Something to think about on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War — As politically divided as the United States is today, it was worse in the mid-19th century, as the North-South conflict over slavery came to a head. Of course, that issue was only resolved through a long and bloody Civil War. Even today,
I was trying to think of something clever to write about today when something fell into my lap. USA Today’s website has a post on “five history lessons on products you use every day” — — The Surprising History of Toilet Paper (Have you ever wondered how the Greeks and Romans got by without paper?)
Teaching today has put me in the mood to post something historical — Railroads and the Civil War Some consider the American Civil War to be the first modern conflict. For example, it saw the first battle between ironclad warships, the first successful use of the submarine, warfare directed toward the civilian population (Sherman’s March
Last night I saw the play Pride and Prejudice at Wright State University. That got me to thinking about marriage. As part of my training to become a teacher, I read the book Marriage, a History for a Sociology course. It was a real eye-opener and one of the more interesting books I’ve ever read.
As a history nerd and aspiring writer, I can occasionally combine the two interests. One fascinating tidbit (at least to me) is the number of English kings who did not speak English. If this surprises you, recall what happened in 1066 — William of Normandy earned his nickname William the Conqueror by defeating Harold II at the
Recently I came across an interview with Taylor Branch, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, biographer. Published in the January 2015 issue of “Smithsonian” magazine, it discusses Dr. King’s true legacy. Branch makes an important case: “Look at the fall of the Berlin Wall, the fall of the whole Soviet Union, begun with nonviolent demonstrations in a
It is a fundamental principle of warfare: control the high ground and you have the advantage. Of course, the ultimate high ground is in the air. In the American Civil War, that meant balloons. Both the Union and Confederacy experimented with balloons, with the Union having more success, although “success” is a relative term in
