Posts Tagged ‘Thomas Jefferson’
History 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 James Madison: Father of the Constitution
Reading Time: 7 minutesHISTORY OF JAMES MADISON Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial James Madison has been correctly called “the Father of the Constitution,” and one might think that the Constitution became active on July 5, 1776, but this is not how it happened. The American Constitution didn’t go into effect until almost a…
Read MoreHistory of the Midnight Justices: Who Appoints the Supreme Court?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF THE MIDNIGHT JUSTICES: WHO APPOINTS THE SUPREME COURT In the news recently, you’ve seen the topic of “court-packing” related to the U.S. Supreme Court. But is this a new thing, and what does it mean? Court-packing involves one branch of the government proposing to change the courts’ structure by either expanding or decreasing…
Read MoreHistory of Hamilton – The Musical
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF HAMILTON – THE MUSICAL Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Hamilton – The Musical is based on the 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, but does Hamilton – The Musical compare favorably to the actual history? How historically accurate is the recent Broadway blockbuster?
Read MoreHistory of the 4th of July: Thomas Jefferson
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF THE 4th OF JULY: THOMAS JEFFERSON Perhaps no one person is more associated with the 4th of July in American History than Thomas Jefferson, probably because it was his hand that penned the immortal Declaration of Independence. As my friend Clay Jenkinson — who has been portraying Jefferson for over 20 years —…
Read MoreHistory of Independence Day
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE DAY Independence Day, or the Fourth of July celebrates the adoption by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, of the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming the severance of the allegiance of the American colonies to Great Britain. It is the greatest secular holiday of the United States, observed in all the states,…
Read MoreHistory of the 4th of July: Thomas Jefferson
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF THE 4th OF JULY: THOMAS JEFFERSON Perhaps no one person is more associated with the 4th of July in American History than Thomas Jefferson, probably because it was his hand that penned the immortal Declaration of Independence. As my friend Clay Jenkinson — who has been portraying Jefferson for over 20 years —…
Read MoreHistory of Independence Day
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE DAY Independence Day, or the Fourth of July celebrates the adoption by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, of the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming the severance of the allegiance of the American colonies to Great Britain. It is the greatest secular holiday of the United States, observed in all the states,…
Read MoreHistory of Independence Day
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE DAY Independence Day, or the Fourth of July celebrates the adoption by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, of the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming the severance of the allegiance of the American colonies to Great Britain. It is the most significant secular holiday in the United States, observed in all the…
Read MoreHistory of Benjamin Franklin
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN As we celebrate the 300th birthday of this great American, we know him as a writer, publisher, merchant, scientist, moral philosopher, and inventor. Musically he invented the glass harmonica, but he also invented the Franklin stove, and started the first lending library and fire brigade in Philadelphia. He did experiments in…
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