells and refineries and the trade routes by which petroleum leaves that rich region and enters world com• merce. Oil is the one crucial raw material upon which theW3alth and the political stability of the industrial world depends. The finger on the pulse of the pipeline or the tanker lane has the power to produce prosperity or poverty in Japan, America, and Europe. Seventeen yrs ago it was Saudi Arabia that ceased its exports to us, in an attempt to compel a change in our foreign poli• cy toward Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. A dozen years ago it was Iran, and the Ayatollah, who seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and condemned America as the Satan nation. At that time, when Iraq with its Sunni Moslem sect and its Ba'ath Party, was the enemy of the Shi'ite Moslems in Iran, Iraq was America's ally. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, however brutal or barbar• ic. Western powers armed and trained the Iraqi forces. The British sold them the desert uni• forms they now wear in their bunkers, the Germans with traditional Teutonic thoroughness built "those bunkers for them, and ~50;f}bought chemical and biological weapons, and the ingredients for nuclear weapons, where they were offered for sale. When the war is over there will undoubtedly be Congressional investigations of the diplomatic messages that led up to the fighting; they will provide interesting and perhaps also chilling reading. But for the present it is a nice piece of irony that in the war with Iraq the coalition is largely facing weapons of its own manufac- wi+'V ture. I do not know the current state of U.S.-Soviet collaboration, but in the wineland-roses days when Mr. Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace prize, the Red Army provided the Iraqis/both fixed position and mob:i,,lqj>~ud ground to ground missiles, and sent technicians to teach the Iraqis how to use them, and~~sent others to the U.S. military to teach them how to attack the weapons. In the murky waters of the international arms trade, strange creatures hatch and grow into mon• aters. But 1988 saw a war-weary Iraq finally win a peace. How quickly that has receded into the past. It was a costly conflict. Iraq employed gas shells against the Iranians, and when Iraq's Kurdish minority rose in rebellion to win their independence, they used gas to kill them also. In all, both sides may have lost a million dead in the conflict, and both sides suffered physical destruction of its assets. In Iraq the ldrshp asked for assistance. For 8·yrs its ex• ports of oil were drastically reduced, thus depriving the country of its income. During the war the Kuwaitis moved into an oil field in the region between the two, and began to pump oil. When the Iraqis asked compensation, the Kuwaitis paid a ransom to keep the peace. That did not satis• fy the Iraqi rule~ Saddam Hussein. He planned an act of larceny, grand theft of an entire coun• try. But before~rooved, he asked the U. s. administration wh~r~pponse itw:>uld make to such an a ct. In July, the U.S. ambassador Ln Baghdad, a woman named/'Gl~pie, and the appropi:iate of• ficials at the Middle East desk of the state Dept in Washington, both assured Saddam that con• flicts between Arab and Arab lay outside U.S. national interests, and that the U.S. took no notice of Arabic borders. Acting upon those assurances, Saddai~ moved intc Kuwait on August 2. Last week Pres Bush declared that Saddam had miscalculated the response to his aggression. In retrospect, it is easy to understand why. · And then there was Kuwait. It would be a rich prize for anyone. It is the only seaport on the northwestern(X)rner of the Persian Gulf, and serves as shipment center for the world's richest oil deposits. It is separated from the other inhabited portions of the region by 200 miles of moonscape, the most forbidding and life-threatening terrain to be found anywhere out• side the polar ice caps. There is no water, so that the human body dehydrates in a very short time. Most of the year the temperature is unbelievably high at noonday, when not e ven madsdogs and Englishmen venture out of a protective shield. Then, in the small hours of the morning, it drops below freezing. Strong winds turn the sand into blindin~ curtains, and the grit gets in• to everything--eyeballs, living quarters, the delicate portions of tank or helicopter engines. Until the present century@was only a seaport through which little commerce pass~ A century ago, in 1889, the sheik gave over to the British the protection of his interests. PlB Wa1 'f · · · · In 1919, as part of the peace settlement, the British assigned its control to the same fami y which still, until last August, governed ~e seaport: In 1921 the present-boundaries were drawn by a British military official.
Recommended publications
  • Zachary Taylor 1 Zachary Taylor

