On the 65th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education II: Implementing a Sweeping Change
This year’s high school seniors understandably feel cheated by the cancellation of graduation ceremonies and other rites of passage due to the coronavirus. Yet as I listen sympathetically, I find […]
Female Education in the Early Republic
Although May and June are often seen as the “end” of the school year in modern America, June of 1787 marked the beginning of the brief existence of the Young […]
1688: The Germantown Quakers Protest Slavery
While the seventeenth century is in the news again this week thanks to the 1619 project, we thought we would draw attention to the efforts of some early American Quakers […]
Beyond the Amistad: The antislavery legislative career of John Quincy Adams
On February 21st, 1848 Representative John Quincy Adams rose on the House floor to vote no on a resolution designed to celebrate the United States’ victory in the recent war […]
Happy 200th, Susan B. Anthony!
This Saturday, February 15, 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of woman’s rights advocate Susan B Anthony’s birth. Anthony is best known for promoting women’s rights and starting up the women’s […]
Loser Wins: William Jennings Bryan and the Legacy of Populism
History teachers rarely focus on the losers of presidential elections. Yet two men stand out as notable exceptions; Henry Clay and William Jennings Bryan. Both men were nominated for the […]
Why Should We Teach Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address?
On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered “a few appropriate remarks” at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The inspiring prose of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address […]
400th Anniversary of Landing of African Slaves at Jamestown
In late August 1619, John Rolfe tells us that the first enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia. These Africans had been captured from present-day Angola by Portuguese […]
Religion and Rhetoric in Times of War: The 75th Anniversary of D-Day
Religious Rhetoric at the Front Among other equipment for battle on D-Day, the invading troops brought printed copies of Dwight David Eisenhower’s stirring yet succinct “Message to the Allied Expeditionary […]
Segregated Public Schools Declared “Inherently Unequal”: Brown v. Board of Education
Today marks the 65th anniversary of a landmark Supreme Court decision mandating racial desegregation in public schools. Issued on May 17, 1954, the first of two decisions in Brown v. […]