Civics
History of the 19th Amendment: Women’s Right to Vote, 106 Years Ago
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF THE 19TH AMENDMENT: WOMEN’S RIGHT TO VOTE ver a hundred years ago, on August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted. This prohibited the federal and state governments from denying citizens of the United States the right to vote on the basis of sex. Effectively, this meant that the…
Read MoreIs America a Christian Country?
Reading Time: 9 minutesIS AMERICA A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY? n response to a recent article I published, one of my readers asked me this question: “Is America a Christian country?” My students have asked me this question often over the years. It usually takes me several lessons to lay the historical foundation to address the question. The answer is complex,…
Read MoreHistory of the American Experiment: A Democracy or A Republic?
Reading Time: 8 minutesHISTORY OF THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT: A DEMOCRACY OR A REPUBLIC? Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial ur quarter-millennium experiment with non-monarchical self-government, now 250 years old, remains singular in history. See my previous article on the American uniqueness compared to other nations throughout history. Congress had authorized George Washington to command…
Read MoreHistory of Independence Day: Was the Declaration of Independence really signed on July 4, 1776?
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE DAY Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version [In my previous article, I wrote about Thomas Jefferson, a man of paradox: liberty-loving slaveholder, Indian-loving relocationist, publicly frugal and privately bankrupt, a constitutional conservative who bought the Louisiana Territory in 1803.] ndependence Day, also known as…
Read MoreHistory of the 4th of July: Thomas Jefferson
Reading Time: 7 minutesHISTORY OF THE 4th OF JULY: THOMAS JEFFERSON Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version [In my previous article, I wrote about John Adams, the first Vice President of the United States under George Washington, the second President of the United States, the first resident of the White House,…
Read MoreHistory of John Adams
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF THE 4TH OF JULY: JOHN ADAMS Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version [In my previous article, I discussed Ben Franklin, the most multidimensional Founding Father, a self-made gentleman-scientist who was the most famous American in Europe] efore John Adams became the first Vice President of the…
Read MoreHistory of Ben Franklin: The Original Founding Father?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version [In my previous article, I discussed Alexander Hamilton, who founded America’s first political party, the Federalist Party.] e know this polymath as a writer, publisher, printer, merchant, scientist, moral philosopher, international diplomat, and inventor. He invented the…
Read MoreHistory of Alexander Hamilton
Reading Time: 8 minutesHISTORY OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON: FIRST SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial [In my previous article, I discussed the life and career of General George Washington. Today’s Founding Father served as his aide-de-camp during the Revolutionary War and was a close friend of the future president.] lexander…
Read MoreHistory of George Washington: Father of the Nation
Reading Time: 8 minutesHISTORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON: FATHER OF THE NATION Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial [In my previous article, I discussed how the Founding Father John Witherspoon, immersed in both the Enlightenment and Presbyterian Christianity, was a professor and college president. Today’s Founding Father never went to college, but had a different kind…
Read MoreAmerican Revolution: Reason and Religion
Reading Time: 5 minutesAmerican Revolution – Reason and Religion Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version [In my previous article, I discussed how America’s experiment in self-government has been unique across 250 years.] wo waves propelled the 13 colonies into the prospect of independence from England and a call to write…
Read MoreHistory of America: 250 Years
Reading Time: 6 minutesHISTORY OF AMERICA: 250 YEARS Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version he United States of America celebrates its 250th birthday this year… or at least the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It should be noted that the Declaration was essentially a “bill of divorcement” from Great…
Read MoreHistory of Woman Suffrage Procession: March 3, 1913
Reading Time: 3 minutesHistory of Woman Suffrage: March 3, 1913 n March 3, 1913, the day before Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as President of the United States, thousands of women marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., as part of the Woman Suffrage Procession. This was done: “in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of…
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