Browsing: Society

A Brief History On July 27, 1789, the Department of Foreign Affairs was created, becoming the first of many US Federal departments and agencies.  As you may guess, this department is now called the Department of State. Digging Deeper How many agencies and departments does the Federal Government currently have?  We have 15 Cabinet level departments, each led by a secretary appointed by the President and approved by the Senate.  The most recently added Department is the Department of Homeland Security, added in 2002.  Meanwhile, we now have a staggering 438 Federal agencies. Despite this enormous growth in bureaucracy, there…

A Brief History On July 24, 1980, a quartet of Australian swimmers took the Olympic Gold Medal in the Men’s Swimming 4 by 100-meter medley relay race, the only time an American team failed to win this particular event. Digging Deeper While the US has dominated this particular event, the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, USSR, was plagued by politics and the US along with 65 other countries boycotted the games due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Australians, certainly among the greatest swimming nations, produced the “Quietly Confident Quartet,” a self-named crew consisting of Mark Kerry, Peter Evans, Mark…

A Brief History On July 23, 1900, the icon of national “niceness” that is Canada turned a cold shoulder to immigrants, instituting a policy forbidding paupers and criminals from entering the country.  While the US currently has emotional discussion about immigration into the country, illegal and legal alike, the fact is many countries have struggled with immigration policy. Digging Deeper Religion, ethnicity, skin color, and cultural considerations have often affected immigration policies or the lack of welcome on the part of the current inhabitants.  While many countries have a positive view of immigrants, Pew Research indicates many have a negative…

A Brief History On July 21, 1864, Frances Clara Folsom was born in Buffalo, New York.  Twenty-two years later, in 1886, she married the President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, becoming the youngest First Lady of the US ever.  But wait!  There is more! Digging Deeper After Cleveland had a “time out” by being out of office for 4 years, he became the only US President to be elected and serve twice in non-consecutive terms in 1893, thus making his wife, Frances, the only First Lady to serve two separate terms as First Lady of the US. Educated at…

A Brief History On July 20, 1997, the famous American warship, the USS Constitution, better known as “Old Ironsides,” celebrated 200 years of service by embarking on a cruise under her own sails for the first time in 116 years! Digging Deeper The now restored heavy frigate was launched in 1797 to serve the fledgling US Navy, enforcing freedom with her armament of 30 24 pounder cannons and 20 32 pounder cannons.  With a crew of 450, the wooden sailing ship counted 30 “boys” among her crew. Highly successful in battle during the War of 1812, Old Ironsides earned her…