"Decision 1856" - archive

Decision 1856
archive

Decision 1856 is a historical re-enactment of the United States presidential campaign of 1856. It is performed in Buchanan, the county seat of Haralson County, Georgia, which was created in 1856.

Year 2006 performance
Year 2007 performance
Year 2008 performance



Advisory

Many controversial issues involved in the election of 1856, such as the public and private aspects of religion; the status of persons of different ethnicities, creeds, citizenships, and conditions; the role and scope of government; the choice of facing or burying issues which divide us and so on - have echoes even today, albeit the specifics or emphases vary. To learn more about this too-often-ignored critical election, you can consult the Web chapter rooted at: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~gahchs/1856/President/

In our handbook on the world of 1856 rooted at: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~gahchs/1856/ we often try to give various historical points of view the opportunity for sympathetic portrayal, even if many or most people today have very different personal inclinations. We also try to educate today's reader about things of which our 1856 predecessors knew nothing, and we do. Finally, there are many things about life in 1856 which stir no stronger feeling than curiosity, and we have labored to see these aspects of life are given their due attention, and are not crowded off the stage by the passions of morality, politics and war. We learned things about the world in 1856 by creating this Web site (which might expand yet) - perhaps you will as well! Beyond the potential for serious learning, we hope the re-enacted 1856 election can be a source of innocent fun - it ain't real! - The producers