Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Harold Holzer, director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, to discuss his latest book, Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration. They chat about the immigration situation in the United States in the 30 years leading up the Civil War, how immigrants forever altered the country’s demographics, culture, and voting patterns, how tensions over immigration broke apart the Whig Party and lead to the formation of the Republican Party, and how Lincoln evolved into a champion for immigration.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/558372/brought-forth-on-this-continent-by-harold-holzer/

In Episode 182 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Jonathan W. White, co-editor of Measuring the Man: The Writings of Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined once again by Jonathan W. White, Professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, to discuss his latest book, co-edited with Lucas E. Morel, Measuring the Man: The Writings of Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln. They chat about how White discovered a cache of unknown, insightful letters in England by Douglass on Lincoln, the distrust and vitriol Douglass directed at Lincoln as he moved slowly and methodically toward emancipation, how three personal interactions between the two led to powerful feelings of friendship and mutual admiration, and how, after Lincoln’s assassination, Douglass expressed greater appreciation for Lincoln’s statesmanship during the Civil War and praised him as a model for postwar America.

Get the book here: https://reedypress.com/shop/measuring-the-man/

Show Notes:

Smithsonian Magazine: Lucas E. Morel & Jonathan W. White – “When Historians Rediscovered These Frederick Douglass Letters, They Were Surprised by His Candid Opinions About Abraham Lincoln”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/historians-rediscovered-frederick-douglass-letters-surprised-candid-opinions-abraham-lincoln-180987175/

The Wall Street Journal: David S. Reynolds – “‘Measuring the Man’ Review: Partners in Their Time”

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/measuring-the-man-review-partners-in-their-time-2a96aff1?mod=books_more_article_pos114

In Episode 181 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Jonathan W. White, co-editor of From Dakota to Dixie: George Buswell's Civil War.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined once again by Jonathan W. White, Professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, to discuss his latest book, co-edited with Reagan Connolly, From Dakota to Dixie: George Buswell's Civil War. They chat about who George Buswell was, his interesting service record in the Civil War, and the uniqueness of his diary of the period. They pay particular attention to the Dakota War in Minnesota and the Dakota Territory in 1862, in which Buswell served, as well as the execution of 38 Dakota men at Mankato at the
end of the conflict, the largest officially sanctioned mass execution in American history, of which Buswell was an eyewitness. They also discuss Buswell’s tenure fighting in the Deep South as an officer in the 68th U.S. Colored Infantry, his views of the men under his command, and the impact the experience had on him.

Get the book here: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/10075/