A Brief History On May 9, 1865, the American Civil War ended, or did it? Historians acknowledge that exact starting and ending dates of wars are open to debate, and likewise, so are the causes and reasons those wars were fought. In the case of the American Civil War, April 1861 to May 1865, the “cause” of Southern independence is a controversial and contentious subject even to this day. The main debate centers on whether or not slavery, that “peculiar institution,” was the main cause of the war and the reason for fighting such a costly conflict. Revisionist “historians” have…
Browsing: May 9
A Brief History On May 9, 2015, the 70th anniversary of the German surrender in World War II, Russia, led by dictator (President of the Federation of Russia) Vladimir Putin, conducted the most massive military parade in the history of Russia/USSR, the likes of which could never be pulled off in the United States, undoubtedly to the chagrin of President Donald Trump! Digging Deeper After viewing an extravagant military parade in France honoring the anniversary of Bastille Day in 2017, American President Donald Trump developed a severe case of parade envy, and resolved to stage a spectacular military parade in…
A Brief History On May 9, 2019, we once again celebrate a special day, National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, a “holiday” celebrated on the first Thursday of the first full week of May each year. This “holiday” was dreamed up by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, a government agency), with a stated goal of “to increase public awareness about the needs of children with serious mental illness (SMI) and severe emotional disturbance (SED) and their families, provide information on evidence-based practices, and encourage those who need help to seek treatment.” While the purpose of this…
A Brief History On May 9, 1671, Anglo-Irish Thomas Blood dressed up as a parson and attempted to steal the Crown Jewels of England. A scoundrel in multiple ways, Blood convinced King Charles II to grant him a pardon! The nerve required to try such a bold heist is incredible, especially since death would have been the expected punishment. Today, we list 10 of the most ridiculously daring heists in history, some successful, and some not so successful. Digging Deeper 1. Theft of Crown Jewels, Tower of London, 1671. As introduced above, Mr. Blood had the audacity to try the…
A Brief History On May 9, 2017, if the Toronto Raptors are still alive in the NBA playoffs they will again play the defending League Champion Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. We know what a Raptor is, heck, we have all seen the Jurassic Park movies, but what is a “Cavalier?” Digging Deeper Several years ago, I remember watching television when a reporter asked Lebron James, the greatest Cavalier of all time and perhaps the finest overall basketball player in World History if he knew what a “Cavalier” was. Lebron sheepishly admitted at that…