    Zachary Taylor 1 Zachary Taylor

    Zachary Taylor 1 Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor 12th President of the United States In office [1] March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850 Vice President Millard Fillmore Preceded by James K. Polk Succeeded by Millard Fillmore Born November 24, 1784Barboursville, Virginia Died July 9, 1850 (aged 65)Washington, D.C. Nationality American Political party Whig Spouse(s) Margaret Smith Taylor Children Ann Mackall Taylor Sarah Knox Taylor Octavia Pannill Taylor Margaret Smith Taylor Mary Elizabeth (Taylor) Bliss Richard Taylor Occupation Soldier (General) Religion Episcopal Signature Military service Nickname(s) Old Rough and Ready Allegiance United States of America Service/branch United States Army Years of service 1808–1848 Rank Major General Zachary Taylor 2 Battles/wars War of 1812 Black Hawk War Second Seminole War Mexican–American War *Battle of Monterrey *Battle of Buena Vista Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was the 12th President of the United States (1849-1850) and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass. Taylor was the last President to hold slaves while in office, and the last Whig to win a presidential election. Known as "Old Rough and Ready," Taylor had a forty-year military career in the United States Army, serving in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, and the Second Seminole War. He achieved fame leading American troops to victory in the Battle of Palo Alto and the Battle of Monterrey during the Mexican–American War. As president, Taylor angered many Southerners by taking a moderate stance on the issue of slavery.
  • Zachary Taylor Writes from Mexico Holman Hamilton University of Kentucky

    Zachary Taylor Writes from Mexico Holman Hamilton University of Kentucky

    The Kentucky Review Volume 1 | Number 3 Article 6 Spring 1980 "This most unnecessary & senseless war": Zachary Taylor Writes from Mexico Holman Hamilton University of Kentucky Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kentucky-review Part of the United States History Commons Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits you. Recommended Citation Hamilton, Holman (1980) ""This most unnecessary & senseless war": Zachary Taylor Writes from Mexico," The Kentucky Review: Vol. 1 : No. 3 , Article 6. Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kentucky-review/vol1/iss3/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Kentucky Libraries at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Kentucky Review by an authorized editor of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. "This most unnecessary & senseless war": Zachary Taylor Writes from Mexico Holman Hamilton The presidential election year of 1980 seems an appropriate time to congratulate the University of Kentucky on acquiring a highly significant original letter, connected with a White House campaign of long ago. Zachary Taylor, who spent over half his life in Kentucky and lived here longer than any other chief executive, was within a few weeks of returning to the United States from the Mexican War when he sent this communication to his son-in-law, Dr. Robert C. Wood. Virtually all Taylor-to-Wood letters should be of absorbing interest to scholars because Major-General "Old Rough and Ready" Taylor esteemed and thoroughly trusted Ann Taylor Wood's husband.
  • Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor, First Lady 1788-1852

    Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor, First Lady 1788-1852

    Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor, First Lady 1788-1852 Margaret Smith was the wife of Zachary Taylor, a First Lady whose husband was born in Orange County and who was a cousin by marriage to the Madisons (reference “The Taylor-Madison Connection). A summary from the White House website: “Margaret Mackall Smith ‘Peggy’ Taylor served as First Lady from 1849 to 1850 as the wife of the 12th President, Zachary Taylor. Due to ill health, she left, however, much of the official hostess duties to her daughter, Betty Taylor. “After the election of 1848, a passenger on a Mississippi riverboat struck up a conversation with easy-mannered Gen. Zachary Taylor, not knowing his identity. The passenger remarked that he didn’t think the general qualified for the Presidency--was the stranger ‘a Taylor man’? ‘Not much of one,’ came the reply. The general went on to say that he hadn’t voted for Taylor, partly because his wife was opposed to sending ‘Old Zack’ to Washington, ‘where she would be obliged to go with him!’ It was a truthful answer. “Moreover, the story goes that Margaret Taylor had taken a vow during the Mexican War: If her husband returned safely, she would never go into society again. In fact she never did, though prepared for it by genteel upbringing. “ ‘Peggy’ Smith was born in Calvert County, Maryland, daughter of Ann Mackall and Walter Smith, a major in the Revolutionary War according to family tradition. In 1809, visiting a sister in Kentucky, she met young Lieutenant Taylor. They were married the following June, and for a while the young wife stayed on the farm given them as a wedding present by Zachary’s father.
  • John Taylor Wood: Man of Action, Man of Honor

