Minnesota History Magazine Summer 2021 (67:6)

Articles

“Promptly and Gratefully Embraced”: The Soldiers’ Vote During the Civil War
Rebecca Rubinstein

Many Minnesotans know this state volunteered the first regiments for the Union in the Civil War. Every Minnesotan should know that our state invented the mail-in absentee ballot to allow these soldiers to vote. This revolutionary law extended to soldiers a means of voting that most citizens would not share until the turn of the century. The law provided for uniform, government-issued ballots, secrecy envelopes in which to place the ballots, oaths attesting to the validity of the vote, witnesses to observe the voting process, and prepaid postage to send the ballot home—all elements we recognize as integral to absentee voting in this country today.

Stunt Girl Journalism: Eva McDonald Valesh and the Rhetorical Enactment of the Labor Movement
Kate Zittlow Rogness

In 1888, Eva McDonald Valesh published a series of articles in the St. Paul Globe on labor conditions among women workers in Minneapolis. Her reports served as a catalyst for the first women’s labor strike in Minnesota and built the foundation for Valesh’s future as a labor rights activist. As one of the “stunt girl reporters” of the late nineteenth century, Valesh employed rhetorical techniques in her articles to garner attention, build awareness, and generate momentum for women’s labor rights around the turn of the century. Her efforts further contributed to the women’s rights movement by representing women as an equal class of workers who deserved enfranchisement.

MNHS Press Book Excerpt: The View from Split Rock: A Lighthouse Keeper’s Life
Lee Radzak, with Curt Brown

A modern lighthouse keeper shares fascinating stories from his long tenure at a celebrated historic site along Lake Superior’s north shore.

Departments

Editor’s Note/Masthead
Transitions and Connections

Curator’s Choice
Thorstensen Family Papers
Kate Hujda

EyeWitness
Foshay Tower Elevator
John Rosengren

LandMarks
Listening Point, vicinity of Ely
Denis P. Gardner

Book Review
Nellie Francis: Fighting for Racial Justice and Women’s Equality in Minnesota by William D. Green
Misti Nicole Harper

News & Notes, Letters, Our Back Pages

Preserving > Sharing > Connecting
Earl K. and Ruth N. Tanbara Fund for Japanese American History in Minnesota: Resilience, Advocacy, and Community Service