Paul Goebbel

List of Presentations

 

Black History

 

 The Dred Scott Decision, the story of Dred Scott is really three stories in one. First, there is the story of a slave, Dred Scott, struggling hard to gain his freedom through the courts and eventually taking his case to the United States Supreme Court.  The second story is about the Supreme Court, its role in interpreting the Constitution and federal law, and the limits of its power to resolve political problems.  The third story is about the politics of slavery and the coming of the Civil War.  The Supreme Court decision sparked an enormous political reaction.  It destroyed any chance of agreement between the North and the South over slavery in the territories. 

It would be an exaggeration to say that the Dred Scott decision caused the Civil War.  But it certainly pushed the nation far closer to that war.

 

The Emancipation Proclamation   There is a lot of controversy about how the proclamation came about, and what it actually did.  It is hard for us today to understand how politically dangerous the Emancipation Proclamation was for Abraham Lincoln.  Some historians say that the roots of the Emancipation Proclamation started with Lincoln back in 1848.

John Brown’s America traces John Brown and America’s journey to Harper's Ferry, many people do not understand the man and his time.

 

John Brown’s America traces John Brown and America’s journey to Harper's Ferry, many people do not understand the man and his time.  I hope the presentation helps explain this most pivotal time in our nation’s history.

 

John Brown and the Secret 6 explores John Brown and the six men that provided him money and funded his attack on slavery, not only in Kansas but his most famous attack on Harpers Ferry.  What caused six rich and influential men to plot treason against the United States?

 

John Brown at Harpers Ferry.  Many know the history of John Brown and his infamous raid on Harpers Ferry on October 16-18, 1859.  But what of the 18 men that accompanied him.  Their stories have all but been lost to history.  I hope to try to tell their stories of how they arrived at the decision to join John Brown and put their fates in the hands of this messianic leader.

 

Five who chose Freedom.  This is the story of the five African Americans that chose to join the messianic army of John Brown to incite slave insurrection at Harpers Ferry on October 16-18, 1859.  Their stories have all but been lost to history.  I hope to try to tell their stories of how they arrived at the decision to join John Brown and put their fates in the hands of this messianic leader.

 

The Underground Railroad is the exciting story when brave individuals risked their personal finances and faced possible jail to help an enslaved race. We trace slavery from its beginnings in the Western Hemisphere to the Civil War. Was the Underground Railroad treason, or a higher moral calling?

 

The Underground Railroad in Ohio, features stories about the underground railroad in the four corners and center of the state.  It also highlights an Ohio connection to the passage of the 13th amendment to the US Constitution. 

     

Civil War

 

A Reporters Recollection of the Civil War It begins and ends with a murder, beginning with William Lloyd Garrison in 1831, and ends with Abraham Lincoln in 1865.  Between those dates were the most turbulent times in the history of the Republic, because it relates the story of the people and events that had the effect of bringing us to war.  I hope my audiences find this presentation as a way to understand the situation that had an effect on our nation then as well as today.

 

Civil War / Dirty War  Discover the story of the battle waged by secret agents on both sides of the Civil War.  Hear the real story of the not so romantic and gentlemanly conflict.  Discover the hidden conspiracies of chemical weapons, new-fangled explosives, and biological warfare that competed with each other to topple their enemies.

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Civil War Technology that changed the world  It covers weapons, communication, transportation, and other things that not only changed war but also the new United States.  Many things we take for granted today had their start during the Civil War.

 

Edwin M. Stanton, the man who said, “Now he belongs to the ages,” at President Lincoln’s deathbed.  Edwin Stanton, President Lincoln’s Secretary of War, was the most powerful and controversial of the men close to the president.  Stanton raised an army of a million men and directed it from his Washington telegraph office, with Lincoln at his side.  He arrested and imprisoned thousands for “war crimes,” some serious and some merely political.  He was essential to the nation’s survival, and Lincoln never wavered in his support for Stanton.  As Lincoln lay dying, it was Stanton who took over the government, informing the nation of the attack on Lincoln and others, started the investigation of the assassination, and brought John Wilkes Booth to justice.

