As you may well understand, when I do have a few minutes to spare, the History Channel is one of the first places I surf to. This weekend I caught one of the episodes for WWI in HD and it was pretty fascinating. While the majority of my study time is spent on the US Civil War, I have more than a passing curiosity in the history of World War II.

If you have a chance to see this program and haven’t yet, I highly recommend it!

The Civil War Preservation Trust has just recently released its latest report, History Under Siege, which highlights the top battlefields that face the most eminent threat. These battlefields are all endangered and are listed in Alphabetical order because there is no way to guage the loss of any of these areas against another.

Top 10 Threatened Battlefields

• Camp Allegheny
• Cedar Creek
• Fort Stevens
• Gettysburg
• Picacho Peak
• Pickett’s Mill
• Richmond
• South Mountain
• Thoroughfare Gap
• The Wilderness

15 Additional At-Risk sites:

• Belmont, Missouri
• Columbus, Kentucky
• Chickamauga, Georgia
• Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
• Honey Springs, Oklahom
• Knoxville, Tennessee
• Manassas, Virginia
• Mobile, Alabama
• Monocacy, Maryland
• Monterey Pass, Pennsylvania
• New Market Heights, Virginia
• Petersburg, Virginia
• Resaca, Georgia
• Third Winchester, Virginia
• Williamsburg, Virginia
• Wilson’s Creek, Missouri

To read the full report, visit History Under Siege.

Politics within the Republican party were not much more allied than that of their Democratic challengers. Chase had recently deserted his Democratic colleagues for the Republican party. Slavery was a contentious issue not only for the Democrats as it caused many rifts within the Republican convention as well. Upon completion of the first two ballots, it appeared that the likely nominee would be William H. Seward, but other contenders were Salmon P. Chase, Edward bates, Simon Cameron and Abraham Lincoln. While internal battles waged, the Republicans realized they had a real possibility of winning the coming election. Slowly Abraham Lincoln became recognized as having the most visible national and was certainly the most articulate of all the candidates. By the third ballot however, Abraham Lincoln captured the nomination of the Republican party. A total of 233 votes were needed, but in the final vote Abraham received 364 votes from a total of 466.

The Republican Party Platform of 1860 is presented below. It is interesting to note paragraphs 2, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Many debates have been waged over the decades about tempers in the South being inflamed by Abraham Lincoln’s anti-slavery stance. Others have argued that Abraham Lincoln had never declared any personal intention to end or constrain slavery. When you consider that the Republican Candidate was the person most able to enact the principals of that party’s platform, the anti-slavery direction laid down in this platform was most certainly supported by Abraham Lincoln, the candidate.

Republican Party Platform of 1860

“Resolved, That we, the delegated representatives of the Republican electors of the United States, in convention assembled, in discharge of the duty we owe to our constituent and our country, unite in the following declarations:

1. That the history of the nation during the last four years has fully established the propriety and necessity of the organization and perpetuation of the republican party, and that the causes which called it into existence are permanent in their nature, and now more than ever before demand its peaceful and constitutional triumph.

2. That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Federal Constitution, “That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” is essential to the preservation of our Republican institutions; and that the Federal Constitution, the rights of the states, and the Union of the states, must and shall be preserved.

3. That to the Union of the States this nation owes its unprecedented increase in population; its surprising development of material resources; its rapid augmentation of wealth; its happiness at home and its honor abroad; and we hold in abhorrence all schemes for disunion, come from whatever source they may; and we congratulate the country that no republican member of congress has uttered or countenanced the threats of disunion so often made by democratic members, without rebuke and with applause from their political associates; and we denounce those threats of disunion, in case of a popular overthrow of their ascendancy, as denying the vital principles of a free government, and as an avowal of contemplated treason, which it is the imperative duty of an indignant people sternly to rebuke and forever silence.

4. That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the states, and especially the right of each state, to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depends, and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any state or territory, no matter under what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes.

5. That the present Democratic Administration has far exceeded our worst apprehension in its measureless subserviency to the exactions of a sectional interest, as is especially evident in its desperate exertions to force the infamous Lecompton constitution upon the protesting people of Kansas – in construing the personal relation between master and servant to involve an unqualified property in persons – in its attempted enforcement everywhere, on land and sea, through the intervention of congress and of the federal courts, of the extreme pretensions of a purely local interest, and in its general and unvarying abuse of the power entrusted to it by a confiding people.

6. That the people justly view with alarm the reckless extravagance which pervades every department of the Federal Government; that a return to rigid economy and accountability is indispensable to arrest the systematic plunder of the public treasury by favored partisans; while the recent startling developments of frauds and corruptions at the federal metropolis, show that an entire change of Administration is imperatively demanded.

7. That the new dogma that the Constitution of its own force carries slavery into any or all of the territories of the United States, is a dangerous political heresy, at variance with the explicit provisions of that instrument itself, with cotemporaneous exposition, and with legislative and judicial precedent, is revolutionary in its tendency and subversive of the peace and harmony of the country.

8. That the normal condition of all the territory of the United States is that of freedom; that as our republican fathers, when they had abolished slavery in all our national territory, ordained that no “person should be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law,” it becomes our duty, by legislation, whenever such legislation is necessary, to maintain this provision of the constitution against all attempts to violate it; and we deny the authority of congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any individuals, to give legal existence to slavery in any territory of the United States.

9. That we brand the recent re-opening of the African Slave Trade, under the cover of our national flag, aided by perversions of judicial power, as a crime against humanity, and a burning shame to our country and age, and we call upon congress to take prompt and efficient measures for the total and final suppression of that execrable traffic.

10. That in the recent vetoes by the federal governors of the acts of the Legislatures of Kansas and Nebraska, prohibiting slavery in those territories, we find a practical illustration of the boasted democratic principle of non- intervention and popular sovereignty, embodied in the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and a demonstration of the deception and fraud involved therein.

11. That Kansas should of right be immediately admitted as a state, under the constitution recently formed and adopted by her people, and accepted by the House of Representatives.

12. That while providing revenue for the support of the general government by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an adjustment of these imposts as to encourage the development of the industrial interests of the whole country, and we commend that policy of national exchanges which secures to the workingmen liberal wages, to agriculture remunerating prices, to mechanics and manufacturers an adequate reward for their skill, labor and enterprise, and to the nation commercial prosperity and independence.

13. That we protest against any sale or alienation to others of the public lands held by actual settlers, and against any view of the free homestead policy which regards the settlers as paupers or suppliants for public bounty, and we demand the passage by congress of the complete and satisfactory homestead measure which has already passed the house.

14. That the Republican Party is opposed to any change in our naturalization laws, or any state legislation by which the rights of citizenship hitherto accorded by emigrants from foreign lands shall be abridged or impaired; and in favor of giving a full and efficient protection to the rights of all classes of citizens, whether native or naturalized, both at home and abroad.

15. That appropriation by Congress for river and Harbor improvements of a National character, required for the accommodation and security of an existing commerce, are authorized by the constitution and justified by the obligation of Government to protect the lives and property of its citizens.

16. That a railroad to the Pacific ocean is imperatively demanded by the interests of the whole country; that the Federal Government ought to render immediate and efficient aid in its construction; and that, as preliminary thereto, a daily overland mail should be promptly established.

17. Finally, having thus set forth our distinctive principles and views, we invite the cooperation of all citizens, however differing on other questions who substantially agree with us in their affirmance and support.

Supplementary Resolution. Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with those men who have been driven, some from their native States and others from the States of their adoption, and are now exiled from their homes on account of their opinions; and we hold the Democratic Party responsible for this gross violation of that clause of the Constitution which declares that the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.”

Today I came across an article that very much illustrates the religious passions of one woman during the Civil War that motivated her to exceedingly support the Southern view she and her family had adopted.

Eliza kept a diary throughout the war and although I have not had the opportunity to read it, many of the extracted quotes I have read  speak very plainly that there were plenty of American citizens at the time that would, and did, sacrifice all for their religious convictions.

Here are just a few quotes from her diary:

“I am becoming more firmly fixed in my conviction concerning this war that religion will be more intimately interwoven in its history than any which had ever preceded it,” she wrote on October 13, 1862. “The men who have honored God are the men he has chosen to honor on almost every field.”

