Before his death in 1870, Robert E. Lee penned a letter to Col. Charles Marshall in which he argued that we must cast our eyes backward in times of turmoil and change, concluding that "it is history that teaches us to hope." Charles Pierce Roland, one of the nation's most distinguished and respected historians, has done exactly that, devoting his career to examining the South's tumultuous path in the years preceding and following the Civil War. History Teaches Us to Hope: Reflections on the Civil War and Southern History is an unprecedented compilation of works by the man the volume editor John David Smith calls a "dogged researcher, gifted stylist, and keen interpreter of historical questions."Throughout his career, Roland has published groundbreaking books, including The Confederacy (1960), The Improbable Era: The South since World War II (1976), and An American Iliad: The Story of the Civil War (1991). In addition, he has garnered acclaim for two biographical studies of Civil War leaders: Albert Sidney Johnston (1964), a life of the top field general in the Confederate army, and Reflections on Lee (1995), a revisionist assessment of a great but frequently misunderstood general. The first section of History Teaches Us to Hope, "The Man, The Soldier, The Historian," offers personal reflections by Roland and features his famous "GI Charlie" speech, "A Citizen Soldier Recalls World War II." Civil War--related writings appear in the following two sections, which include Roland's theories on the true causes of the war and four previously unpublished articles on Civil War leadership. The final section brings together Roland's writings on the evolution of southern history and identity, outlining his views on the persistence of a distinct southern culture and his belief in its durability. History Teaches Us to Hope is essential reading for those who desire a complete understanding of the Civil War and southern history. It offers a fascinating portrait of an extraordinary historian.
这戚姬年轻美貌,能弹会唱,能歌善舞,且又知书识字,所以一到栎阳,便美倾后宫,技压群芳。刘邦本就是个好色之人,得姬如此,怎不令他心悦,于是,渐渐冷落众美,专宠戚姬,不管走到哪里,常将戚姬带在身边。一日,御史大夫周昌有事要面奉刘邦,趋入殿内没找到皇帝, ...
班彪的回答,论述了周、汉废兴具体形势的不同;说明王莽专权,是成帝以后特殊情况所造成的;在这里阐释了反莽斗争中"咸称刘氏,不谋同辞"这种人心思汉现象的实质,即汉德复兴,势不可当。应该说,班彪的回答就像是对隗当头浇了一盆凉水。对于这个回答,隗嚣自然极 ...
于是光绪帝同翁同和等相商,决意采纳杨、徐的奏请,颁诏定国是,推行变法新政。但是,作为这样一件大事,在采取行动之前,光绪帝又要亲往颐和园向西太后请示。西太后毕竟是很有政治手段的清王朝"太上皇"。而且由于她"已许不禁皇上办事,未便即行钳制"。
"Succeeding admirably in condensing the best quotes from around twenty thousand letters, this book will awaken some readers to the wit and wisdom of Jefferson, and enable others to rediscover it.
Behind the Scenes. by Elizabeth Keckley. Or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House.
Inaugurated for a second term on March 4, 1873, Ulysses S. Grant gave an address that was both inspiring and curiously bitter.
This is my ground, and I am sitting on it.” In May, Sioux leaders traveled to the capital, where Grant renewed efforts to persuade them to relocate to Indian Territory, “south of where you now live, where the climate is very much better ...
After whites massacred black militia in South Carolina, Grant warned that unchecked persecution would lead to "bloody revolution." As violence spread, Grant struggled to position limited forces where they could do the most good.
During the winter of 1864–65, the end of the Civil War neared as Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant maintained pressure against the dying Confederacy.
In his third annual message to the nation, Ulysses S. Grant stated the obvious: "The condition of the Southern States is, unhappily, not such as all true patriotic citizens would like to see.