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The Little Man’s Big Friends

Eric Foner London Review of Books
This book covers more than two centuries of American history, seeking to explain the evolution and enduring power of a racially inflected understanding of freedom.

The First Decoration Day

David W. Blight Zinn Education Project
A precursor to Memorial Day occurred in 1865 when thousands of freed slaves marched in Charleston, South Carolina to declare their sense of the meaning of the Civil War, that it was about their emancipation over a slaveholders' republic.

This Week in People’s History, May 16 . . .

Portside
Member of Congress using a whip to drive Lady Liberty out of the U.S. Capitol President Wilson unleashes repression of peace advocates. Republican Party denounces slave trade as a ‘crime against humanity.’ First compulsory public education. Camden draft protestors acquitted. Wiretapping gets the nod. Amnesty for Confederates.

The Great Slave Strike That Helped End Slavery

Mark A. Lause Jacobin
Today, on Presidents’ Day, we rightly celebrate Abraham Lincoln for helping end slavery. But we shouldn’t forget the unstoppable force that also brought down the Slave Power: the several million slaves who left the plantation, many of whom joined the Union Army.
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