“And I do feel the judgments of Almighty God will rest upon the heads of the Northern people for their unjust interference, thereby thwarting our plans for the elevation of our colored people in a moral point of view.” Slavery, Eliza Fain believed, was the cornerstone of the war effort – the very reason her kin had pledged to fight and die for the cause.”

“When a band of Federal soldiers passed her home in October 1863, she challenged them to reflect upon their motives to wage war. “They have to acknowledge that slavery has been the inciting cause to this war,” she triumphantly declared.
“They all tell me if they thought they were fighting to free the Negro they would quit and go home.”

I can do no more justice at present on this intriguing woman than the fine writing of  Maggiemac at Civil War Women. You can read her article on Eliza at her blog.

Further Reading

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According to history, the Queen of Roman gods and goddesses, known as Juno, was honored every February 14th. It had become the custom for young girls to write their names on slips of paper and young men would draw these names from their container. During the festival that followed the following day, known as Lupercalia, the boy and girl matched by the paper slip would participate in the festivities together. Tradition has it that eventually some of these pairs would fall in love and even marry. Over time, Popes of the Roman Catolic faith were apt to replace pagan festivals with celebrations of their own faithful followers. Thus was the case in 496 AD when Pope Gelasius decreed that February 14th of each year would be a day of memorial to honor Saint Valentine.

Over time, Valentine became regarded as the patron saint of lovers and a custom of exchanging messages of love and friendship emerged. These simple yet intimate messages of endearing love were soon followed by poems, gifts and flowers.Modern commercialism has greatly affected the way in which Saint Valentine’s memorial is celebrated, but the central theme of love and friendship remains.

Of course, as is the case with many ancient customs and traditions, the actual source of the celebration is a matter of acedemic contention. Regardless of the exact history behind what is known today as Valentine’s Day, it would be wise not to engage in intellectual debate over its origins of February 14th. Instead, those who have a special love interest in their life would be well advised to leave history to scholars and arrive on time and with a token of love and gratitude. Such an act will honor the memory of Saint Valentine and keep the celebration a joyous one.

“Ought it not be a Merry Christmas?

Even with all the sorrow that hangs, and will forever hang, over so many households; even while war still rages; even while there are serious questions yet to be settled – ought it not to be, and is it not, a merry Christmas?”
Harper’s Weekly, December 26, 1863

Although our blessed United States is not experiencing the hardship of an internal conflict of arms, there are many aspects of American life that may bring hardship to numerous families this holiday season. We can, however, look back upon our history to be able to reach a conclusion that,”Ought it not to be, and is it not, a merry Christmas?” Money, gifts, food, and perhaps even dear loved ones are not present this Christmas as they have been during Christmases past, but the center-piece of the holiday is a promise of hope, peace, joy and happiness. Piles of gifts and tables of lavish feasts may come and go, but remembering the birth of Jesus Christ in the midst of all the hustle-and-bustle or chaotic turmoil does bring with it a realization of something simpler, yet all too grand for the human imagination.

It is a common error to assume that Christmases past were much happier and simpler times, but we often fail to remember the hardships that others endured. A glimpse back in time should not be a melancholy misadventure, but instead reassure us that whatever may face us this Christmas, we will make it through, just as so many before us made it through.

Just as the families did during the Civil War, find the courage to put up that Christmas Tree and adorn it with cherished memories and perhaps even make some new ones to hang upon this year’s tree.

“In order to make it look much like Christmas as possible, a small tree was stuck up in front of our tent, decked off with hard tack and pork, in lieu of cakes and oranges, etc”. – Alfred Bellard, 5th New Jersey Infantry

If your loved one is in a distant land, pack them a box of items that will brighten their spirits. The Civil War soldier, receiving a package from home, would get a much needed moral, spiritual and emotional uplifting so desperately needed among the depredations of camp life.

Come together with family and friends and sing some traditional Christmastime hymns such as “Silent Night,” “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” “Away in the Manger,”  or “Deck the Halls.”

