Like many of my generation, I learned that Robert E. Lee was special. Yes, we were taught that Lee fought for the Confederacy, which wanted to preserve slavery. But that uncomfortable fact was downplayed in favor of a narrative that instead highlighted both Lee's military prowess and his strength of character, particularly his efforts to …
Topic: Historical Figures & Events
Delving into the people and events that shaped history
While yesterday's stamp, which celebrated the Future Farmers of America, presented a bucolic picture of agricultural life, today's honors a man who played a key role in the mechanization of agricultural, a shift that in many respects fostered the decline of family farms and the industrialization of America. The honoree, who is pictured on a 3-cent …
Somewhat amazingly, today's stamp celebrates one of the most shameful episodes in American history. The 3-cent stamp issued on October 15, 1948 says "Indian Centennial" followed by a list of five tribes—Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole - and then at the bottom, the statement "The Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma." So apparently, this is a …
I ended yesterday's #stampoftheday post by asking "What were they thinking?" when they issued a stamp celebrating the forced relocation of Native Americans. Today, however, it's clear "what they were thinking" when the Post Office issued three "National Defense" stamps on October 16, 1940 (which is why the stamps are today's #stampoftheday). "They" - particularly President Franklin …
After a much needed heavy rain, today is a brilliant day here in New England. The trees are at their peak; the sky today was a brilliant blue; and the air tonight is clear but cold. It's beautiful but it's a poignant beauty because of the cooler temperatures, the soon-to-fall leaves, and the increasingly short …
What do you think of when you read the phrase "The Battle of White Plains"? While I know it's juvenile and also snarky, I think of a fight that involves a shopping mall, maybe two bargain hunters coming to blows at a Black Friday sale or, perhaps, over the last parking space in the (pre-COVID) holiday …
To paraphrase Freud, sometimes a stamp is just a stamp. In other words, I don't have a deeper meaning, family story, or strange connection for today's #stampoftheday, which is a 2-cent stamp issued on October 19, 1929 (ten days before the stock market crashed) celebrating the completion of a decades-long effort to improve navigation on …
Although my parents always voted (almost always, I think, for Democrats), they weren't political. They didn't work on campaigns, go to rallies or become involved in the civil rights or anti-war movements. And, with one exception, I never heard them speak highly of any national politician. The exception was Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic nominee for president …
Because today is the 75th anniversary of the day that the United Nations officially came into being, it's a good time to reflect on what the UN stood for when it was founded, what it stands for today, and what it, broadly defined, might be in the future. The UN's first 10 stamps, which were …