Mr. Lincoln's Reelection
President Abraham Lincoln feared that he could not win reelection in November 1864. So, he prepared for the worst. On August 23, he wrote a memo. “This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected,” he began. He continued by promising to cooperate with the next president-elect to save the Union. Then, without sharing what he had written with his Cabinet, he asked each member to sign the back of the document as a show of support.
Some Americans believed Lincoln was a weak commander in chief. They blamed him for the war’s length. They thought his proposed peace terms were too generous to the South. Other people thought his ideas were too radical. He insisted on the abolition of slavery. Even many Northerners were not sure if they were willing to support that cause.
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Celebrating Our Southwest Heritage
A talk with Khristaan Villela
Neighbors North And South
Refugees from the Mexican Revolution in the 1910s head for Marfa, Texas.
A New Conflict Threatened The US And Mexico's Relationship
More than 60 years after the United States and Mexico fought their last battle over land, a new conflict threatened the two countries’ relationship.
The Final Piece
The dark green color in the map depicts the land that was the Gadsden Purchase.
Alta California Becomes A State
This 1750 map captures the Spanish belief—based on the Baja Peninsula—that California was an island.
From Tejas To Texas
The republic of Mexico—newly independent from Spain—faced some big problems in the early 1820s.
The Rise of New Spain
Within a couple of years of arriving in Mexico, Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire.
Rethinking A Holiday
Columbus Day has been an official U.S. holiday since 1937. But some people question the idea of celebrating Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the “New World.”
The Promise Of Gold And A Sea Route To India
The promise of gold and a sea route to India.
Getting Started
Did you know that the Spanish arrived in North America more than 100 years before the English settled their first colonies in Virginia and Massachusetts?
