Lincoln had many difficulties when he took over the presidency. To begin with, 60% of the population had voted against him. His biggest problems came from the peace Democrats or so called “Copperheads.” They were against the war in every way and opposed everything Lincoln tried to do to win.
Author: James Finck
Dr. James W. Finck was raised in the shadows of history in the great state of Virginia. Growing up it was difficult to travel too far without running into a monument or battlefield from the Revolutionary or Civil War. In this environment, Finck developed a love for studying the past and from his youth knew that he wanted to make it his life’s work. Finck received a B.A. from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He then studied under James I. Robertson and William C. Davis at Virginia Tech, while earning a Master’s degree. Finally, he received his Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas, under the direction of Daniel Sutherland. For five years, Finck taught at the University of Texas-Pan American before accepting his current position as American Historian at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in 2011. At a small liberal arts institution, Finck considers himself a generalist in history, but his specialties are the Civil War and American Politics. Finck has established himself in Oklahoma with the creation of the Oklahoma Civil War Symposium, which has brought in leading Civil War scholars for the past eight years, and he has spoken at many venues around Oklahoma, especially working with the Honey Spring Battlefield. Finck is the author of Divided Loyalties: Kentucky’s Struggle for Armed Neutrality in the Civil War, as well as Images of America: Chickasha. Finck is also the author of the syndicated newspaper column “Historically Speaking.”
Class Notes
No matter what you think about labor unions today, in the decades after the Civil War something was needed to help the growing labor force. Bosses held all the power and workers lived in conditions that were not fit for humans. Unions were needed. The first ones were regional or based on certain trades. The … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
After the Battle of Shiloh, General Braxton Bragg took over the southern armies in the west. Bragg devised a plan to clear Union troops out of Nashville. He moved his forces first to Chattanooga and joined up with Kirby Smith then the two moved behind the Union lines into Kentucky. Bragg hoped for two outcomes. … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
During the Gilded Age and the rise of Robber Barons, a growing criticism developed especially amongst farmers. Farmers had become dependent on railroads, but most towns only had one railroad run through it. With only one option, railroads could charge any rate and could even charge different rates to different customers. This issue would be … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
In 1903, two brothers from Ohio traveled to Kitty Hawk, NC to try something that seemed impossible. They flew a plane 120 feet in twelve seconds. It was not a long time or distance, but for the first time man flew.
Class Notes
When the Civil War began the basic structure of the infantry was as follows: I. 3 to 5 regiments formed a Brigade A. Commanded by a Brigade General II. 2 to 5 brigades made a division A. Commanded by a Major General III. 2 or more divisions made a Corps A. Commanded by a Lt. … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
As the nation moved into the 1880s it began to shift its Indian policy. In an effort to reform its years of mistreatment of natives, the new Progressive movements decided that instead of separating Indians it should help them by trying to make them more like themselves. The new idea was to education native children … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
There are many reasons why the South lost the Civil War, but none more than population. The north had 22 million people while the south had only 5 ½ million. The south mobilized 70% of their manpower. The south also lost about half that population to death and permanent injury. By the end of the … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
Before the 1850s the United States was divided in half with the western half set aside for Native Americans. However, around the mid-1850s Americans began to move west into these lands causing conflict. To settle the conflicts the government decided it was best to isolate Natives on to their own land where they would be … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
We tend to follow the myth that surrounds the cowboy as a loner and western ranchers as rugged individuals. While there is certainly some truth to that, the cow drives of legend were actually started by eastern entrepreneurs who saw a simple problem of supply and demand, terms we don’t tend to associate with cow … Continue reading Class Notes
Historically Speaking 