I will adopt the persona of this most remarkable man from Steubenville, Ohio, to tell his life story from country lawyer, to Lincoln’s “right-hand man,” responsible with Lincoln and Grant for saving the Union.

 

Everyday life during the Civil War  This program introduces many of the concepts necessary to understand mid-nineteenth century society, and its involvement in the Civil War.  Specifically, it provides basic information on individuals, their families, and the society and communities in which they lived.  After laying this basis, it describes issues of everyday life and how individual, family, and community standards were reflected in the military.  It examines the ways in which civilians participated in the war, and the ways in which the war changed their lives.

 

Gettysburg, The Last Invasion, it is Robert E. Lee’s last attempt to invade the north and force the end of the war.  It’s not the battle, but what Robert E. Lee hoped to accomplish for his country and the cause from the southern point of view. 

Ironies of the Civil War  Life is full of ironies and the Civil War was no exception.  I will attempt to explain the stories of Wilmer McLean, the intertwined lives of Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and the Booth family, slavery in the south, the Lincoln funeral train car, and the Lincoln bible.  This presentation was inspired by questions from the audience during the Q & A portion of my presentations. 

 

Newspapers and Newspaper correspondents of the Civil War  Exploring the men and media of the period and the effect, they had on the war. This is done on a first-person approach.

 

Ohio During the Civil War is a look at some of the people and events in the state that we usually don’t hear about.  Who was the best General from Ohio that became the worst, and who was the worst that became the best?  What future president’s great-grandfather died at Gettysburg in the 73rd OVI?  What did Ohio have to do with one of the most devastating boat disaster in history?  Why did President Lincoln have the habit of asking how many Ohio soldiers would participate in the next day’s battle?  What NHL hockey team uses a replica Civil War cannon to celebrate a home goal and why?  Where were the only two Civil War battles fought in Ohio?  Why was Ohio cited in the secession papers of South Carolina, and many more.

 

The People of Gettysburg is five stories of the battle, and feature, Jennie Wade, Lewis Armistead, the Orphans, the Gettysburg Address and William Johnson, and the 1938 reunion at Gettysburg.  It is done in my reporter character, as will Man Hunt.

 

Spies and spymasters of the Civil War  Spying is often called the "second oldest profession" and historically speaking it well may be. We will explore the use of new technology and the old methods used by both sides in America’s bloodiest war.

 

Unknown Civil War; tells little known stories about the Civil War.  They include comparing the administration of an earlier president that also had an attempted assassination on his life.  The history of the secession movement in South Carolina and Virginia, before their secession in 1861, the story of the USS Michigan, and her role on the Great Lakes, another assassination story alleged by the north against the south, and finally the story of and new information about the most devastating boat disaster in US maritime history.

 

What if.  As we all know, everyone loves a conspiracy, but what if certain events never happened during the Civil War, what would the impact have been on the war and our nation?  What if Lincoln had not run for president in 1860?  What if Lincoln had been assassinated in Baltimore Maryland?  What if Robert E. Lee had never been given command of the Army of Northern Virginia?  What if the Dahlgren affair had been successful?  What if Lincoln had not been assassinated?  These are all historic events that could have changed the history of the war and the history of the United States.  I do not speculate on the outcome I let the audience or others do that.  I only present the historical facts of why these situations could have occurred.  

Wilmer McLean, where the Civil War started in his front Yard and Ended in his Parlor  I will portray Mr. McLean and tell his story as well as the story of the privation that the war brought to the people of the South.  This is a story that is not often told.  It is based on a visit to the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond Va.

 

Women of the Civil War  Most of what we saw and heard during the recent 150th commemoration of the Civil War was focused on the Political, and Military aspects of that conflict.  My audiences have brought to my attention a forgotten group of that war, mainly the woman and families that supported that war effort both North and South.  I will attempt to tell a small part of the roles they played.  My presentation touches on, the Home Front, Women in the Military, Spies, and the lasting effects of the War experience.

 

Abraham Lincoln

 

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln  It is not just about John Wilkes Booth.  It focuses on Lincoln and the threats on his life starting with his election, through his administration and his ultimate end. 