    John Taylor Wood: Man of Action, Man of Honor

    The Cape Fear Civil War Round Table John Taylor Wood: Man of Action, Man of Honor By Tim Winstead History 454 December 4, 2009 On July 20, 1904, a short obituary note appeared on page seven of the New York Times. It simply stated, "Captain John Taylor Wood, grandson of President Zachary Taylor and nephew of Jefferson Davis, died in Halifax, N.S. yesterday, seventy-four years old." The note also stated that Wood served as a United States Navy midshipman, fought in the Mexican War, served as a Confederate army colonel on the staff of Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee's army, escaped the collapse of the Confederacy with General Breckinridge to Cuba, and was a resident of Halifax, Nova Scotia when he passed. In one paragraph, the obituary writer prepared the outline of the life of a man who participated in many of the major events of the American Civil War. John Taylor Wood's story was much more expansive and interwoven with the people and history of the Civil War era than the one paragraph credited to him by the Times. This paper examined the events in which Wood found himself immersed and sought to determine his role in those events. The main focus of the paper was Wood's exploits during his service to the Confederate States of America. His unique relationships with the leadership of the Confederacy ensured that he was close at hand when decisions were made which affected the outcome of the South's gamble for independence. Was John Taylor Wood the Forrest Gump of his day? Was it mere chance that Wood was at Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, at Drewry's Bluff on May 15, 1862, abroad the USS Satellite in August 1863, aboard the USS Underwriter at New Berne in February 1864, abroad the CSS Tallahassee in August 1864, or with Jefferson Davis on the "unfortunate day" in Georgia on May 10, 1865? Was it only his relationship with Jefferson Davis that saw Wood engaged in these varied events? This paper examined these questions and sought to establish that it was Wood's competence and daring that placed him at the aforementioned actions and not Jefferson Davis's nepotism.
  • Civil War Book Review Annotations

    Civil War Book Review Annotations

    Civil War Book Review Spring 2003 Article 21 Annotations CWBR_Editor Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cwbr Recommended Citation CWBR_Editor (2003) "Annotations," Civil War Book Review: Vol. 5 : Iss. 2 . Available at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cwbr/vol5/iss2/21 CWBR_Editor: Annotations ANNOTATIONS Walsh, George Spring 2003 Walsh, George "Damage Them All You Can": Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Forge Press, $25.95 ISBN 312874456 This narrative covers the history of the Army of Northern Virginia from its inception through its glories and defeats. It is more than a military history as it strives to reveal the humanity of Lee and his lieutenants amidst the backdrop of a cruel war. Tidball, Eugene C. Spring 2003 Tidball, Eugene C. "No Disgrace to My Country": The Life of John C. Tidball. Kent State University Press, $49.00 ISBN 873387228 This work presents the previously unpublished memoirs and correspondence of Union soldier John C. Tidball with historical commentary by the author. The biographical sections reveal the disillisionment of a young soldier in the midst of war. Photographs, chapter notes, and a bibliography are included. Mushkat, Jerome, Editor Spring 2003 Mushkat, Jerome, Editor A Citizen-Soldier's Civil War: The Letters of Brevet Major General Alvin C. Voris. Northern Illinois University Press, $36.00 ISBN 875802982 Voris, a former Ohio legislator turned soldier, participated in a number of the most important battles in the Eastern Theater and at the end of the war led a brigade comprised of 3,000 black soldiers. His unbroken string of 428 letters throughout the war offer keen insights on a variety of matters including daily Published by LSU Digital Commons, 2003 1 Civil War Book Review, Vol.
  • Biscayne National Park: General Management Plan; P

