Browsing: Politics

A Brief History On July 3, 1890, Idaho was admitted to the Union as the 43rd US State.  Previously, Idaho had been part of the Oregon Country, then the Oregon Territory, and then the Washington Territory before becoming a separate entity known as the Idaho Territory in 1863.  So, where does the name, Idaho, come from?  Probably from the imagination of lobbyist George M. Willing, who probably just made up the name in order to have something that sounded like an Indian name.  In fact, he claimed the name came from the Shoshonean language, variously claiming the word meant “gem…

A Brief History On November 3, 2020, the 2020 United States of America (U.S.) presidential election will be the 59th quadrennial U.S. presidential election.  The president of the U.S. is the head of state and head of government of the U.S.  The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.  This article therefore indicates the executive and military experience of the major party candidates currently running for president.  For the purpose of our table below, “executive experience” refers to holding an executive political office such as mayor or governor and…

A Brief History Thomas “Tom” S. Newman (October 10, 1851 – October 3, 1930) was the former Mayor of Ashland, Kentucky. He also operated Tom Newman’s clothing store, which operated at the north side of Greenup, between 15th and 16th Streets. It operated a row-in business in the Flood of 1884.[1] Digging Deeper Newman was a supporter of U. S. President William McKinley.[2] T. S. Newman Tom Newman’s Dry Goods row-in service during the Ohio River Flood of 1884 10th Mayor of Ashland, Kentucky In office January 1, 1894 – November 9, 1897 Preceded by J. C. Whitten Succeeded by W. A. Ginn Personal details Born…

A Brief History On June 12, 1775, British General Thomas Gage declared martial law in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Gage offered amnesty and a pardon to all rebels that would lay down their arms, except Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were deemed traitors that would be hanged if captured.  The American Revolution had already had a de facto beginning by this point, with the Boston Massacre (1770), the burning of the Gaspee in Rhode Island (a British customs schooner, 1772), the Boston Tea Party (1773), and the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.  Fearing an outright…

A Brief History On June 7, 1962, a right wing French Nationalist terror group, the Organisation Armée Secrète, usually referred to as the OAS, set fire to and burned the library at the University of Algiers in Algeria, destroying half a million books.  Calling themselves “counter-terrorists”, “self-defense groups” or simply “the resistance,” the aim of these French nationalists was to prevent the independence of Algeria, forcing the country to remain part of France.  Usually we think of terrorist groups as rebels or an independence movement, but in this case the group was trying to keep “France” as they saw it…