The history of the Jamestowne Colony has largely receded from our national consciousness, replaced by the story of the Pilgrims, the story of the American Revolution, and so forth. This year in particular, our 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence will take center stage—no argument there—with
On January 16, 1786, the State of Virginia enacted a ground-breaking piece of legislation known as the Act for Establishing Religious Freedom. The Virginia statute is noteworthy for the man who authored it: Thomas Jefferson. Reflecting its importance to Jefferson, his “Act for Establishing Religious Freedom” was one of only
For many Americans, the history of 17th Century New England conjures up images of hardy immigrants making their way across the ocean, taming nature, and bringing European cultural, social and religious values to the New World. A truer image would need to include disease, food shortages, religious intolerance, and—most relevant
The American Civil War produced a long list of generals who led men into battle, and in some cases became American heroes: Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Philip Sheridan come to mind, all of whom we’ve written about in the past. One Major General who’s received much less
One of the most tragic events at the Jamestowne Colony in its early years was the Massacre of 1622, in which many settlers lost their lives. One of them was George Thorpe, who had worked tirelessly since his arrival in Virginia in 1620 to establish a college at which the
While it was only one paragraph long, the Prohibitory Act of 1775 was a bombshell for the American colonists who were now at war with their mother country, Great Britain. In the Fall of 1775, Americans were still British citizens, and still owed their allegiance to King George III—at least
We’ve written before about some of the greatest Native-American warriors of the 19th century: Crazy Horse, Chief Joseph, and Quanah Parker, to name a few. Today we write about another of the great warriors of that era: Red Cloud, who died this day on December 10, 1909. During the Indian
Months after the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” kicked off the American Revolution in April 1775, a large number of colonists—a very large number– were still reluctant to declare independence from Great Britain, or to renounce their allegiance to the King of England, George III. Among those still hoping for
Handwritten text of Monroe’s State of the Union Address, Dec. 2, 1823 It was called the “Era of Good Feelings.” The first term of the presidency of James Monroe was a period of economic growth, western expansion, and infrastructure improvements, and President James Monroe became a revered figure in American
When the Pilgrims arrived at Cape Cod in the Fall of 1620, they were immediately faced with the task of starting a new colony in North America with only the barest of essentials to sustain them as winter approved. They lived at first in makeshift shelters in what Governor William
On November 24, 1807, one of the most famous Native-American warriors and political leaders of the 18th century died at the age of 64, after a life spent battling for the sovereignty of the Mohawk and Iroquois peoples, and fighting alongside the British Army against American “rebels” in the Revolutionary
How the Jay Treaty of 1794 Unleashed a National Debate Over American Trade and Commerce with Its Former Foe, Great Britain. In the decades following the end of the American Revolution in 1783, our nation’s political leaders grappled with a wide array of domestic and international issues that would define
In the first two decades of the 17th century, the Jamestowne Colony in Virginia was struggling. Settled in 1607, the Colony had experienced Indian attacks, famine, disease, and a host of other challenges. Yet, by 1619, the Colony was stabilizing, and with the help of its financial backers at the
During this Thanksgiving season, we commemorate the coming together of English settlers and Native-Americans at Plymouth Colony, for what historians have dubbed “The First Thanksgiving.” This signal event brought the first Plymouth settlers and their Native-American neighbors together to feast, following a harrowing year that witnessed the deaths of half
Americans almost always view the Civil War of 1861-65 as a war between North and South, and specifically between the anti-slave states of New England and the mid-Atlantic, and the slave states of the South. During the war itself, some of the fighting occurred in the western areas of the
Between 1865 and 1869, over 12,000 Chinese laborers were instrumental in building the Central Pacific Railroad through the Sierra Nevada mountains. Recruited largely from southern China, these workers fled poverty and unrest, arriving in California during and after the Gold Rush. Initially met with skepticism, they soon proved indispensable, comprising