You cant speak about Butler without dealing with politics

General Butler

First Sergeant
Joined
Nov 16, 2017
I am sure people will let me know if speaking about Butler and his politics and those of the time are appropriate
I mean no disrespect whatsoever.
In the 1870s and 80s Butler saw his chances for national office slipping away. He would jump to one Party then the next in Hope's of gaining traction.
His work on the Klan bill was huge, his work on the civil rights bill was so good that even though a new Congress threw it out, LBJ would pick it back up on the early 1960s.
Anyway this shot shows the Lady Democrat about to beat Butler for staying from the old party line.
In the background on the dollar are old positions that failed to gain traction.
Lady Democray refers go Ben as incoragable.
Ben's response, sadly as Topsy from Unlce Tom's Cabin, is that he is used to whipping because he is so wicked.
Though not at all politically correct or even remotely sensitive it was the pulse of the times.

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I have never been sure if I felt sorry for Ben Butler or if he deserved everything that happend to him. He certainly was a lightning rod of opinions militarily or politically!
Regards
David
 
I have never been sure if I felt sorry for Ben Butler or if he deserved everything that happend to him. He certainly was a lightning rod of opinions militarily or politically!
Regards
David
The answer is absolutely...yes!
He was very bright, lived with a huge chip on his shoulder. On one hand he hated being poor and was driven to never be poor...no matter what.
He cared for the poor that couldnt care for themselves.
But he was not from the upper class nor the west point class so both those snobby groups worked overtime to try to keep him down.
They failed.
I can only imagine if his last name had been Cabot or Saltenstall or Carnegie. I suspect he would have been admitted to west point and would have occupied the White House
We will miss the mark if we try to buttonhole him
Thanks
 
When I first took the plunge to begin learning of the Civil War beyond school texts and adventure books, Butler was one of the early leaders catching my attention. With his commandeering of Relay House and Baltimore City, and then his Fort Monroe acceptance of 'contrabands' he topped the list for achievements at the beginning. Very influential and due to political backing, a dangerous competitor to Lincoln's own persuasion, much like Fremont. Butler was not at fault for the poor showing at Big Bethel in June of 1861, nor was he at fault for burning Hampton. His strong diplomacy was an asset that challenged leadership, and I personally feel he was short-shrifted because of it.
Lubliner.
 
When I first took the plunge to begin learning of the Civil War beyond school texts and adventure books, Butler was one of the early leaders catching my attention. With his commandeering of Relay House and Baltimore City, and then his Fort Monroe acceptance of 'contrabands' he topped the list for achievements at the beginning. Very influential and due to political backing, a dangerous competitor to Lincoln's own persuasion, much like Fremont. Butler was not at fault for the poor showing at Big Bethel in June of 1861, nor was he at fault for burning Hampton. His strong diplomacy was an asset that challenged leadership, and I personally feel he was short-shrifted because of it.
Lubliner.
I mostly agree. I will share with you a great Relay House ltr when I find it tomorrow
Like anyone even today, a powerful personality, combined with a sharp and untamed tongue, comingled.with an active brain, off set by a chip on his shoulder makes for a volitale person.
Had he possessed a more tepid tongue he could have gone further.
Look for the ltr and tomorrow I will begin to post Butler being used to sell products. I guess people didnt own there own image back then
 
Ben's response, sadly as Topsy from Unlce Tom's Cabin, is that he is used to whipping because he is so wicked.
Though not at all politically correct or even remotely sensitive it was the pulse of the times.

I'm finding our friend BB to be an endless source of oddities and surprises. I have to say there's something disturbing about this one, but it was someone else's idea, so we can't blame him for it this time...

Roy B.
 
I'm finding our friend BB to be an endless source of oddities and surprises. I have to say there's something disturbing about this one, but it was someone else's idea, so we can't blame him for it this time...

Roy B.
The times in which they lived was so fraught with distrust that pinning a minority label to a person should have been damning...but to Butler it was not.
Stay tuned today for other ads and period commentary heaped on Butler.
There was a lot of monied interests working against him
 
Bernhard Gillam was a very talented cartoonist. Some may consider him to be merely an immitator of Keppler, but I would give Gillam more credit than that.
Oh man you are so right...I agree
Whose face is it he has given the Democratic Party - it looks Thomas Nast-Irish and with the pink "shamrocks' on the dress, I suspect that's part of the idea.
 
I am drawing a blank right now but I think it was a suffragette...like Cady Stanton
Maybe, but I don't really think so, only because since he's "swapped" sexes with Butler, I imagine he's done the same with whoever this is. It reminds me of some of Tweed's henchmen in the Nast cartoons of the era, many of whom were of course Tammany Irishmen.
 
Maybe, but I don't really think so, only because since he's "swapped" sexes with Butler, I imagine he's done the same with whoever this is. It reminds me of some of Tweed's henchmen in the Nast cartoons of the era, many of whom were of course Tammany Irishmen.
Maybe I can find something more
 
Oh, I don't know. I've always found it suspect that he's STILL thought of as having come from nowhere. Even Wiki makes a point of telling us Sarah was a ' stage actress '- not a mark of social distinction. Family may have been money poor, Butler was an awfully old New England family. Carnegie, et al were kinda the nouveau riche of the day, uber wealthy sure, ( and remember an immigrant who also never forgot where he came from, a huge philanthropist ) but not old money. There really was a distinction.

It's so odd. We have quite a few love-to-hate figures from the era whose reputations seem beyond repair into 2020. ( You just know who is coming next ), Mary Todd Lincoln, for instance.
 
Oh, I don't know. I've always found it suspect that he's STILL thought of as having come from nowhere. Even Wiki makes a point of telling us Sarah was a ' stage actress '- not a mark of social distinction. Family may have been money poor, Butler was an awfully old New England family. Carnegie, et al were kinda the nouveau riche of the day, uber wealthy sure, ( and remember an immigrant who also never forgot where he came from, a huge philanthropist ) but not old money. There really was a distinction.

It's so odd. We have quite a few love-to-hate figures from the era whose reputations seem beyond repair into 2020. ( You just know who is coming next ), Mary Todd Lincoln, for instance.
Our country wallows in US vs Them and we have yet to advance. The US did back then keep anyone that didn't have the upper crust "tie" and they would work tirelessly to keep you down and embarrass you. The strength to Butler was that when the newspapers were against him his approach was.."never mind the newspapers, just do your duty..."
 
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