“I have written so much that it is now after 9 o’clock and yet I have said nothing of Turner’s and Mary Bell’s party which we gave them last week in lieu of the Santa Claus presents. Mary Bell has been told that Santa Claus has not been able to run the blockade and has gone to war–Yet at this late hour when I went upstairs Thursday night of the party I found that the trusting faith of childhood they had hung their little socks and stockings in case Santa Claus did come. I had given the subject no thought whatever, but invoking Santa Claus aid I was enabled when their little eyes opened to enjoy their pleasure to find cake and money in their socks.” – Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas of Augusta, Georgia

No matter what else you do to make your Christmas bright, remember to celebrate the very namesake of this holiday season, Jesus Christ. Call upon His name to bring peace, joy and happiness to you and your home this Christmas!

“By the Christmas Hearth”

Bring holly, rich with berries red,
And bring the sacred mistletoe;
Fill high each glass, and let hearts
With kindliest feelings flow;
So sweet it seems at home once more
To sit with those we hold most dear,
And keep absence once again
To keep the Merry Christmas here.

Harper’s Weekly, Christmas, 1865

More On Civil War Christmas

A Civil War Christmas – Joanne Shelby (Link has gone inactive)

Further Reading

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Click HERE for John’s entry on my family genealogy site

Vital Statistics

Born: April 14, 1841 in St. Lawrence County, New York

Military Service:

October 19, 1861: 53d Illinois Infantry, Company A, Ottawa, Illinois
1893: Member of GAR, William D. Price Post 392, Schaller, Iowa
1910: Member of GAR, Fonda Post 383 Fonda, IA

Death: June 22, 1922, Fonda, Iowa

Additional Information

Coming soon

Further Research

Iowa GAR Posts

]]> http://patrickgwhalen.com/2009/11/john-oleary/feed/ 0 http://patrickgwhalen.com/2009/10/a-knocking-on-the-door/ http://patrickgwhalen.com/2009/10/a-knocking-on-the-door/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:41:31 +0000 Patrick http://patrickgwhalen.com/?p=672

• Separation of Church and State – Overview
• Separation of Church and State – Part 1

In relation to my study of the issue of Separation of Church and State, much more should be said. Both for the purpose of clarifying my own views as well as bringing to light some uncommonly known historic facts of the issue itself.

Mankind in general has always been inclined to either join into the religious, intellectual and political endeavors of others, or to bring others into line with their own. This is neither proper or improper, it just is a fact of the human condition. We are created beings of want for community and justice with varied degrees of participation and philosophy. It is just this sense of motivation and selfish desire for common ground at any cost that has driven the governments and economies of the nations since the beginning of time.

No less affected has been the democratic government of the United States of America. Our government was designed to be shaped over the centuries by opinion, persuasion and debate. It is no great suprise that since the ratification of the US Constitution that our citizenry has been engaged in the perpetual swing of fluctuating thought.

The first great swing of this pendulum hinged on the subject of African Slavery in the United States and was led primarily by religious, moral philosophers, preachers and teachers. When the issue was ultimately resolved at the end of the US Civil War, these same thinkers continued their combined drive to bring equality to the new population of freedmen.

Politics had always been a welcome place for groups and individuals to debate their concerns and interests. Up to that point however, religion remained a largely separate venue; not that men of religion were not given to political service, but specific issues of religious and moral debate were not commonplace in the new government. Most issues centered on foreign relations, economic concerns and territorial ambition.

As the nineteenth century drew to a close, the political landscape became the new home for religious activism and promotion of what would become known as the “social gospel.” This social gospel took the moral tenets of the bible and applied them to common societal woes such as assisting the poor as well as increased pressure upon the population at large to accept the teachings of the church and in doing so to promote social righteousness.

In a sense, the initial leaders of this movement were driven with good intentions, but it seems that somewhere along the way they lost an integral part of the very message they were trying to promote. Their methods focused on educating government officials of the laws, commandments and rituals of holy scripture rather than understanding the separate roles laid out by the very savior they wanted to emulate.

This blog format is limited in its ability to maintain a reader’s attention for a lengthy discourse and deep research. Because of this, I implore anyone interested in this subject to search out these facts and implications for themselves in the Word of God and derive their own interpretation based wholly therein.

