Political History Commons^™

What I Saw Of The Rally: A Few Observations From The Confederate Flag Protests, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

The normally quiet town of Gettysburg was once more disrupted by battle when two groups of protesters went head-to-head over the memory of the Confederate flag. Since the tumult and confusion of that fateful Saturday two weeks ago, many have weighed in on the day’s events with varying degrees of accuracy and distorted perceptions of reality. The following is my account. [excerpt]

A Middle East Perspective: Civil War Memory In Syria And At Home, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Last summer, while on a trip with the Eisenhower Institute’s Inside the Middle East program, I stood at the Israeli edge of the Golan Heights and heard a bomb explode across the border in Syria. We had spent the day within several miles of the war-ravaged nation with all remaining quiet until that moment, and while none of us wanted to admit it, we had the smallest hope that we might catch a glimpse of the conflict. However, when the sound of the detonation roared across the hills, excitement was replaced by a sense of fear and grief. I had …

Challenging Lincoln: How Gettysburg’S Lincoln-Centric Emancipation Narrative Has Overshadowed Local Black History, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

When it comes to symbols of emancipation, President Abraham Lincoln is king. No other person is more associated with the abolition of slavery than "The Great Emancipator" himself. This holds true in Gettysburg just as much as it does throughout the country. Only last September, Gettysburg College erected a statue of Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation in the hope that it would "promote the discussion of race relations in America today." Yet when it comes to commemorating and remembering the struggle for emancipation, Lincoln is far from the only face that we should look to in our historic town. …

Lost Cause In The Oval Office: Woodrow Wilson’S Racist Policies And White-Washed Memory Of The Civil War, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

For the past several weeks, students all across the nation have opened up discussions on race relations on university campuses and in American culture at large. The latest battlefield in the fight for greater inclusion is Princeton University, where protestors from the Black Justice League staged a 32 hour sit-in at the president’s office. Princeton University, traditionally viewed as a bastion of progressivism and liberal ideology, is coming under fire for its reverence for perhaps their most famous graduate, President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson graduated from Princeton University Class of 1879 and served as president of the school from 1902 until …

Finally Speaking Up: Sexual Assault In The Civil War Era, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Trigger warning: This article contains detail concerning rape and sexual assault.

On March 12, 1864, in the midst of a bloody war which had long overflowed its thimble, Margaret Brooks was returning from her home near Memphis, Tennessee when her wagon broke down in Nonconnah Creek. Not long after her driver left to find help, three rambunctious New Jersey cavalrymen, all white, approached Brooks, demanding her money. She was then raped multiple times at gunpoint [excerpt].