Category Archives: American Civil War

White Paper: “Subject to the Jurisdiction Thereof”: A Legal and Constitutional Analysis of the Phrase in the Fourteenth Amendment

Posted on July 2, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary The phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution has been a focal point of legal and political debate since the Amendment’s ratification in 1868. Its interpretation … Continue reading →

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The Fancy Trade: Geography, Nature, and Cultural Implications of a Gendered Slave Economy

Posted on June 22, 2025 by nathanalbright

The “fancy trade” was a euphemism used in the antebellum United States to describe the commercial sale of enslaved women—primarily of mixed African and European descent—specifically for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Though situated within the broader framework of American … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Exceptions to State Control of the National Guard under the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act

Posted on June 10, 2025 by nathanalbright

I. Introduction The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act (PCA), also known as the Posse Comitatus Act, was a landmark piece of legislation passed to limit the power of the federal government to use military forces, including the Army and the National … Continue reading →

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Preface: The Elusive Spark

Posted on March 4, 2025 by nathanalbright

I wanted to share something I am working on, to see what you all think of it. Dear readers, let me know what you think about this: When does a war begin? The question seems simple enough, yet history teaches … Continue reading →

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Judging Nathan Bedford Forrest

Posted on December 22, 2024 by nathanalbright

[Note: The following is the prepared text of a #2 speech given to the Portland United Church of God Spokesman’s Club on Sabbath, December 21, 2024.] For those of you who have never heard of Nathan Bedford Forrest, he is … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Born In Blood

Posted on July 17, 2024 by nathanalbright

Born In Blood: Violence And The Making Of America, by Scot Gac Throughout this book there is a sense that if the author was not a Marxist, he could probably actually see some of the more interesting patterns in history … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Born Of Lakes And Plains

Posted on June 30, 2024 by nathanalbright

Born Of Lakes And Plains: Mixed-Descent Peoples And The Making Of The American West, by Anne F. Hyde The author of this book is struggling with something deeply ironic in light of the contemporary obsession with identity politics in writing … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution

Posted on May 18, 2024 by nathanalbright

Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877, by Eric Foner There is a lot that is deeply wrong with this book. The author’s socialist sort of mindset dovetails with his belief that the blacks of the South were right to expect the … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Breaking Chains

Posted on May 2, 2024 by nathanalbright

Breaking Chains: Slavery On Trial In The Oregon Territory, by R. Gregory Nokes There is definitely room for a good or even great book on the subject of slavery and the freeish black experience during the territorial phase of Oregon. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Forever Free

Posted on April 25, 2024 by nathanalbright

Forever Free: The Story Of Emancipation And Reconstruction, by Eric Foner and Joshua Brown What is it that makes this book so superior, in general, to Foner’s other works on the subject of Reconstruction? It is obvious, for example, in … Continue reading →

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