Category: History

Profiles in History: J.N. Reynolds: Obscurely Born for Greatness

J. N. Reynolds (1799–1858) was born into obscurity. The date of his birth is rather obscure as well. He was born sometime in the fall of 1799 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. There is even uncertainty if the “J” in his initials stands for Jeremiah or James. His father died a few years after his birth, leaving…


Warren G. Harding: Is One of Our Worst Presidents Really One of Our Best?

What does it take to be considered a successful president? According to the historians who vote in the most well-known presidential rankings list, C-SPAN’s Presidential Historians Survey, it seems to be a mixed bag. Indeed, the rankings seem to have less to do with what a president did or didn’t do during their time, and…


Book Review: ‘Field of Corpses: Arthur St. Clair and the Death of an American Army’

When it comes to the Indian Wars, there are names that are familiar to us, like Apache, Comanche, and Cherokee, as well as battles, like Custer’s Last Stand, Battle of Wounded Knee, and Battle of theLittle Bighorn. Less familiar may be the Miamis, the powerful Ohio tribe, and the Battle of theWabash. In his new…


Profiles in History: William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison has gone down in the history books as being one of the first major leaders in the abolition movement of the 19th century. Although his opinions and anti-slavery views were very unpopular during that time, Garrison stood by his beliefs that all men are equal until his final days. Garrison became most…


Cartoonist of World War II: Bill Mauldin

Bill Mauldin once said, “Humor is really laughing off a hurt, grinning at misery.” Increasingly, awareness heightens that few of the 16 million who served during World War II are still living. At least a half dozen wars have occurred since Japan surrendered in 1945, but some surviving veterans recall details as if they happened…


William Penn’s Quaker Colony: Pennsylvania

William Penn became famous for founding the English province of Pennsylvania in the 1600s, which many call America’s original melting pot society. Penn stood out in American history for several things that he did differently than most colonists, including his unique way of dealing with Native American tribes. Penn was also known to be a champion…


Gateway to the West: Eero Saarinen and the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

The Gateway Arch majestically dominates the skyline of St. Louis, Missouri, and has come to symbolize the great city in the heartland of America. Reflecting St. Louis’s role in the nation’s westward expansion, the monument was constructed to memorialize the few hearty souls that set out to explore a new frontier. Thomas Jefferson sent his…


Profiles in History: Henry Knox: War by the Book

When Henry Knox (1750 –1806) was a child, his father left for the West Indies in search of financial stability. His career as shipbuilder and family provider would come to an end with his untimely death. His wife and ten children would be left without a father and would have to toil on their own to…


George C. Marshall: A Man of Duty, Honor, and Humility

Fans of the movie “Saving Private Ryan” will recollect the scene where General George C. Marshall, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, orders a search-and-rescue mission for a paratrooper in Normandy whose three brothers were killed that week in combat. George Marshall is no longer a household name in the country to which he gave a…


Marcus Aurelius: How to Lead Responsibly

“If a man were called to fix the period in the history of the world, during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus.” So writes Edward Gibbon near the beginning of his…