Happy birthday, Alexander Hamilton! Given all the attention he’s gotten in recent years, I don’t think I can add much to the already rich narratives about Hamilton and his meaning for the 21st century. But I’ll try. As the images of today’s #stampoftheday show, Hamilton – who was an advocate of a strong national government, […]
My, How Alexander Comes and Goes on US Postage Stamps Read More »
If you’re going to wrestle with the weight of American history, Sam Houston is a good place to start. The namesake of the nation’s fourth most populous city, Houston – who is pictured on today’s #stampoftheday, a 5-cent stamp issued on January 10, 1964 – was a key leaders in the decades before the Civil
Sam Houston: A Texas-Sized Hero with Texas-Sized Flaws Read More »
For decades, I’ve wondered (some, but not a lot) about the name of the Charter Oaks Bridge in Hartford, Connecticut While that’s due in part to my penchant for historical odds and ends, it’s also due to the fact that I’ve been travelling over that bridge for decades. In the late 1970s, I assume I
What is a Charter Oak and What’s it Doing in Connecticut? Read More »
It is sobering to realize that when he gave the nation’s first-ever State of the Union address on January 8, 1790, George Washington offered 1,089 words, about as many as I used yesterday to discuss Millard Fillmore, the remarkably undistinguished 13th president of the United States. To honor his brevity and wisdom, today’s #stampoftheday is
The Succinct Eloquence of George Washington Read More »
Today’s #stampoftheday tells the story of an ambitious, xenophobic New Yorker connected with popular conspiracy theories who unexpectedly became president and then turns out to be one of the worst presidents in US history. The president in question is Millard Fillmore, who was born on January 7, 1800 and is pictured on a 13-cent stamp
Millard Fillmore and the Race to Be America’s Worst President Read More »
Today, when violent right-wing fascists have attacked the US Capital, I find it heartening to see that on January 6, 1941, at a time when the Nazis and other fascists controlled most of Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, used his State of the Union address to make a full-throated defense of democracy and freedom. Given
This is What a President Sounds Like: Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms Speech Read More »
“Peanuts. He did something, probably a lot of somethings, with peanuts.” That, Gene Demby wrote on NPR’s “Code Switch” blog in 2014 was “basically the response I got when I asked people – my friends, folks on Twitter – what they knew about George Washington Carver.” “The details were hazy,” he added. “But folks remembered
George Washington Carver: He’s the Peanut Guy, Right? Read More »
Somewhat amazingly, today’s #stampoftheday honors an organization that reportedly has spent more than $1 million to boost David Perdue’s reelection campaign. The organization is the American Bankers’ Association (ABA), which represents entities that hold over 95 percent of the $13.5 trillion in assets held by US banks, and employ over 2 million people. In addition
What’s the True Price of a Stamp Honoring the American Bankers’ Association Read More »
In the fall of 2015 and spring of 2016, when I regularly showered Harvard’s Hemenway Gymnasium after biking to work, I thought surprisingly often about Senator Ted Cruz, who graduated from Harvard Law School, which surrounds three side of the gym. For some reason, I was obsessed by the thought that Cruz, a particularly distasteful
Alaska Became a State and Lisa Murkowski Became a Statewoman Read More »
Do kids still learn about Betsy Ross and the first American flag? When I was a kid, I learned that Betsy Ross, a woman in Philadelphia, made the first American flag. I don’t recall learning how she came to have that job or how we knew that she carried it out. I just knew it
Everthing You Know About Betsy Ross Might Not Be True Read More »