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Gettysburg College

United States History

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

American History

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Full-Text Articles in History

Heaven Hung In Black: Grant’S Reputation And The Mistakes At Cold Harbor, Samantha J. Kramer Jan 2021

Heaven Hung In Black: Grant’S Reputation And The Mistakes At Cold Harbor, Samantha J. Kramer

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

This article examines Ulysses S. Grant’s command of the Union army after receiving his commission as Lieutenant-General through analyzing his decisions both before and during the bloody battle of Cold Harbor. By examining the various factors leading to his tactical decisions, including the ever-looming threat of the upcoming presidential election, the article questions whether or not his reputation as a butcher of his own men is truly deserved. That he made mistakes is undeniable, but the mess of Cold Harbor was not solely his fault. Through the use of a variety of biographies and personal journals and memoirs, the article …


Cohen, Joanna. Luxurious Citizens: The Politics Of Consumption In Nineteenth-Century America. Philadelphia: University Of Pennsylvania Press, 2017., Jacob Bruggerman Jan 2019

Cohen, Joanna. Luxurious Citizens: The Politics Of Consumption In Nineteenth-Century America. Philadelphia: University Of Pennsylvania Press, 2017., Jacob Bruggerman

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

To what extent should consumption reflect local and national interests? Joanna Cohen has written an excellent book at the intersection of intellectual, economic, and cultural history about how this question was asked and understood in the period extending from the American War for Independence to the post-bellum era. She demonstrates how citizens in the early republic struggled to understand the consumer’s place in the constellation of America’s national interest, asking questions such as, “’Who [should have] access to foreign goods?’ and “Who should shop and how[?]” (52). Although the Constitution roughly framed the relationship between the American government and consumers, …