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Category: Abraham Lincoln

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Congas, Sambas and Falling Plaster

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

I was 15 years old, sitting cross-legged next to my friend Mascha on a cork-tile floor at Mammoth Gardens, a roller-skating rink built in 1910. Plaster, occasionally, was falling from the ceiling – because the band on the stage that night was the drum-heavy Santana, which had just released its 1970 album “Abraxas.” That’s the …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Witnesses to History, Keepers of the Flame

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

This is a guest post by Cheryl Fox of the Library’s Manuscript Division The First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas (July 21, 1861) set many precedents in American history—key troops were transported by train, battle reconnaissance was attempted via observation balloon, battle scenes were sketched and the battle’s aftermath, photographed to be published in newspapers.  And …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Mr. Morrill Goes to Washington

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

On Monday (June 25) at the Library of Congress – in a conference anybody can attend, free of charge – the contributions of a congressman you’ve probably never heard of, but really should know about, will be explored. Justin Morrill of Vermont may never be as well-known as his executive-branch supporter in these endeavors, Abraham …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Gateway to Knowledge Guest Post #7

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

This is the seventh in a series of guest posts by Abigail Van Gelder, who with her husband, Josh, is journeying across the country on the Library’s “Gateway to Knowledge” traveling exhibition: We knew that Oberlin, OH was going to be a special event.  Oberlin College is the alma mater of Emily Rapoport—who, with her …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

O Shenandoah, I Long to Map You

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

In a world where we can keep tabs on our own backyards from our desks at work, via satellite, it’s difficult to imagine the impact one man armed with notebooks and pencils could have in 1861 as the Civil War began to rend our young nation.  Generals on both sides of that conflict desperately needed good topographical information …