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Entries in American History (33)

Monday
Jan212013

Video of the Day: The Presidents- Washington to Monroe 1789-1825

 

 

President Obama was sworn into office on Sunday just before noon, officially beginning another four-year term. “I did it,” Obama said to the first lady, new bangs and all and his two daughters Sasha and Malia.  Meet America'f first five presidents

 

America’s 44th president is now a lame-duck president.

 

Sunday
Jan202013

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

―  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

OPENING LYRICS to this song:

One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come here to justify
One man to overthrow
In the name of love!
One man in the name of love
In the name of love!... Full lyrics here

 

 

Tuesday, January 21 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, now known as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.

Here is U2 performing “In The Name Of Love,” A tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. from the group's album " “The Unforgettable Fire.”

More from John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute.

 

 

Friday
Jan182013

Founding Fathers’ Quotes You Should Know

We’re particularly fond of Benjamin Franklin’s quotes at the beginning of this video.

Resource: "When governments fear the people, there is liberty..."

 

Monday
Jan142013

Video of the Day: Spielberg's “Lincoln” leads Oscar race with 12 Nominations

Steven Spielberg's epic film about our 16th president and his battle to end slavery garnered plenty of votes for the 85th Academy Award and topped all other films with a total of 12 nominations, including best picture.

 

Here are show times at Franklin’s Marcus Showtime Cinema. 

SUPPORT FRANKLIN BUSINESSES

RELATED MATERIAL

 

 

 

 

Monday
Jan142013

The Founders' Key

Reviving America's Founding Principles

This is an outstanding, one-hour video lecture advocating limited representative government presented  by Hillsdale College president Dr. Larry P. Arnn and serves as a companion video to Arnn’s book “The Founders' Key” by Dr. Larry Arn, president, Hillsdale College.  W strongly recommend "The Founders' Key" to all our readers.

 

RELATED MATERIAL

 

Sen. Graham warns Obama to ‘tread lightly’ on gun-control measures (The Hill)

 

 

Friday
Jan112013

Video of the Day: A Look at the FX in HBO’s Mini Series “John Adams”

Video of the Day: A Look at the FX in HBO’s Mini Series “John Adams.”

Ceck out this FX feature from  HBO’s miniseries "John Adams.”

Pretty amazing stuff!

 

Thursday
Jan102013

Lucy and Norm: An Honor Flight Love Story

We met World War II veteran Lucy Cohn on an Honor Flight trip in May 2011. That experience had a profound experience on us and I think it will make an impression on you, too. Her story is here—Clay Broga –producer , “Honor Flight”

This is what Honor Flight is all about.  One more thing.

 

Honor Flight movie returns to Wisconsin!

 

Monday
Jan072013

Georgetown Law Professor Elaborates on his ‘Downright Evil’ Constitution Claim

IMAGE

The “Daily Caller” wrote on January 4, 2013 that  

Last week in a New York Times op-ed, Georgetown Law professor Louis Michael Seidman made the argument that the U.S. Constitution was the document that has made our nation broken with it’s “archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil provisions.”  Read full story…

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constitution

 

prof Seidman’s a real “ genius” and except for the “evil” part, he is correct.  This is the Merriam-Webster definition of “constitution:”

Monday
Jan072013

This Day in History: First U.S. Presidential Election Held

 

On this day in 1789, America's first presidential election is held. Voters cast ballots to choose state electors.

 

 

 Only white men who owned property were allowed to vote. As expected, George Washington won the election—John Adams came in second and became the first vice president  and was sworn into office on April 30, 1789.  Here is how Washington’s swearing in in was depicted in the HBO mini-series “John Adams”

 

 

Friday
Dec142012

The Men Who Built America: Andrew Carnegie, the Richest Man in the World

“You didn’t build that”

 

In our ongoing tibute to the men that built America, today we spotlight Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), an American industrialist who assembled a fortune in the steel industry and then became a major philanthropist. Carnegie worked in a Pittsburgh cotton factory as a boy before rising to the position of division superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859.

Fond of saying "The man who dies rich, dies disgraced," Through self-dtermination Carnegie aquired a fortune, and then gave it away--Millions of dollars went to support education, a pension plan for teachers, and the cause of world peace. Most famous as a benefactor of libraries, he funded nearly 3,000 around the world. He preached the obligation of the wealthy to return their money to the societies where they made it—then added, says Carnegie's biographer, Joseph Frazier Wall, "a very revealing sentence. He wrote, 'and besides, it provides a refuge from self-questioning.’”

