The Failure of the South to Convince Delaware to Secede

Voices of the Cause

by thiscruelwar - September 21, 2016September 17, 20160

During the Secession Winter of 1860-1861, several seceding slave states sent commissioners to border slave states in the hopes of convincing them to join them in leaving the United States. In some cases, such as Virginia and Tennessee, the targeted states seceded. In others, such as in Kentucky and Delaware,

Her Southern Raiment Soiled – The Slave State of Delaware

Voices of the Cause

by thiscruelwar - August 7, 2016August 29, 20160

Delaware has always been exceptional. This enigma of a state, tiny as she may be, has never found her place in history. During the Civil War, the slave states of Delaware did not secede. Instead it sent 12,000 of its citizens to the United States Army. And though it remained

Lynchings Both Fueled and Discouraged by Religion – This Week in Lynchings

Historical Lynchings: This Disgraceful Evil

by thiscruelwar - June 22, 2016June 20, 20160

Religion has always played a large role in race relations throughout American history. This week, we'll take a closer look at three separate lynchings, all of which have racial overtones. First, we'll hear from a Presbyterian minister who urged his congregation to lynch a black man for allegedly killing a

“No Negro Shall Have the Right” – The Black Struggle for the Vote Across the North and South

Equality For All

by thiscruelwar - March 10, 2016March 8, 20163

The actual history of the African-American vote is more complex than we often think. Across both the North and the South, the right was most often denied.

The Post-War Birth of the Ku Klux Klan – A Bit of Amusement and Terror

Equality For All

by thiscruelwar - February 17, 2016June 26, 20160

Following the Civil War, most Southern whites figured that though the slaves had been freed, they would behave pretty much as they had prior to the war. Certainly, they would have to be paid some pittance, but their status would be fairly unchanged. Unfortunately for these Southern whites, this was

Forgotten Heroes of Southern History: Warner Mifflin, a Colonial Enslaver Who Saw the Light

Forgotten Heroes of Southern History

by thiscruelwar - October 30, 2015June 26, 20160

Warner Mifflin was born in 1745 along Chincoteague Bay in Virginia. A lapsed Quaker, his father enslaved upwards of 100 black people, forcing them to labor on his farm. Being raised in such an environment, Warner knew nothing else. But after an honest conversation with one of the slaves, a