What Was Once Forgotten...

Of all the major themes in Race and Reunion, one of the greatest concepts Blight advocates for is that of the emancipationist vision. He emphasizes that the reconciliationist and white supremacist vision have contradictorily remained in the American consciousness, but the plight and history of black Americans have been a marginal part of US memory. Blight condemns this perspective and asserts that it is necessary for black history to be more prominent in modern scholarship.

            Well, it was Blight’s publication that first came to my mind when I came across this recent article. Apparently, new primary sources are being released to be put on display for a local museum. The sources include a myriad of different images that are rare depictions of African Americans during the Civil War Era. As the article states, “Rare Civil War images of African American life and battlefield scenes appear in the new exhibit, ‘The Civil War in Photographs: New Perspectives from the Robin Sanford Collection’” (Viegas, 2). Many of the scenes appear intensely personal, from African Americans in worship to someone getting a haircut. A majority of them, though, show scenes from African American military troops. Surprisingly enough, they were even taken in numerous geographic locations across the United States. I personally have never seen any of these images before, and have found all of them very interesting to view. If any of you are curious and want to view them also, they are accessible through the link below.

            I have not seen any official comments from Blight thus far, but perhaps he will find this special attention and focus on African American life and service to the nation during the Civil War a step in the right direction. He may not consider it nearly enough, though I remain optimistic that these findings will generate more interest and research for this still highly contentious topic.

http://news.discovery.com/history/us-history/rare-photos-show-civil-war-life-130221.htm

Mini Me's and Little Lincoln's

For those who have read Land of Lincoln, you all know of one chapter that particularly stands out among the series of odd events that occurs in that book. What chapter I am alluding to is the section where Ferguson goes to an Abraham Lincoln convention. At it, he meets a myriad of Lincoln and Mary impersonators that gather together to discuss historical accuracy, booking and handling events, and other anecdotal tales. I for one did not know that such a convention existed, and I find it simultaneously interesting and disturbing.

Well, it was definitely this chapter that I had in mind when I came across one elementary school’s way of celebrating Lincoln’s 204^th birthday this year. For it, a class of fourth graders dressed up as Abraham Lincoln, performed a reading of the Gettysburg address and did a post-speech answer session in Grand Central Station. Just from the video and accompanying pictures posted, it seems like quite the sight to see so many Lincolns.

In both cases, these groups of people celebrated and idealized Lincoln and wish to perpetuate his image in the modern era. Of course, with so many people acting as Lincoln, it is impossible to even perpetuate a consistent or “historically accurate” representation of Lincoln. Nonetheless, how people continue to bring Lincoln into their society will be of continued interest.

http://gothamist.com/2013/02/12/pint_sized_abe_lincolns_delivery_ge.php#photo-3

Lincolns, Lincolns Everywhere...

            This week, a news article was written on a new Lincoln exhibit that just opened at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum. This museum did not reveal a “traditional” or “old school” exhibit, however. Instead, this display focuses on the “image” of Lincoln. This theme not only revolves around Abraham Lincoln’s noticeably aging and changing features over time, but also his perceived professional and political image during his own life and after his death. The main pride and joy of the exhibit, though, is a specially made movie. It is a short, continuously looping film that introduces the museum visitors to Lincoln and his place in American history. The writer of this article, Steve Siegal, particularly emphasizes the theatricality and dramatic air the movie conveys. It is so much so, in fact, that Siegel says it follows in the footsteps of Spielburg’s Lincoln and other professional historical movies. This continuous bombardment of Lincoln images continues throughout the exhibit with a large statuary, plaster-of-paris casts, original Harper’s Weekly magazines, medallions, stamps, and even five dollar bills. Supposedly, it invites the viewer to see just how there are nearly an infinite amount of different ways that Lincoln has been depicted to the public.

            To me, the description of this museum was awfully reminiscent of the topics discussed in Andrew Ferguson’s Land of Lincoln. In the book, Ferguson asserts that it is essentially impossible to pin-point the true or original Lincoln, due to his pervasiveness in both past and modern society. Everyone has their own personal Lincoln that they either revere or despise. The exhibit at Lehigh, which possesses over a thousand images of Lincoln in a single space, shows exactly this. Also, Ferguson noted that museums are becoming increasingly interactive and technology-laden. The emphasis of a new movie and a conspicuous absence of word plaques at Lehigh portray this continuing transition. So, in a way, the new exhibit at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum is an example of a trend in Museums in the modern era.

http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/events/mc-lincoln-abraham-lehigh-valley-allentown-20130208,0,4283676.story

The Power Compels You!

Whenever I read about people’s collections, I never cease to be amazed. Some pieces of ephemera are so incredibly costly that I could never imagine people actually being able to purchase them. This is especially the case with a man named Ray Riley. Apparently, he has had certain artifacts – such as Grant’s sword, J.E.B. Stuart’s sword, and Grant’s coat that he wore at Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Miraculously enough, Riley is allowing a museum to display Grant’s coat! He’s been holding onto it for a couple decades, but is now letting a local Texas non-profit museum put it on display. (Though he did explicitly state that the coat will never leave Texas, due to a lack of trust of the national government with his artifact, unfortunately.) This is a great opportunity for history lovers, especially those particularly passionate about the Civil War.

The reason I brought this to your attention is because I found a lot of parallels between this article and our most recent book, Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe’s America, by Andrew Ferguson. In the book, Ferguson discusses “the magic of stuff” or “the power of things”. He mentions a myriad of people who collect objects, museums who display them, and the force that is behind them. Ferguson elaborates on the reality that people in my generation cannot have the capacity to be patient in “traditional museums” anymore, but are more than willing to quietly revere artifacts. He also mentions about collectors, such as a woman that only collects Lincoln and Mary ephemera, believe that handing him the historic objects will give him sort of respect and understanding of the history. Through both these stories and this recent news article, it shows just how much value our society places on historical items. Museums are becoming increasingly visual and interactive (and less text based), so these items will only become more valuable over time. Although I am reluctant to see what many view as the “decline of scholarly museums”, I am interested in seeing how the value of ephemera changes with these developments.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/02/01/4594235/oilmans-museum-holds-unique-collection.html