 

“The Richest Man in the World: Andrew Carnegie,” produced by Austin Hoyt and narrated by David Ogden Stiers, follows Carnegie's life from his impoverished origins in Dunfermline, Scotland, through his business career where he was on the cutting edge of the industrial revolution in telegraphy, railroads, and finally, steel. "The Richest Man in the World" traces the roots of Carnegie's philanthropy to his idealistic, egalitarian father, a skilled weaver displaced by the Industrial Revolution. But Carnegie's mother, Margaret, was a more dominant force in his life. Determined to overcome the shame of poverty and "get to the top," the frugal Margaret often advised young Andrew, "Look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves." He lived with her until she died, and only then married, at age 51.

Carnegie's daughter, Margaret Carnegie Miller, publicly remembered her father as "a kindly, friendly, man. He always wanted to be remembered as one who loved his fellow men." In private, her thoughts were harsher. "Tell his life like it was," she urged his biographer. "I'm sick of the Santa Claus stuff."

Although Carnegie saw himself as a friend of the working man," says Hoyt, "the lives of his workers were not fairy tales where everything turns out all right." According to business historian Harold Livesay, "By the standards of his time, Carnegie does not stand out as a particularly ruthless businessman. But certainly by the standards of ethics and conduct to which we would like to hold businessmen today, he indeed operated extremely ruthlessly."

 

Wednesday
Dec122012

Hillsdale College History 101: "The Hebrew Legacy"

Welcome to part 2 of Hillsdale College’s 10-part lecture series: History 101: Western Heritage.

OVERVIEW

The Hebrew people are the source of a unique but vital contribution to our Western heritage.  Rather than bequeathing to their cultural heirs magnificent innovations in art, architecture, political theory, and public administration as have the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans, it is the treasure of sacred literature which constitutes the Hebrew legacy.  The tradition of a monotheistic religion upon which Christianity would build, and out of which the modern world would emerge, has arguably served as the wellspring of Western civilization.  If you missed Part 1 in this 10-part series, it can be found here.

ABOUT THE LECTURER

 

Mark Kalthoff is Professor of History and holds the Henry Salvatori Chair of History and Traditional Values at Hillsdale College where he has taught since 1989.

He completed his undergraduate study at Hillsdale College, where he majored in history, biology, and mathematics and graduated summa cum laude and class salutatorian in 1984. Dr. Kalthoff then earned the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in the History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University, specializing in the historical relations between science and religion.

STUDY GUIDE—“The Hebrew Legacy"

 

Next Wednesda, December19, we will present part 3:  “The Greek Miracle.”

Wednesday
Dec122012

Civil War 150: Mathew Brady Father of Photojournalism

On Wednesday, December 5, 2012 we launched our tribute to the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War.

Mathew B. Brady (1822 - 1896) was a photographer, and became famous when he became the first American to shoot and document a war.

Brady’s 3,500 photographs taken during the Civil War provided the very first such record of any American war.

Brady’s pictures brought the real meaning of the fighting to the families at home. He took pictures of battles, of the wounded and the dying, of victories and defeats.

Prior to the Civil War Brady was best known for his portraits of presidents, celebrities, historic figures.  History would remember him best for his photos  of the American Civil War.

RELATED STORY

 

Tuesday
Dec112012

2012 Christmas Gift Idea: Help Save Civil War Battlefields

To heck with the spotted Owl.   What about our nation’s historical sights?  We have what we believe is a great gift idea for the history buff on your Christmas list, especially it they are Civil War history buff.  According to The Civil War Trust, nearly 20 percent of America's Civil War battlefields have already been destroyed.  Help save our history with a donation to Civil War Preservation Trust.

Civil War Preservation Trust  holds a  Charity Navigator 4-Star Rating.

Saturday
Dec082012

Fly Me To The Moon

Former astronauts recount their experience in this Fox Reports special airing Sunday, December 9 at 8:00PM local time.

 

Friday
Dec072012

Pearl Harbor—24 Hours After

Today is the 71st anniversary of Japan's attack on Hickham Ford Island surrounding  Pearl Harbor; drawing America into WWII.  To comemorate this year's anniversary we are presenting “Pearl Harbor: 24 Hours After,” examining  the pivotal events that occurred after President Roosevelt received the call that Pearl Harbor had been attacked on December 7, 1941.  This History Channel HD documentary is approximately 90 minutes long.

