Remembering Rose O’Neal Greenhow, Civil War Confederate Spy
Mrs. Rose Greenhow portrait, circa 1855-1865. Brady-Handy photograph collection, Library of Congress The Civil War produced a war machine that had never been thought possible in the early decades of...
ELIZABETH VAN LEW: Richmond’s Defiant Spymaster in the Heart of the Confederacy
In the divided world of Civil War Richmond, where loyalty to the Confederacy was expected and dissent was dangerous, one woman quietly built one of the most effective espionage networks of the entire...
The Proclamation to the People of the Territory of Arizona: August 1, 1861
After the expansion of the New Mexico Territory in 1853, the fate of the nearby Arizona Territory was in question. In 1856, a petition was presented to the U.S. Congress requesting organization of...
The Transcontinental Telegraph: A New Era of Connection
When the transcontinental telegraph was completed on October 24, 1861, it did more than replace the Pony Express — it reshaped how a nation communicated. For nonprofits today, its story offers a...
Louis McLane and the Early Rise of Wells Fargo
When people think of Wells Fargo, images of stagecoaches, gold shipments, and the rugged American West usually come to mind. What’s less known is the role played by Louis McLane, a...
February 8, 1887: The Infamous Dawes Act Becomes Law, Targeting Native-American Reservations for Extinction
The Dawes Act We’ve written a number of stories about the slow and steady erosion of Native-American tribal lands in the 19th century due to the encroachments of white settlers—the natural...
Remembering Grenville Dodge
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...
December 2, 1823: The “Monroe Doctrine” Is Announced, Charting the Course of Future American Foreign Policy
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,...
Remembering James “Paddy” Graydon
Few Civil War officers were more colorful than Captain James (Paddy) Graydon. He was a hard drinking, daring and unconventional Union captain with a short fuse, particularly remembered for his...
Remembering Tecumseh
When people hear the name “Tecumseh,” most think of Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman. Where did he get that name? Sherman’s middle name was taken from one of the greatest...
