History Matters
“We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it, would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy. And this effort very nearly succeeded. But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth, in this faith, we trust. For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.” – Amanda Gorman
CNN: Military carrier pigeon message turns up 110 years after it was sent
A message lost by a carrier pigeon has been found some 110 years after it was sent. Carrier pigeon message found 110 years after it was sent A message lost by a carrier pigeon during military exercises has been found in France some 110 years after it was...
We Are Not Enemies
The United States in 1861 was even more divided than we are today. Abraham Lincoln, running on the Republican platform of no expansion of slavery, won the presidency without one Southern vote (he was not on the ballot in Southern States). Before his inauguration,...
In 1960 Richard Nixon (yes, Nixon) put country ahead of victory
On Wednesday afternoon, November 9, 1960, Nixon officially conceded the election to Kennedy. He told his friend, journalist Earl Mazo, that “our country cannot afford the agony of a constitutional crisis.”
Playing the Religious Card: A Long American History
Clay Jenkinson The closest analogy to the Trump declaration that his opponent would “hurt God” came in the infamous election of 1800, when Thomas Jefferson challenged his old friend John Adams for the presidency. Jefferson kept his religious views mostly to himself,...
Today’s Judicial Authority Results from an Attempted Early Power Grab
The recent passing of Justice Ginsburg and the ghoulish dancing on her grave by GOP “leaders” presents us with another episode where where we might learn from our own history. The United States two party political system is an outgrowth of an intense conflict during...
Today in History June 6
“When there is no vision the people perish.” The President rallies the nation.
President Hoover, Mr. Chief Justice, my friends: This is a day of national consecration. And I am certain that on this day my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency, I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation...
Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death!
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death" Speech To...
The Declaration of Independence
From the HBO mini-series John Adams, the final act of declaring independence from Britain. Think about the courage inherent in pledging their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to go up against the world’s superpower. Then imagine how craven we would have to be to not...
Guardian: “Thou Shalt Not Be Indifferent”
'Thou shalt not be indifferent': from Auschwitz's gate of hell, a last, desperate warning They came to bear witness one last time. Exactly 75 years after the Red Army's liberation of Auschwitz, those who had seen humanity's descent into hell returned to speak of it...
This Day in History
- Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel debuts
- Unabomber manifesto published
- Perón deposed in Argentina
- New Zealand first in women’s vote
- Nevada is site of first-ever underground nuclear explosion
- Germans bombard Leningrad
- Nixon cancels draft calls for November and December
- President James Garfield dies
- Jim Bowie stabs a Louisiana banker with his famous knife
- Earthquake shakes Mexico City
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