Carmichael, a history professor here at gettysburg college. Im also the director of the civil war institute, and it is my privilege and pleasure to introduce the speakers for our conversation or panel on the return of the confederate veteran. For those of you in the audience, and also for those of you who are part of our live cspan audience, you can actually be part of this conversation, twitter, get your ens ready, it is cwi2016. Let me go ahead and introduce our panelists, first, to my far right, david who is currently a lecturer in American History, at the university of edinburgh in scotland. He teaches range of courses on civil war and southern history, reconstruction and civil war memory, and his first book, it is an excellent one, published by the university of North Carolina press, and entitled moment of despair, suicide, divorce, and debt in civil war era North Carolina. Next to david is james brumar. He recently assumed the directorship of shepherd universitys george tyler cen
Grant felt if he ran for president it would have been because of conklin and he could have been the de facto president. Grants presidency, he was not a particularly strong president. And particularly when you look at reconstruction during this period, a lot of problems. When you look at corruption during his period, when people look back on corrupt presidencies, they jump out with grant and harding as the ones that lead the list there. An ill grant weakened by bad health and would not have been a strong figure elected. He wanted to block blaine. He just wanted to make sure blaine didnt get. Could you explain more about how he could be serving microphone, please. How he could be serving in the civil war and being elected to congress but he cant be there . Did that happen a lot . How did that work . The answer is yes, it did. Not a lot, but anyone can be elected to congress if you are a hey, just look down the block. Anyone can be elected to congress as long as they are 25 years of age a
But certainly since he was a significant general in the civil war, everyone understood he wasnt physically there. [ applause ] so i will hang out. Some of you are wanting to go and find out whats happening in the hockey game. Next week is mckinley. Another set of really fascinating stories. On saturday, cspans issues spotlight looks at police and Race Relations. Well show you president obama at the Memorial Service for Police Officers shot and killed in dallas. When the bullets started flying, the men and women of the dallas police, they did not flinch and they did not react recklessly. And South Carolina republican senator tim scott giving a speech on the senate floor about his own interactions with police. But the vast majority of the time i was pulled over for nothing more than driving a new car in the wrong neighborhood or some other reason just as trivial. Our program also includes one familys story about an encounter with police in washington, d. C. , followed by a badge the city
Logan was very well known the veterans vote was a very powerful force in the postcivil war period in america. Blaine because he was very much involved in an emerging political career when the civil war broke out he was speaker of the house in maine, the maine house of representatives and he was about to run for congress so he did what many men did at the time and he actually bought a substitute. It cost about 300 to have someone else go in your said the. Cleveland had done the same thing so it was a very interesting situation that prior to the 1884 campaign you always had someone in office in the presidency, grant and hayes and garfield who had been civil war officers. But blaine and cleveland were not. So which ever one of them had one it would have been the first generation it would have been a break in that generation, yes. We had a viewer who asked about his death so will you now tell us the story of his death . Yes, well, as has been mentioned, he was a man who was prone to illnes
Ho you are looking at some of the images from the 1884 president ial electionthey discud his time. 1884 against cleveland. Ironically, in 1876, it was b laine who prevented Ulysses Grant from making a comeback and winning a third term. Besides being secretary of state for James Garfield and Chester Arthur he was secretary of state under three president s. What else did he do . He was a speaker of the house. He was a governor. He changed some of the rules in the house. The speakers are always changing the rules somewhat to their advantage is. This was after the civil war when congress was much more central, much more potent than it had been. Their reaction against the strong executive said in. To be the secret the speaker of the house, to be a power in congress meant a lot more fun than it would today. Do you have anything to say . What do you think would have happened if he won . I think he would be regarded as the best president between lincoln and tr. He was assertive, he had intelle