    Biscayne National Park: General Management Plan; P

    B ISCAYNE NATIONAL PARK H ISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY January 1998 Jennifer Brown Leynes and David Cullison National Park Service Southeast Region Atlanta, Georgia CONTENTS Figure Credits iv List of Figures v Foreword vii Chapter One: Introduction 1 Chapter Two: Background History 7 Chapter Three: Recreational Development of Miami and Biscayne Bay, 1896-1945 19 Associated Properties 32 Registration Requirements/Integrity 36 Contributing Properties 37 Noncontributing Properties 37 Chapter Four: Management Recommendations 39 Bibliography 41 Appendix A: Architectural Descriptions and Recommended Treatments for the Honeywell Complex on Boca Chita Key A-1 Appendix B: August Geiger B-1 Appendix C: Cleaning Stains on Historic Stone Masonry C-1 Appendix D: Fowey Rocks Lighthouse D-1 Appendix E: Historic Base Map E-1 Appendix F: National Register Nomination for Boca Chita Key Historic District F-1 Index G-1 iii FIGURE CREDITS Cover: Jim Adams for National Park Service; p. 2: National Park Service, Biscayne National Park: General Management Plan; p. 4: Biscayne National Park archives; p. 8: National Park Service, Biscayne National Park: General Management Plan; pp. 12, 15, 20, 23: Historical Museum of Southern Florida, pp. 26, 28-31: Biscayne National Park archives; p. 33: Jim Adams for National Park Service; p. 34: Biscayne National Park archives; p. A-7: Jim Adams for National Park Service; pp. A-10, D-1: David Cullison for National Park Service. iv FIGURES Figure 1. Location of Biscayne National Park 2 Figure 2. Aerial view of Boca Chita Key 4 Figure 3. Biscayne National Park boundaries 8 Figure 4. “Wreckers at Work” from Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, April 1859 12 Figure 5.
  • Compiled by DA Sharpe Zachary Taylor Was

    Compiled by DA Sharpe Zachary Taylor Was

    Compiled by D. A. Sharpe Zachary Taylor was born November 24, 1784 in Orange County, Virginia. His Christian faith was in the Episcopal Church. Zachary Taylor is my 32nd cousin, once removed. In addition, he is the father-in- law of Confederacy President Jefferson Davis, the Uncle to Susanah Elizabeth Davis Abney, the wife of James (Jim) Addison Abney of Lufkin, Texas. Jim is a brother-in- law of Martha Jane Dixon Abney, daughter of Judge Felix Benedict Dixon, my great, great grandfather, the ancestor with whom my qualification was documented for membership in the Sons of the Republic of Texas in 2005. President Davis' first wife, Sarah Knox Taylor, is my 33rd cousin. Sarah is the third cousin, five times removed to my son-in-law, Steven O. Westmoreland. President Zachary Taylor is a 15th cousin, four times removed to President Thomas Jefferson, as well as a half 13th cousin, six times removed to President Washington. Taylor was a second cousin to President James Madison. Taylor's great grandfather was also the great grandfather of James Madison. 1 Destined to become the 12th President of the United States, Zachary Taylor, a strong military man known as “Old Rough and Ready." This was one of the descriptive nicknames that were to be given him later in life. Zachary studied under tutors, as there were not schools near their Louisville, Kentucky farm. He worked on his father's farm. In 1808, he was appointed first lieutenant in the U.S. Army. In 1810, he was promoted to Captain. Zachary married Margaret Smith.
  • Lexington, Ky.), 96:55–58 Abraham Lincoln, Contemporary: an Abbey, M

