This Day in History: Lincoln Proclaims, ‘Turkey Day!’

October 3, 1863 – On this day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation designating the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. The proclamation came in the midst of the Civil War. In his address, Lincoln chose to focus on the country’s prosperity: “[T]he country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, ...

“A week unparalleled in the annals of this war”: Joy and Sorrow in April 1865

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“Hurrah! Hurrah! ‘Sound the loud Timbrel o’er Egypt’s dark sea’ – Early this morning our ears were greeted with the sound of bells ringing a joyous peal - & a paper sent home by Frank announced the glad tidings that Gen. Lee had surrendered with his whole Army to Gen. Grant!” Only a day after ...

Spring Public Programs are here!

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We're finally starting to see some melting and hear some birds singing after this never-ending winter, which also means we're gearing up for the start of our Spring Public Program series! This series begins with newly published books about Lincoln, set to coincide with sesquitennial of the end of the Civil War and the 150th ...

The Acquisitions Table: Elliot Cowdin Letterpress Copy Book

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Cowdin, Elliot.  Letterpress Copy Book, 1861-1869. Elliot C. Cowdin (1819-1880) was a well-known merchant in New York.  As a young man he was greatly involved with the Mercantile Library Association, where he learned much about his trade.  Later in life he became involved in politics, especially during the Civil War.  This letterpress copy book contains copies ...

Filling in a Gap: Reporting Lincoln’s Assassination

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In May I picked up a large collection of newspapers from the Indiana State Library.  It took 20 book cart loads to unload the back of the 26’ truck.  There were a number of bundles of miscellaneous newspapers of single or scattered issues. While going through one of the bundles, I came across an issue of ...

Thanksgiving, 1863

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It has been a big year for some of the country’s most important documents. January saw the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, and just last week was the 150th anniversary of the reading of the Gettysburg Address. This Thursday in the United States we celebrate our national day of Thanksgiving, and so are looking back, ...

Do you know the Gettysburg Address?

"National monument to be erected at Gettysburg, Pa. -- ." By James Goodwin Batterson. (New York: Major & Knapp, ca. 1863-1867)

“The newspapers are making morning after morning the rough draft of history. Later, the historian will come, take down the old files, and transform the crude but sincere and accurate annals of editors and reporters into history, into literature. The modern school must study the daily newspaper.” - The State (Columbia, SC) December 5, 1905 On ...

Step into the Nineteenth Century with Our Fall K-12 Workshops

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The fall is always an exciting time here at AAS, with a full schedule of public programs, conferences, and workshops. We'll be keeping you updated with all of these events throughout the season, starting here with our next round of professional development workshops for K-12 educators. First up, on Saturday, October 19, will be the "Emancipation ...

Creating Historical Theater in an Afternoon

“…you sockdologizing old man-trap!” Stomp. Scream. Panic. “Good, good – now next time, keep the scream going longer and continue the dialogue over it. Let’s see how that works.” This was just one of many exchanges between the group of nine actors practicing a staged reading of the historically-based play Sockdology, and Jeffrey Hatcher, the playwright ...

New K-12 Workshop: The Emancipation Proclamation with Harold Holzer

Over the next several months we are very excited to offer a new series of workshops for K-12 teachers. First up is “The Emancipation Proclamation” on Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., led by prominent Lincoln historian Harold Holzer. During this one-day workshop we will examine carefully the text of the proclamation, examine ...

Adopt-a-Book 2011, Part 7: Newspapers & Periodicals

Today we continue a series of blog posts highlighting items from our upcoming Adopt-a-Book event, slated for Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at 6PM in Antiquarian Hall. You can read the entire Adopt-a-Book 2011 catalog on the AAS website, where you will find descriptions of all 176 items up for adoption this year. The Society’s ...

Finding Abraham Lincoln at AAS

Lincoln Cartoon

Abraham Lincoln is a hot topic these days.  From renowned historians to local students, everyone is interested in learning more about the man who once declared: “I was born and have ever remained in the most humble walks of life.” While Lincoln has been a perennial favorite for researchers at AAS, recently interest in ...