{"id":374092,"date":"2019-04-12T09:27:13","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T13:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=374092"},"modified":"2019-04-18T13:02:19","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T17:02:19","slug":"historical-artifacts-lincoln-bullet-374092","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/historical-artifacts-lincoln-bullet-374092\/","title":{"rendered":"What historical artifacts like the \u2018Lincoln bullet\u2019 mean"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an article for the Rochester Beacon<\/em>, local journalist and author Peter Lovenheim meditates on the bullet that killed President Abraham Lincoln, who was shot by proslavery actor John Wilkes Booth in Ford\u2019s Theatre on April 14, 1865. Lincoln died the following morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes very small objects can have huge historic significance,\u201d writes Lovenheim. To better understand the significance of the \u201cdull, gray object that 154 years ago ended the life of our greatest president,\u201d Lovenheim interviewed Larry Hudson<\/a>, an associate professor of history at the University of Rochester<\/a>, a specialist in 19th-century African-American history whose scholarly interests include the Civil War.<\/p>\n

According to Hudson, \u201cthe closer you get to these artifacts of the past, the more likely they are to have a profound effect on you.\u201d That\u2019s why he takes his undergraduate students to see the University\u2019s collection of original documents and other historical artifacts from Lincoln and his contemporaries. The latter include Lincoln\u2019s Secretary of State William Henry Seward (who was also attacked that fateful day, as recounted in daughter Fanny\u2019s diary, part of the William Henry Seward Papers<\/a>) and Rochester-based abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who met and corresponded with Lincoln regularly.<\/p>\n

I see it every time I teach Lincoln and the Civil War when my students and I visit the Rare Books Library\u2019s collection of documents written by individuals like Lincoln, Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony. My students see words actually written by these historical figures and they are touched, they are deeply moved; for them, it makes history real.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition to the historical ephemera held at the River Campus Libraries<\/a>, the University has another notable connection to Lincoln: alumnus Albert Barrett, Class of 1869, witnessed the president\u2019s assassination from the opposite balcony box. Barrett later shared his personal account in a 1925 issue of Rochester Review.<\/p>\n

You can read Barrett\u2019s and Fanny\u2019s firsthand accounts here<\/a> and Lovenheim\u2019s full interview with Hudson here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Read more<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\"historical
\nWitnessing history: Memories of the Lincoln assassination<\/a>
\nOn April 14, 1865, Albert Barrett, a member of the University\u2019s Class of 1869, was in Ford\u2019s Theater, celebrating his birthday two days before. His seat in the balcony box immediately opposite the president afforded him a clear view of events.<\/span><\/div>\n
\"engraved
\nThe myth\u2014and memorabilia\u2014of Seward\u2019s Folly<\/a>
\nThe papers of William Henry Seward, secretary of state under President Abraham Lincoln and President Andrew Johnson, are one of the most accessed collections in River Campus Libraries.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Associate Professor of History Larry Hudson, a specialist in 19th-century African-American history whose scholarly interests include the Civil War, answers questions about the significance and meaning of the bullet that killed President Abraham Lincoln.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":374132,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29212],"tags":[21422,326,16072],"class_list":["post-374092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-voices-opinion","tag-department-of-history","tag-river-campus-libraries","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat historical artifacts like the \u2018Lincoln bullet\u2019 mean<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"University of Rochester historian Larry Hudson answers questions about the significance of the bullet that killed President 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