History remembers proclamations because they announce more than policy. They declare that the world has crossed a threshold. When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, slavery did not disappear the moment the ink dried. At that instant, it was, in the most literal sense, merely words on paper. Its authority depended upon institutions willing to … Continue reading Emancipation Digitization
Tag: Ecclesiastes
Nothing New Under the Sun
[N.B. I originally posted this article on the Society of Southern Gentlemen blog. I don't plan to maintain that site, so I am merging all the posts there onto this site, but keeping the original timestamps.] That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there … Continue reading Nothing New Under the Sun
