Browsing: Society

A Brief History On March 8, 1862, during the American Civil War, perhaps the most important naval battle of the war began, a battle that would see the first clash of ironclad or armored warships. The ironclad Confederate States Ship, CSS Virginia set about to break the Union blockade of the Chesapeake Bay anchorage of Norfolk, Virginia by successfully attacking the wooden US Navy ships on blockade duty, with the Union ironclad USS Monitor responding to face the Virginia the next day. Digging Deeper Union strategy for winning the Civil War centered on a blockade of the South, the Anaconda…

A Brief History On March 7, 2018, we again examine some of the “gun violence” epidemic claims and “gun control” issues facing the nation, especially in light of the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida in which 17 people were killed at a local high school by a 19 year old ex-student. (See our article from March 7, 2016, Gun Control Rhetoric Gets Silly.) Rhetoric from the “gun grabbers” and the “gun nuts” (names the 2 opposing sides call each other) came hot and heavy, with the issue clouded by contradictory statements by President Trump. Further muddying the guns and…

A Brief History On March 6, 632, founder of the Islamic religion and Prophet, Muhammad, made his Farewell Sermon from Mount Arafat in what is now Saudi Arabia during his final Hajj. About 3 months later Muhammad was dead, risen to Heaven, giving this particular sermon and place of delivery special meaning to Muslims. Today we list 10 occasions when a person delivered their farewell speech, or what was supposed to be their farewell speech, or because of unexpected death, their last speech. (Note: These speeches are famous, not necessarily “great.” You are welcome to argue the merits or sincerity…

A Brief History On March 5, 1770, British soldiers opened fire on a group of unarmed American protesters, killing 5 (either 3 or 4 immediately, one dying later), an event referred to as The Boston Massacre, sometimes called the first shots fired in the American Revolutionary War. The first American gunned down was Crispus Attucks, a freeman of African and Native American descent. Digging Deeper Described in contemporary documents as a “mulattoe,” Attucks was of mixed race, definitely of African and Wampanoag descent, possibly with White mixed in. It is not known if he was a runaway slave, or if…

A Brief History On March 1, 1790, the first census in the history of the United States was authorized, with some interesting results. Article One of the US Constitution mandates that a census be taken every 10 years, an important task since allocation of representatives to Congress and allocation of funds and other things are based where the population is currently living. The most recent census was compiled in 2010 and presents an interesting comparison to the 1790 results. Digging Deeper The census has taken on a certain amount of resistance from conspiracy theorists, including the move of the Census…