Military uniforms serve a multifaceted purpose for the people who wear them: They forge a feeling of cohesion and present a unified front in battle, while also leaving room for individual identification of rank and accomplishments by way of specific clothing, insignias, and medals. While few would dispute the importance of uniforms being, well, uniform, military dress rarely remains constant for long. Changing technology, strategy, and fashion all dictate the regular reevaluation and updating...| History Facts
On the evening of November 2, 1948, America’s newsrooms confidently prepared for what seemed inevitable: Thomas E. Dewey’s victory over Harry S. Truman in the U.S. presidential election. Radio commentators and pollsters had spent weeks predicting the Republican governor’s triumph. The media’s certainty was so complete that some newspapers even went to press before final results were tallied, and on November 3, the Chicago Daily Tribune famously ran with the headline “DEWEY DEFEATS T...| History Facts
When you think of the origins of American suburbia, the name Levittown may spring to mind. A symbol of post-World War II optimism and domestic comfort, this Long Island development, constructed between 1947 and 1951, is often credited as America’s first modern suburb. Yet Levittown wasn’t technically the first suburb in U.S. history — though as the first mass-produced, federally supported suburban development in the country, it did shape a new national lifestyle — and with it, a new c...| History Facts
America has had 50 vice presidents, 15 of whom went on to become president. Only four of them were elected president while still serving as veep, however: John Adams (1796), Thomas Jefferson (1800), Martin Van Buren (1836), and George H.W. Bush (1988). Several other sitting vice presidents have run for the highest office in the land but were unsuccessful, including Richard Nixon in 1960, Hubert Humphrey in 1968, and Al Gore in 2000. So while the vice presidency stands as perhaps the single be...| History Facts
In February 1836, an outnumbered band of Texan independence fighters faced a Mexican army in what would become one of the most storied conflicts in American history: the Battle of the Alamo. Although they lost the battle, the Texan fighters’ final stand became a historic symbol of resistance and freedom, immortalized in the famous battle cry, “Remember the Alamo!” Here’s a look back at why this fascinating battle was important — militarily, politically, and symbolically. Rising Tens...| History Facts
One of the Boston-based public radio superstation’s opinion section editors saw the American Nations model reflected in Europe| Nationhood Lab
One of the Boston-based public radio superstation’s opinion section editors saw the American Nations model reflected in Europe| Nationhood Lab
One of the Boston-based public radio superstation’s opinion section editors saw the American Nations model reflected in Europe| Nationhood Lab
An entrance exam would be nice. Nothing difficult, maybe solving a handful of math problems, answering a few U.S. and World History questions, and even responding to some philosophical ones, just to gauge their level of knowledge before they occupy positions of power. To run for President, the requirements are: “No Person except a natural … Continue reading Should We Give an Entrance Exam to People Running for President or Congress?→| Thoughts about leadership, history, and more
With the ratification of the Constitution in 1788 and the Bill of Rights in 1791, citizens of the fledgling United States of America could count on documentation that guaranteed the separation of federal powers and an array of personal liberties. Of course, what good is freedom without a sound financial system to give people the opportunity to thrive? To address that issue, Congress passed the Banking Bill in 1791 to create the Bank of the United States, and the Coinage Act of 1792 to establi...| History Facts
United States currency is full of symbolic design choices and cryptic markings. First issued in 1861 as a demand note, the $20 bill is one of the most commonly used denominations. Over the years, the $20 bill has undergone numerous facelifts, from changing portraits and seals to the addition of color-shifting ink and security threads. Today’s version packs in more symbols than most people may realize. If you’ve ever wondered what those little letters, numbers, and emblems really mean, her...| History Facts
One of the U.S. president’s most significant roles is serving as commander in chief, the top authority over all branches of the United States military. But where does this title come from, and what exactly does it entail? Constitutional Origins The Founding Fathers used the term “commander in chief” when drafting Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. It states: “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the...| History Facts
The 1950s were a transformative decade for transportation in the United States. Factors such as postwar prosperity, suburban living, and a decline in public transit led to a major increase in car ownership. At the start of the decade, approximately half of Americans owned an automobile; by 1960, nearly 75% of Americans owned at least one car, and many owned two. It was the golden age of the automobile. Of course, a car can’t go anywhere without gasoline, so what did this trend mean for the ...| History Facts