 

Congressman Lincoln.  Is the story of Abraham Lincoln’s ambitions and controversial early political career, and his surprising ascendancy that was both historic and far from inevitable?  It is the story of America at a critical time.  The tale of a congress that ended a conflict, unsure of what it had gained aside from a seat strapped to a powder keg, of a party aiming to win the Presidency at all costs, paving the path for its own extinction, and of a country charting an irreversible course toward Civil War.  Many of his fellow Congressmen who would serve with him and become his friends would later become pivotal during the future Civil War, for both sides.

 

The Election of 1864  Learn about the bloodiest year of the Civil War, and how Abraham Lincoln never gave up on his efforts to keep the Union together when everyone around him felt he was a failure.  Many say that during Lincoln’s darkest hour he rose to become the greatest American President.

 

The Gettysburg Address explores the facts and myths of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speech.  This is an eye-opening glimpse into a speech that everyone thinks they know.

The Lincoln Inaugural Train This presentation tells the story of Lincoln’s election and the use he made of his trip to Washington via the railroad.  This trip allowed the president-elect to meet the people that he was going to lead in this divided nation.  It also gave the population the chance to see and meet their new president.  This presentation is done in period dress of a newspapers correspondent, and in first person, as if the correspondent actually was an eyewitness and reported on the trip for his paper the New York Herald. 

 

The Lincoln’s of Illinois  This is the story of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, the differences and similarities of their early life and the love that grew when they met in Springfield Illinois, and the life they shared in the White House and the final tragedy for both the country and Mary.  This is not the story of the Civil War; it is instead, the story of a family enduring the Civil War.  This one is 1 hour long, because of the material, so if you book this one make sure we have enough time for a Q & A.

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Mr. Lincoln’s Big White House.  Mr. Lincoln’s Big White House covers Mr. Lincoln’s residency from his inauguration in 1861 to his assassination in 1865.  The Lincoln’s servants, aides, family, friends, and critics and the constant stream of ordinary citizens, visiting dignitaries, and celebrities who passed through its open doors will tell its story.  It reveals how Lincoln lived, led the government, waged war, and ultimately unified the country to build a better government of, by, and for the people.

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Man Hunt: The John Wilkes Booth Trail  This is a true story.  I portray a newspaper reporter for the New York Herald and report in first person, as if I were reporting the events as they happened.  All the people are real and were alive during the great manhunt of April 1865.  All words are the words of the participants and are authentic.  In Fact, all quotes come from original sources: letters, manuscripts, trial transcripts, newspaper, government reports, pamphlets, books and other documents.  What happened in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 1865, and in the swamps and rivers, forests and fields of Maryland during those twelve days, is far too incredible to have been made up.

 

President’s Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln  This is the story of the two men that struggled to save their nations cause.  It’s how an obscure unknown man grew to be a hero while a known and respected man of his era became an outcast and despised, and all but forgotten.  In spite of their moral differences, they shared many similarities, both in life and death. 

The Tragedy of Mary Todd it tells the story of Mary Todd from her childhood through the tragedies that befell her and the nation. 

 

Paranormal

 

Ghost Stories of the Civil War   The Civil War is full of stories that fall well within the realm of the speculative. Many of the stories are probably only local legends and folklore…But a good ghost hunter knows that these types of tales can sometimes point them in the right direction. Because many ghost legends…have a basis in fact.   

Ghost stories of the Civil War are the story of the sites and locations with a twist.  It will feature first-person accounts of paranormal activities at civil war sites.  It is another way to explore the events that would change the history of the United States and to be a part of the 150 commemoration of the Civil War.

 

Ghost Stories That My Audience Have Told Me  This presentation will feature the most popular stories that I have been told.  As always, I will invite the audience to continue to tell me their unusual stories.

   

Reconstruction

 

Benjamin Wade the 9th Ohio President want-a-be  This chronicles Wade’s life and his attempt to be the 9th president from Ohio without popular election, the radical republicans and reconstruction.

 

If you are interested in sponsoring a presentation, please contact me at the Let's Talk section of my page.