Costumed interpretation, or living history, or reenacting, is a fascinating practice in which historical dress, tools and props are used to present and educate about the past. We discuss the particular American brand of living history, as chronicled in Tony Horwitz' enduring classic, Confederates in the Attic.

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Artwork: Brittany Schall

Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory garment workers, mostly young women and teenagers, faced inhumane treatment and conditions, exacerbated by the greed and neglect of their employers. Unbeknownst to them, this mid-rise building in Manhattan, designed to maximize efficiency, was a death trap.

• "THE TRIANGLE FIRE AND THE LIMITS OF PROGRESSIVISM," A Dissertation Presented by FRANCES B. JENSEN, Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 1996 Department of History
• Cornell University - ILR School - The Triangle Factory Fire
• "Triangle Shirtwaist Factory women strike, win better wages and hours, New York, 1909 | Global Nonviolent Action Database
• The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the Origins of International Women’s Day | Barbara's Bookstore
• "The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: Difficult lessons learned on fire codes and safety" by Stephen Jones | Building Safety Journal | MARCH 22ND, 2021
• Triangle Fire | American Experience Season 23, Episode 6 | PBS
• New York Times Coverage of the Fire | American Experience | Official Site | PBS
• Shirtwaist Kings | American Experience | Official Site | PBS
• Pauline Newman: Organizer | American Experience | Official Site | PBS
• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire | History.Com | A&E Television Networks
• History of Labor Day | U.S. Department of Labor

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Artwork: Brittany Schall

Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod

Hollywood often brings history to the silver screen with a heap of creative license - to make the story fit into the formula of plot and profitability. Glory is the rare exception - where the story of the 54th Massachusetts Colored Regiment is preserved and presented with accuracy and gripping drama. Get the full review on Patreon.

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Artwork: Brittany Schall

Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod

Of the more than 100 units mustered into the U.S. Colored Troops, the 54th Massachusetts may be the most well known, remembered for their valorous service and their depiction in the movie Glory. In honor of the 160th anniversary of the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, we examine the enduring story of this legendary unit.

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Artwork by Brittany Schall

Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod

The cause of Black freedom tore the United States apart in the Civil War. As the conflict fatigued both sides, the previously unimaginable became a necessity; men of color were recruited into Federal forces. They fought for their freedom and for a nation that had excluded them from its promise.

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Artwork: Brittany Schall

Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod

The first national draft in the United States prompted four days of civil unrest and urban disturbance in New York City. The rioters, Irish and working class men, attacked public buildings, abolitionists, and people of color. Though largely forgotten, the event had long-term impacts on the distribution of the black population across the city.

(Research Links found in Part I)1

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Artwork: Brittany Schall

Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod

In July 1863, at the height and heat of the American Civil War, a race riot erupted in New York City, in response to the drafting of thousands into the Union Army. For four days, the city seethed with indiscriminate mob violence, fire, and chaos. The grievance of the rioters was the same as the national war itself; the cause of Black freedom and the social costs to Whites.

• "When America Hated Catholics." By JOSH ZEITZ September 23, 2015 | POLITICO Magazine
• "When America Despised the Irish: The 19th Century’s Refugee Crisis" BY: CHRISTOPHER KLEIN UPDATED: JUNE 1, 2023 | HISTORY
• Irish in the American Civil War
• July 13, 1863: New York City Draft Riots and Massacre - Zinn Education Project
• New York City Draft Riots | Lincoln Memorial Shrine Website
• After the Riots: New York's Black Community Responds and Rebuilds - Tenement Museum Website
• "Recalling a Place of Sanctuary for Black Orphans" By Elissa Gootman | New York Times | April 7, 2003
• "The Devil's Own Work: The Civil War Draft Riots and the Fight to Reconstruct America" by Barnet Schecter
• "How the Irish Famine changed New York City forever" By Anelise Hanson Shrout | Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's National Public Service Media

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Artwork: Brittany Schall

Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod

Martin Scorsese's sweeping 2002 epic Gangs of New York brought the gritty streets of lower Manhattan in the 19th century to life. It's full of grit, incredible sets and costumes, and just a smidge of historical liberties. It's the factual smackdown you never knew you wanted.

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Artwork: Brittany Schall

Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two titans of the American Revolution, died within hours of each other on Independence Day, 1826--fifty years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was signed. Their long friendship and correspondence was complicated by their shared zeal and hope for the future of the new nation they helped to create--and divergent political ideologies.

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Artwork: Brittany Schall

Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod

In the North Atlantic Ocean, a string of missing ships and aircraft have been attributed to a geometric nexus of misfortune. Is the Bermuda Triangle explainable due to unpredictable forces of nature, or something more supernatural?

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Instagram: @themorbidmuseum

Email: [email protected]

Artwork: Brittany Schall

Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod