Stamp of the Day

May 2020

Bleeding Kansas and the Long National Debate (and Silence) About Race

Today brings yet another stamp marking an historic milestone that relates (in less-than-visible -ways) to this week’s horrific events. In this case it’s a 3-cent stamp issued on May 31, 1954 to mark the 100-year anniversary of the creation of the Kansas Territory. Acquired by the US in 1903 as part of the Louisiana Purchase, […]

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Why Did the Post Office Honor Confederate War Veterans?

A bizarre and troubling stamp honoring the group behind many controversial monuments honoring the leaders of the Confederacy is today’s #stampoftheday. Issued in 1951, the 3-cent stamp commemorates the final reunion of last gathering of the United Confederate Veterans – that is the last surviving soldiers who fought to preserve slavery in the United States.

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All Hell Broke Loose When the Post Office Lost One of Robert E. Lee’s Stars

Today, the day after Memorial Day, the #stampoftheday offering consists of two stamps from 1937, honoring U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy. The last in a series of ten stamps honoring America’s military heroes, these were the only stamps in the series that didn’t feature notable soldiers or sailors. The

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“Science Finds, Industry Applies, [and] Man Adapts” at Chicago’s Century of Progress

Chicago’s 1933 Century of Progress Exposition, which opened is the subject of the #stampoftheday for Monday, May 25. Held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its incorporation as a village, the exposition was organized by a non-profit corporation and held on 427 acres of newly reclaimed land along the shore of Lake Michigan, from 12th

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Abraham Lincoln is the Only US President to Receive a Patent

Today’s #stampoftheday features Abraham Lincoln, who on May 22, 1849 received a patent for “Buoying Vessels Over Shoals,” via a system of waterproof fabric compartments that could be inflated when needed to help ships move over obstacles such as the sandbars that he knew from experience made it difficult to move cargo from Illinois down

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