Friday
Dec072012

This Day in History: United States attacked By Japan at Pearl Harbor

If you remember reading this yesterday, you're not losing your mind,  But I may be losing mine.  I mistakenly published it on December 6.

* * *

The surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II.

Although war was being wagged in Europe since September 1939 and in the Far East since the Japanese invasion of China in 1937.  Holding fast to neutrality, the United States had stayed out of both conflicts.  A great deal of aid had been provided to Great Britain, in spite of a policy of declared American neutrality, but the United States would not consider declaring war unless there was a "deliberate provocation."   As in “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan…

 

The surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, by the Japanese precipitated the entry of the United States into World War II. The attack brought to a head a decade of worsening relations between the United States and Japan. Japan’s invasion of China in 1937, its subsequent alliance with the Axis powers (Germany and Italy) in 1940, and its occupation of French Indochina in July 1941 prompted the United States to respond that same month by freezing Japanese assets in the United States and declaring an embargo on petroleum shipments and other and other goods.

In addition to commemorating the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor; Yesterday, December 6,  Americans also celebrated the 147th anniversary (1865) of the ratification of the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery in the United States.

 

 

 RELATED STORIES

 

 

Wednesday
Dec052012

The 150th anniversary of the American Civil War

 

Beginning today we will remedy our neglect in covering the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War,  one of the most defining events in our nation's history.

There are over 70 parks in the National Park System which have resources that are related to the history of the Civil War and provide opportunities to tour the real places where this struggle occurred nearly 150 years ago.

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln warned that

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."

But at the time, most Americans were confident that the forces of cohesion in the young republic would continue to triumph over the forces of division.

General Ulysses S. Grant came to the attention of President Lincoln and the nation when in February 1862 Grant captured two Confederate garrisons on the Tennessee River, Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. "U. S." Grant got the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant after he demanded unconditional surrender from the Confederate commander of Fort Donelson. When his superior in the West, General Henry W. Halleck, was transferred to Washington that summer, Grant took over command of the Union Army along the Mississippi River and began his career trajectory to command of the entire Union army in 1864.

Considered among the greatest of military memoirs, these two volumes were an immediate bestseller. With the help of his publisher, Mark Twain, Grant wrote to the last month of his life to leave a legacy for his family after being defrauded a year earlier of his estate.

 

Grant wrote his memoir out of financial necessity as a dying man; he completed the manuscript within days of his death.

 

 

RELATED MEDIA

 

 

 

Wednesday
Nov212012

The First Thanksgiving Celebration

The English colonists we call Pilgrims celebrated days of thanksgiving as part of their religion. But these were days of prayer, not days of feasting.

Our national holiday really stems from the feast held in the autumn of 1621 by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe to celebrate the colony's first successful harvest.  It's a reasonable rendition of the Pilgrim and Indian Thanksgiving history might have looked like.

Thursday
Nov152012

2012 CHRITMAS GIFT IDEA: For the Conservative on Your Christmas List

Judge Andrew P. Napolitano’s latest book “Theodore and Woodrow: How Two American Presidents Destroyed Constitutional Freedom”  “Two American Presidents” is a harsh and revealing political exposé of two beloved presidents.

Napolitano reveals how Teddy Roosevelt, a bully, and Woodrow Wilson, a constitutional scholar, each pushed aside the Constitution's restrictions on the federal government and used it as an instrument to redistribute wealth, regulate personal behavior, and enrich the government. These two men and the Progressives who supported them have brought us, among other things: -the income tax -the Federal Reserve -compulsory, state-prescribed education -the destruction of state sovereignty -the rise of Jim Crow and military conscription -prohibition and war.

Napolitano reveals how Teddy Roosevelt, a bully, and Woodrow Wilson, a constitutional scholar, each pushed aside the Constitution's restrictions on the federal government and used it as an instrument to redistribute wealth, regulate personal behavior, and enrich the government. These two men and the 

Progressives who supported them have brought us, among other things: -the income tax -the Federal Reserve -compulsory, state-prescribed education -the destruction of state sovereignty -the rise of Jim Crow and military conscription -prohibition and war.

The Progressive Era witnessed the most dramatic peaceful shift of power from persons and from the states to a new and permanent federal bureaucracy in all of American history.

Monday
Nov052012

Thomas Jefferson's Wisdom Holds True Today

“To preserve ... independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude."

—Thomas Jefferson in letter to Samuel Kercheval, June 12, 1816