    Lexington, Ky.), 96:55–58 Abraham Lincoln, Contemporary: an Abbey, M

    Index A Herman Belz: reviewed, 96:201–3 A&M College (Lexington, Ky.), 96:55–58 Abraham Lincoln, Contemporary: An Abbey, M. E., 93:289 American Legacy, edited by Frank J. Abbot, W. W.: ed., The Papers of George Williams and William D. Pederson: Washington: Confederation Series, Vol. reviewed, 94:182–83 4: April 1786—January 1787, reviewed, Abraham Lincoln and a New Birth of 94:183–84 Freedom: The Union and Slavery in the Abbott, Augustus H., 97:270 Diplomacy of the Civil War, by Howard Abbott, Dorothy: Thomas D. Clark letter Jones: reviewed, 98:431–32 to, 103:400 Abraham Lincoln and the American Abbott, Edith, 93:32 Political Tradition, edited by John L. Abbott, Grace, 93:32 Thomas: reviewed, 85:181–83 Abbott, H. P. Almon, 90:281 Abraham Lincoln and the Quakers, by Abbott, Richard H.: For Free Press and Daniel Bassuk: noted, 86:99 Equal Rights: Republican Newspapers in Abraham Lincoln and the Second the Reconstruction South, reviewed, American Revolution, by James M. 103:803–5; The Republican Party and McPherson: reviewed, 89:411–12 the South, reviewed, 85:89–91 Abraham Lincoln: A Press Portrait, edited Abercrombie, Mary, 90:252 by Herbert Mitgang: noted, 88:490 Abernathy, Jeff: To Hell and Back: Race Abraham Lincoln: Public Speaker, by and Betrayal in the American Novel, Waldo W. Braden: reviewed, 87:457–58 reviewed, 101:558–60 Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President, by Abernathy, Ralph David, 99:29 Allen C. Guelzo: reviewed, 98:429–34 Abernethy, Thomas, 91:299 Abraham Lincoln: Sources and Style of Abiding Faith: A Sesquicentennial History Leadership, edited by Frank J.
  • Congressional Record-Senate! 3597

    Congressional Record-Senate! 3597

    1886. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE! 3597 time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and tion, of New York, for the passage of Senate bill No. 52-to the Com­ passed; there being on a division-aY.es 66, noes 3. mittee on Indian Affairs. Mr. DIBBLE moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was By Mr. WHEELER: Petition of John W. McGuire, of Lauderdale passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the County, Alabama, asking that his claim be referred to the Court of table. · Claims-to the Committee on War Claims. The latter motion was agreed to. By Mr. WILSON: Petition of J a.cob C. Harper, of Randolph County, ORDER OF BUSINESS. West Virginia, asking that his war claim be referred .to the Court of Claims-to the same committee. Mr. HAMMOND. I move that the House do now adjourn. The following petitions, praying Congress for the enactment of a law 1\Ir. DIBBLE. I will state that these are all the bills which I have requiring scientific temperance instruction in the public schools of the been instructed by the committee to report. Dismct of Columbia, in the Tei.Titories, and in the Military and Naval The motion of Mr. H~IDIOND was then agreed to; and accordingly .Academies, the Indian and colored schools supported wholly or in part (at 4 o'clock p. m.) the House adjourned. by money from the national Treasury, were presented and severally referred to the Committee on Education: PETITIONS, ETC. By Mr.
  • The Death of a Legend Florence G