It’s perhaps the most famous document in American history — the collection of fighting words that formally severed ties with the British Empire and launched a precocious new nation into existence. But while some of its features are familiar to the public, including a few phrases from the preamble and the conspicuous signature of John Hancock, many details surrounding the Declaration of Independence are little known beyond historians of the subject. Not unlike the esteemed local monument...| History Facts
Tracing the development of a nation’s currency can provide a unique glimpse into the nation itself. But currency is complicated — its history often defies a simple straight-line narrative, and there are countless technicalities along the way that threaten to glaze over the eyes of anyone without a degree in economics. So let’s take a look at some of the most interesting moments in the history of U.S. currency, and leave the rest to the economists. The First National Bills Were Called ...| History Facts
The American workforce has transformed dramatically since the 1950s, a decade marked by economic prosperity, suburban expansion, and rapid industrialization. It’s likely that folks at the time couldn’t have imagined how much the U.S. job market would change over the next few decades — or how quickly innovation would make once-common jobs almost obsolete. Careers such as switchboard operator and typist may have seemed stable and essential in the mid-20th century, but time, technology, ...| History Facts
Without question, the $2 bill is the black sheep of the U.S. currency family. Despite being a small enough denomination to fairly easily acquire, the “Tom” — nicknamed for its portrait of Thomas Jefferson — rarely surfaces in day-to-day transactions. In fact, many folks erroneously believe the $2 note to be out of circulation, with some cashiers even refusing to accept these unfamiliar bills. Make no mistake, the $2 bill is very real and remains in regular circulation, albeit at a sma...| History Facts
Maine’s Portland Press Herald also spoke with Colin Woodard to get the backstory on why Maine always ranks so high in voter participation| Nationhood Lab
Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, July 21, 2024 Like most southern Illinois farms of my youth, my family had a closet filled with guns. It was just inside the living room and it held my father’s 12-gauge Marlin shotgun, his .22 caliber Remington pump rifle, brother Richard’s single-shot 20-gauge shotgun, brother David’s single-shot 410-shotgun, and my single-shot .22 [...]| Farm & Food File
Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, July 14, 2024 The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 28 ruling to overturn the Chevron deference was a business-favoring decision to upend 40 years of legal precedent and redirect federal power from agencies like the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the courts and Congress. Big Ag loved the news. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association [...]| Farm & Food File
Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, June 30, 2024 As an end-of-the-road farm boy growing up deep in southern Illinois, the Fourth of July was more of a shadetree holiday from the alfalfa field than a noisy celebration of national independence. Besides, we were more partial to a local hero, Abraham Lincoln, than any frilly “Founding Father.” That leaning [...]| Farm & Food File
Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, June 23, 2024 While Americans still face a long season of political campaigning, more than 80 other nations have completed their federal elections this year or are about to go to the polls. For example, France’s general elections will be held June 30, the United Kingdom’s on July [...]| Farm & Food File
Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, May 26, 2024 The Biden Administration’s trade agenda–mostly forgotten after three years of Covid, inflation, war in Ukraine, brutality in the Middle East, and a cantankerous Congress–recently surfaced and, wow, is it a mess. For example, both presumptive presidential candidates, Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump, recently argued over how high [...]| Farm & Food File
Grocery deliveries may be a modern convenience, but the service hearkens back to a bygone era when clinking glass bottles signaled the arrival of the milkman. The milkman (or milkwoman, though the job was usually held by men) is a cherished fixture of American history, as a prominent part of much of the 19th and 20th centuries. While milk remains a staple of the American diet, changes in consumerism and technology have made the once-ubiquitous milkman a relic of the past. Cattle farming was...| History Facts
On October 21, 1835 at about 2 p.m., William Lloyd Garrison, the 30-year old editor of Boston’s antislavery newspaper The Liberator, made his way to a wooden building near the corner of Washington …| Historical Digression