In today’s political climate everyone is talking about how dysfunctional the federal government has become, and the way that harsh political rhetoric divides Republicans and Democrats and makes bipartisan solutions impossible. While this is undeniably true today, it was equally true of America’s political parties and politicians in the 1830s during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. In fact, some newspapers blamed the attempted assassination of President Jackson in 1835 on the severe criticism he had been receiving. read more...
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Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, was known for his toughness—both during warfare and in the political arena. As a military man, Jackson served with courage and tenacity in the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Creek War, and the First Seminole War. During the War of 1812 Jackson’s men admiringly called him “Old Hickory” because he was as tough and strong as a piece of that legendary wood. read more...
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Perhaps no state has had a more violent entry into the Union than Kansas. Caught up in the struggle over slavery that would soon explode into the American Civil War, Kansas was the battleground between pro- and anti-slavery forces for seven deadly years before the North and South took up arms against each other, earning Kansas Territory the nickname “Bleeding Kansas.” read more...
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When the space shuttle Challenger blasted off Jan. 28, 1986, carrying Christa McAuliffe on board—who was going to be the first teacher in space—thousands of students in classrooms all across the country watched the lift-off. For 73 exciting seconds the spacecraft roared upward—then without warning it suddenly exploded into a huge fireball, killing all seven crewmembers and leaving students and teachers stunned and shaken. read more...
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Nellie Bly, a daring young woman reporter from Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World newspaper, arrived safely in New York City on Jan. 25, 1890, having set a new record by traveling around the world in 72 days. Her feat is little remembered today, but in 1889-90 her race against another woman, Elizabeth Bisland of Cosmopolitan magazine, was big news. Newspapers covered the race starting the day it began, Nov. 14, 1889, and coverage only increased as they neared the finish line. read more...
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James Wilson Marshall, a foreman at John Sutter’s lumber mill near Coloma, California, was on the edge of the American River when he spotted something glittering in the sun on Jan. 24, 1848. When he brought the shiny flakes to his boss, Sutter ordered him to be quiet while they secretly tested the material. As Sutter feared, Marshall had found gold. The two men did not know it yet, but California’s fabled Gold Rush was about to explode, and California and the United States would change forever. read more...
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For Americans, the rest of the world, and most Japanese, World War II ended when Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender in a radio address to his people on Aug. 15, 1945. The formal surrender ceremony took place 18 days later, on September 2, in Tokyo Bay on the deck of the U.S. battleship Missouri. There were some isolated Japanese soldiers, however, cut off from communications and scattered on various Pacific islands, who did not know the war was over. Their surrender was to come years—even decades—later. read more...
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When Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female doctor in U.S. history, receiving her Medical Degree from Geneva Medical College on Jan. 23, 1849, it troubled many members of the press, medical establishment, and the general public. These critics worried about the implications of a female doctor, and vented their displeasure at “proprieties” being upset. Others, however, came forward to support Blackwell’s efforts and applaud her achievement. read more...
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Elizabeth Blackwell, an important figure in both the history of medicine and the women’s rights movement, achieved a historic triumph on Jan. 23, 1849, when she was awarded her Medical Degree by Geneva Medical College in New York. With that distinction she became the first woman doctor in U.S. history. She would go on to practice medicine, open the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, establish women’s medical schools in both England and the U.S., and write about the rights of women to be educated and to enter the medical profession. read more...
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Perhaps no other ruling in the long history of the U.S. Supreme Court has been as controversial and divisive as the Roe v. Wade decision of Jan. 22, 1973, that legalized abortion. Using the doctrine of judicial review first enacted by the Marshall Court in 1803, the Supreme Court decided that laws restricting a woman’s right to abortion were unconstitutional, ruling that such laws invaded a woman’s right to privacy as protected by the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. read more...
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I understand that when writing a blog, it’s necessary to show a picture and say a few words about yourself, so that people don’t think a nameless, faceless committee or advisory board is running the show. Here I am, a real person. My name is Tony Pettinato, and I live in Deerfield, Mass. I did my undergraduate studies in English at Oberlin College, my graduate work in Journalism at UC Berkeley, and have been a reporter for six newspapers. For the past fourteen years I have worked at NewsBank, six of those as a managing editor for the U.S. Congressional Serial Set project – NewsBank’s acclaimed effort that digitized and indexed twelve million pages of primary source documents – that gratified my lifelong interest in American history. And that led me to editing this history blog!
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