165 YEARS AGO: Kentucky Congressman John J. Crittenden teams with Tennessee Senator Andrew Johnson to introduce a congressional resolution that aims to define the purpose of the Federal war effort.
Category: Politics
For the Ultimate Success of Our Arms
165 YEARS AGO: The U.S. Congress defiantly resolves that the defeat at Bull Run will not stop the Federals from achieving ultimate victory.
Proceedings of the Thirty-seventh U.S. Congress
165 YEARS AGO: The U.S. Congress begins debating on how to pay for the war, with various member proposing such things as borrowing, taxing, and confiscating rebel property. These also spark debates over the implications for slavery and wartime policies. The anti-war minority also makes itself heard.
The Special Session of the 37th U.S. Congress
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The 37th Congress of the United States assembles at President Abraham Lincoln’s request. The Republicans hold a strong majority, but they are split between conservatives wanting to wage war only to reunite the Union and radicals seeking to wage war to end slavery.
The “Reorganized” Virginia State Government
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Unionists in northwestern Virginia assemble a convention at Wheeling, where they declare their independence from the rest of Virginia and request recognition by the U.S. government.
The Death of Stephen A. Douglas
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Prominent U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas dies at age 48 after battles with various illnesses. Douglas was a key Democrat who supported the Lincoln administration’s war effort, and his death begins a period of national mourning.