Alexander Winchell (December 31, 1824, in North East, New York – February 19, 1891, in Ann Arbor, Michigan)[2] was an American geologist who contributed to this field mainly as an educator and a popular lecturer and writer.

General Thomas set wages at a low level ($7 per month for men, $5 for women, minus the cost of medical attention and clothing).

In the winter of 1863–64, the Treasury Department briefly assumed control of the Mississippi Valley labor system, mandated a substantial increase in black wages, and contemplated leasing the plantations directly to the freedmen.

Winchell complained that the Treasury's regulations were "framed in the exclusive interest of the negro and in the non-recognition of the moral sense and patriotism of the white man.

"[9] The venture brought him only problems, and after he returned to Michigan in 1864, his brother Martin, who was managing the plantation, was killed by guerrillas.

[8] There, his views on evolution, as expressed in his book Adamites and Preadamites: or, A Popular Discussion (1878), were not acceptable to the University administration because they diverged from Biblical teaching.