Tag Archive for ‘American Revolution’
Don’t Know Much About® “Common Sense”
That saying about the pen being mightier than the sword? As the American Revolution haltingly began, an anonymous writer helped prove it true. “Common Sense” appeared on January 10, 1776 and changed the course of history.
Don’t Know Much About® Constitution Day
On September 17, 1787, 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention meeting in Philadelphia, voted to adopt the United States Constitution. This is Constitution Day.
Historical Libraries, Societies and Museums: “Beam me IN!”
“BEAM ME IN, SCOTTY!” Apologies to Captain Kirk and Star Trek. I know it’s really, “Beam me UP, Scotty.” For more than 20 years, I have been traveling the country, visiting museums, historical societies, bookstores, libraries and teacher conferences to share my love for history, geography and all the subjects I have covered in the [...]
America’s Founding Fathers: A List of Fascinating Facts
The “Founding Fathers” were real men, not those faces chiseled in stone on Mount Rushmore. Here are some little known but fascinating facts you may not know about some of the men who were present at the birth of the nation –including some whose names you may not know!
Don’t Know Much About History… Still!
The latest in the perennial drumbeat of bad news about failing American History grades in American schools has just been released. And it is as bad as ever. So the first simple question is:Why Are we so Bad at History?
Don’t Know Much About® Thomas Jefferson
Among America’s iconic Founding Fathers, is there a more complicated and contradictory figure than Thomas Jefferson? Scientist, humanist, Enlightenment thinker, writer, architect, politician. He was all these things. The confusion over this genius comes from one basic question: How could the man who wrote, “All Men are Created Equal” and “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit [...]
Don’t Know Much About Mr. Madison
Today March 16, 2011, marks the 260th anniversary of the birth of America’s fourth President, James Madison, also known as “The Father of the Constitution.” While small in stature, and sometimes overshadowed by his more famous Virginian predecessors, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, Madison must be considered one of the greatest of the Founding Fathers for the breadth and influence of his contributions.
Cruel and Unusual- (Civics Primer Part 5)
No, learning about Civics and American History is not the Cruel and Unusual part. Actually, when done properly, this stuff can be fun and interesting. Following up on my earlier lessons about the Bill of Rights, today’s focus is on two more of the fundamental rights of the accused found in the Seventh and Eighth [...]
Pleading the Fifth (Civics Primer Part 4)
My Civics Primer has been focusing on the Bill of Rights and continues with two more Amendments that deal with the rights of the accused –including perhaps the most famous of all, the Fifth Amendment.
