Madison and State Legislatures

James Madison observed following Shays’s Rebellion in 1786: “It is said that…a great proportion of the offenders choose rather to risk the consequences of their treason, than to submit to the conditions annexed to the amnesty; that they not only appear openly on public occasions, but distinguish themselves by badges of their character; and that

Madison and Party

The current political parties are trying to harness the power of the disinterested masses by stoking fears and passions rooted in volatile issues like immigration and the culture wars. Both parties want to maintain a majority and implement policy. Neither side has been given such a mandate by the people. Any minority with greater than

Pearl Harbor Hero

Mess Attendant Third Class, Doris Miller was awarded the Navy Cross Citation for heroism displayed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the first black sailor to receive the honor. CITATION: “For distinguished devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard for his own personal safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl

Grant, Grant, The Tanner’s Son…

Originally posted on Presidential History Blog:
Held his nose and away he run… The quintessential Ulysses S. Grant Jesse Grant, Tanner Jesse Root Grant (1794-1873) was Pennsylvania-born, but migrated to southern Ohio as a small child. He had a decent education for his time and station in life, but possessed a strong desire to get…

November 30, 1782: Preliminary Articles of Peace

Originally posted on Almost Chosen People:
? Complete victory for the US is the only way to interpret the preliminary articles of peace signed on November 30, 1782 that would be embodied in the Treaty of Paris in 1783.  American independence was recognized, American granted a huge territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi, Americans…

Thanksgiving Proclamation

Washington, D.C.October 3, 1863 By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation. The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come,

Eat Turkey- Be Thankful

Spare us your phony indignation over the Thanksgiving holiday… Stop posting the painfully naive memes about American Indians being killed or robbed by the Pilgrims- cease with the historically ignorant platitudes about rightful ownership and true “Native Americans.”   You are only showing your ignorance of history; but in addition, on full display is your gullibility. 

Kennedy and Vietnam

Kennedy wanted to end the Vietnam war.   Conspiracy theorists on both sides point to National Security Memo #263 as the smoking gun in Kennedy’s secret plan to get our troops out of Vietnam; and, also Memo #273 as proof the warmonger Johnson wanted to escalate the war.  Both accounts are demonstrably false.  Memo #263 simply

Finest Two Minutes

Lincoln thought he failed November 19, 1863…  obligatory applause from a damp crowd in Gettysburg offered him little consolation.  Lincoln had just followed a masterful two-hour speech from America’s greatest orator, Edward Everett.  The President sat down in his seat and commented to his friend, Ward Lamon, that the speech wouldn’t “scour” (would fail to clear

Abraham Lincoln’s Will

Originally posted on Almost Chosen People:
? He didn’t have one, which is curious considering that Lincoln had been an attorney for almost a quarter of a century prior to being elected President.  Mary Lincoln called upon his friend Supreme Court Justice David Davis to act as administrator of the Estate, which he did, charging…