Tag Archive for ‘Civil War’
“The Blood and Sweat Behind Labor Day” (CNN.com)
“To most Americans, the first Monday in September means a three-day weekend and the last hurrah of summer, a final outing at the shore before school begins, a family picnic.
But Labor Day was born in a time when work was no picnic. As America was moving from farms to factories in the Industrial Age, there was a long, violent, often-deadly struggle for fundamental workers’ rights, a struggle that in many ways was America’s “other civil war.”
Don’t Know Much About the 19th Amendment
Ninety-one years ago, on AUGUST 18, 1920, Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment, giving it the needed number of states to become part of the U.S. Constitution. Finally, all American women could enjoy the basic right of citizenship. It was a victory in a long struggle for “suffrage” fought by the “Suffragists.” Who were the [...]
“Is there hope for America in era of broken trust?”
We are in an era of broken trust. The deep divisions in Washington, evident most recently in the wrangling over the debt ceiling, drove this home. Opinion polls in the wake of the debate confirmed the worst news for the Beltway Crowd: Confidence in Congress has plunged to an all-time low.
America’s “Other” Independence Day
America’s birthday is fast approaching. But let’s not wait for July 4th to light the fireworks. There is another Independence Day on the horizon. Juneteenth falls on June 19 each year. It is a holiday whose history was hidden for much of the last century. But as the nation now observes the 150th anniversary of the Civil War’s onset, it is a holiday worth recognizing
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Juneteenth-Our-Other-Independence-Day.html#ixzz1PXGpVxj8
“Beam me IN, Scotty” –Library Visits with Author Kenneth C. Davis
AN OPEN LETTER TO LIBRARIANS— “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 to visit libraries, bookstores, museums, schools and librarian conferences to share my love for history, geography and all the subjects [...]
Don’t Know Much About® John Brown
Abolitionist martyr? Or terrorist? Born on May 9, 1800, John Brown has always posed that awkward question in American history. I am quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. –John Brown at his execution (November 2, 1859) Viewed through history as a lunatic, psychotic, [...]
Teachers–Join the Conversation
On Tuesday May 17 at 4 PM (Eastern Time), I will be participating in my first webinar via the National Council for the Social Studies. Register here “Bestselling author Ken Davis invites teachers to join in an interactive discussion about teaching American History in more exciting ways. Davis, known for his down-to-earth, non-academic style, [...]
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® “His Accidency,” John Tyler
It is quite possible that all you know about the 10th President, John Tyler, is that he is the hind-part of a memorable campaign slogan: Tippecanoe and Tyler too! John Tyler was born this day, March 29, in 1790, at Greenway, a James River plantation in Charles City County, Virginia, between Richmond and Williamsburg. The [...]