    The Death of a Legend Florence G

    The Death of a Legend Florence G. Watts* A romantic story has long been associated with a granite boulder located for many years in a yard on Sixth Street in Vincennes, Indiana. According to the usually accepted version of the story, it was brought to town from a woods near the present St. Vincent School, formerly called the Highlands Orphanage. In its woodland setting it had reputedly served as a trysting-place for Jefferson Davis and Sarah Knos Taylor, daughter of Zachary, during their courtship. At the same time Jeremiah Donovan, a prominent citizen of the county, was courting Christopher Wyant’s daughter Susan. The two couples, according to the story, often met at the boulder and exchanged greetings and in sentimental memory of these meetings Donovan later brought the stone to Vin- cennes and placed it in his yard. It is undisputed historical truth that Zachary Taylor was stationed at Fort Knox, Vincennes, and that his daughter Sarah Knox was born during the brief time that he had his family with him at that post.’ The earliest printed references to his period of residence in Vincennes, however, make no mention of a Jefferson Davis-Sarah Knox Taylor courtship. A historical atlas of Indiana, published in 1876, gave the following information : “The mansion of Governor Harrison still remains, also that of Judge Parke, now owned by Mr. Wise. This house was once occupied by Captain Zachary Taylor ; and his daughter, who afterwards became the wife of Jefferson Davis, was born in it.”* An atlas of box County, published in 1880, did not mention Taylor in any way,3 but a county history, published in 1886, included in a description of Vincennes as it appeared in 1805 this account of Taylor’s residence: * Mrs.

  • The Lincoln Issue Lincoln to the Fore, and a Fond Farewell

    $5.00 KentuckyKentucky Humanities Council Inc. humanities The Lincoln Issue Lincoln to the Fore, and a Fond Farewell Dear Friends, Welcome to a special issue honoring Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday on February 12, 2009. We hope you’ll enjoy this collection of insightful articles that look at the great president and his legacy from a variety of perspectives. John E. Kleber writes of Lincoln with a constant view to his lifelong ties to Kentucky. Kleber’s article—“Shall Any Claim Come Before the Mother?”—is a superb overview of Lincoln’s life and career. In “A Power Trio,” James C. Klot- ter focuses on Lincoln’s relationship with two Lexingtonians who played major roles in his life, Henry Clay and Mary Todd. Jonathan Jeffrey recounts the fascinating stories of the many Lincoln memorials that have arisen in Kentucky over the past hundred years—and are still rising—in “Now He Belongs to the Ages.” Slavery was the issue that dominated American politics during the Lincoln era. From Karolyn Smardz Frost we get “Flight to Freedom,” the amazing story of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn, whose bold flight from slavery in Kentucky ended in Canada.There, as Kentucky slave catchers tried to reach across the border to drag them back, the Blackburns made legal history.Their case turned Canada into the runaway slave’s promised land. And there’s more to discover, including a useful chronology of Lincoln’s life, the origins of Kentucky’s many Lincoln place names, and an essay on the conflicted legacy of Lincoln’s wartime rival, Jefferson Davis.

  • From BLOODY TIMES: the Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis History Writing by James L. Swanson (Tr)

    from BLOODY TIMES: The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis History Writing by James L. Swanson (tr) ©Getty Images; (c) ©Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division SETTING A PURPOSE As you read, pay attention to the details the author provides about Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. What sorts of leadership qualities did each man possess? Prologue I n the spring of 1865, the country was divided in two: the Union in the North, led by Abraham Lincoln, fighting to keep the Southern states from seceding from the United States. The South, led by its president, Jefferson Davis, believed it had the absolute right to quit the Union in order to preserve its way of life, including the right to own slaves. The bloody Civil War had lasted four years and cost 620,000 lives. In April 1865, the war was about to end. Introduction In April of 1865, as the Civil War drew to a close, two men set 10 out on very different journeys. [Margin: secede v. When you secede, you formally withdraw from an organization or association. ] One, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America, 1 was on the run, desperate to save his family, his country, and his cause. The other, Abraham Lincoln, murdered on April 14, was bound for a different destination: home, the grave, and everlasting glory. Today everybody knows the name of Abraham Lincoln. But before 1858, when Lincoln ran for the United States Senate (and lost the election), very few people had heard of him. Most people of those days would have recognized the name of Jefferson Davis.