With that said, I believe what anyone willing to look with due diligence, will find that Jesus Christ did not go to the temples of government in order to induce the leadership to accept and endorse his teachings. Instead, Jesus was found teaching in the religious centers of the day imploring those leaders to rescind their grasp on political power and instead hold tightly to the teachings of liberty, grace and compassion. Over the three year course of his ministry, Jesus came in contact with many individuals involved in varying degrees of the political and governmental processes. Jesus did not instruct these men to go back to their respective caucuses and implore them to accept his ways. Instead, Jesus drew these men to Him, taught them his ways and they themselves, by their own convictions and instincts allowed his teachings to inform their decisions. This, in a sense, was the activism of Jesus Christ. It was not intended to instruct political leaders to enforce and protect grace. It was intended to lead mankind into His grace and protection and from there spread to the masses from which leaders emerged with their own ability to discern the Christian precepts of leadership.

So when did this radical shift in civic-religious activism really kick into high gear? I believe the best place to start is with the Men and Religion Forward Movement that began around 1912.

One such example of this rise in political activism can be found in Volume 2 of “The Messages of the Men and Religious Forward Movement” (1912)

Messages of The Men and Religion Forward Movement – Volume 2 (Social Service):

The subject was the rising issue of prostitution in Chicago, but the call to action was unlike any recorded in Holy Scripture. The following is the preacher’s call to action:

” The new publicity in regard to prostitution in itself forces the church into radical action; understanding of the sinner has ever been essential to his forgiveness, knowledge of conditions has ever preceded social reforms. If it is discovered that the brothels are filled with over-fatigued and underpaid girls, procured by young men ‘too poor to marry,’ then it is obviously the business of the church to secure legal enactment which shall limit the hours of labor, fix a minimum wage, and prescribe the conditions under which young people may be permitted to work.”

The sermon delivered goes on to say:

“If it is found that degenerate children born of diseased and viscious parents, become and easy prey for the brothel, it is clearly the obligation of the church to challenge all applicants for marriage and to work out through modern eugenics the admonitions of the Hebrew teachers as to the responsibility unto the third and fourth generation.”

The plight of the exploitation of children, that continues even today, is without a doubt a travesty, but I believe this message approaches the problem with incorrect theology.

In the beginning of this message, the love and forgiveness of Christ for sinners is pronounced and most evident, but by the end of the sermon, the legalistic practices of the Hebrew nation are invoked. These are the very entanglements that Jesus Christ came to reverse the Children of God from. It comes as no surprise to the scholar of this movement to realize that it put into high gear, the manipulation of politics, moral codes and methods of business designed for capitalistic success in order to bring about a religious segment’s social views into fruition through legislation.

It is my view that it is beyond for Christians to embrace the founding father’s view of Separation of Church and State and set about doing the Lord’s work in the harvest fields and not in the halls of government bureaucracy.

• Separation of Church and State Overview
• Political Activism and the Social Gospel
  

Recently I began reading about the topic of Separation of Church and State for a US Government research paper. I have come to no firm conclusions as of yet as I am still in the middle of my study on this most interesting topic.

There are probably few people out there that are actually not interested in this subject in some way or another and for good reason. This essential tenet to the United States Constitution is shrouded in controversy almost as old as the country itself.

In fact, I came across this very subject years ago while researching different aspects of spirituality and faith before, during and after the US Civil War. It is most interesting to me that the first political figure to seriously contend for a more liberal religious tolerance was none other than Geroge Washington. General Washington, at the time, strongly pressed for the incorporation of Christian Chaplains into his Continental Army. While this practice was soon adopted and little challenged at first, it became a hot-button item for debate upon ratification of the United States Constitution and the subsequent Bill of Rights.

I also encountered the topic while researching different Christian seminaries being established in Illinois. There were several Constitutional challenges to initial charters based on this establishement and free excercise of religion in the newly formed country.

The Constitution was ratified and adopted on September 17, 1787 and the original 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791.  By 1830 however, the First amendment religious rights began to experience their first legal challenges in the United States Supreme Court.

I won’t go into detail here and now, as that is the central point of my research paper, but over time I will discuss several areas of the challenges, victories and defeat of the rights proclaimed in the First Ammendment to the United States Constitution.