Secular
History of Christopher Columbus: Hero or Heel?
Reading Time: 7 minutesHISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS he man who sailed from Spain to discover America was neither Spanish nor did he actually discover America, at least not the North American mainland. But it is true that: In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue Where was he from, where did he go, who paid…
Read MoreHistory of October: The Pumpkin Spice Saga
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF OCTOBER: THE PUMPKIN SPICE SAGA ctober, the tenth month of the year in both the older Julian and the current Gregorian calendar, was the eighth month (Latin octo) in the ancient Roman calendar, but with the addition of January and February, it got bumped to Number 10. The way it actually played out…
Read MoreHistory of Talk Like a Pirate Day: Ahoy, Matey!
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY Podcast International Talk Like a Pirate Day began not in the Golden Age of Pirates in days of yore but in 2002. It is celebrated each year on September 19; although it originated in the United States, it is now observed internationally across the Seven Seas. The…
Read MoreHistory of Oktoberfest: Why Does it Start in September?
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF OKTOBERFEST Podcast hy does the famous German beer festival start in September if it’s called Oktoberfest? Officially, the beer festival begins on the third Saturday in September and lasts for sixteen to eighteen days, running through early October. This year, Oktoberfest runs from September 19 to October 4. What is the backstory of…
Read MoreHistory of 9/11, Twenty-five Years Ago: Patriot Day
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF PATRIOT DAY: 9/11 Twenty-five Years Ago Podcast n 9/11, September 11, 2001, twenty-five years ago, more Americans were killed on American soil in one day than in any attack since Pearl Harbor in 1941. A series of terrorist airplane hijacking attacks occurred in New York City, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon… and the world…
Read MoreHistory of Labor Day: What’s Work Got To Do With It?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF LABOR DAY abor Day is the day we celebrate the process our mothers went through to deliver us at birth. Sorry, wrong holiday; Labor Day in the U.S. is the day we celebrate the achievements of the American labor movement. Because Labor Day is always observed on the first Monday in September, the…
Read MoreHistory of the California Gold Rush: How It Created the State
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald reported news of the California Gold Rush along the American East Coast. It was not new news to those further West, as the gold rush had started in January and was publicized in San Francisco in March. However, the New York…
Read MoreHistory of August: Who Is It Named After?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF AUGUST hat’s in a name? The name of this month was not always August; previously, the Romans referred to it as Sextilis. Because the calendar then started in March, this was the sixth month. This was back in the days of Romulus in 753 B.C., when there were originally ten months (… Sept,…
Read MoreHistory of Bastille Day: Its Relation to the French Revolution
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF BASTILLE DAY ach year on July 14, Bastille Day commemorates the Storming of the Bastille in Paris in 1789, an important date in the French Revolution. Also known as French National Day, it features feasting, fireworks, public dancing, and an address by the French President. However, the center of this celebration is 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 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,…
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