This probably feels like an overabundance of writing from me, but we had an ice storm recently, school was closed, and I really did not leave the house. This left me with a lot of time, and much of it has been focused on the events in Ukraine. This is an area rich in history … Continue reading Budapest Memorandum
Month: February 2022
Russian invasion of Ukraine
As I watched the news last night of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it scared me as it probably has scared many of you wondering what is going to happen next. Not that this helps the larger picture, but I thought I would write about the events to give a bit of historical perspective. This week … Continue reading Russian invasion of Ukraine
Class Notes
After two years in office, Wilson felt as if he had accomplished his goals. He made major changes but never intended to push too far, nothing like social welfare that FDR would bring later. One reason he did not want to push was that he still needed the conservative South on his side. Another major … Continue reading Class Notes
Mail In Voting
With mail-in voting becoming such an important political issue today, it is worth the time to examine similar issues in history. I have written on this before, but with the blocking of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, it is worth reexamining. The debate is between protecting voting, not from just fraud but from corruption, … Continue reading Mail In Voting
Class Notes
After the Adams Administration signed into law the Alien and Sedition Acts making it illegal to criticize the government, the Jeffersonian Republicans were forced to respond the only way they could. With Congress and the courts under the control of Federalists, Jefferson and Madison wrote the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. They said the new laws … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
One of the things that split the Republicans in the 1912 election was that TR wanted Taft to just continue with all his policies. One area where Taft fell short in TR’s opinion was in conservation. When Taft took office he replaced James Garfield with Richard Ballinger as Secretary of the Interior. Ballinger started selling … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
While Washington’s cabinet was battling each other on whether we should assist France during their revolution, an interesting incident occurred. In 1793, a French diplomat arrived by the name Citizen Edmond Charles Edouard Genet. The Republicans who favored assisting France treated him like a celebrity and wined and dined him all over the new states. … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
In 1908, Teddy Roosevelt decided not to run again. Instead, he was able to hand pick his possible successor, William Taft. Taft was everything that TR wanted. He was a good progressive, had plenty of experience, devoted to public service, but most importantly would not show up TR. Though Taft was one of the largest … Continue reading Class Notes
Book Review
On Desperate Ground: The Epic Story of Chosin Reservoir—the Greatest Battle of the Korean War For my reading seminar this semester we are studying the 1950s. For the subject of the Korean War, I knew I wanted to read On Desperate Ground by Hampton Sides. I have read several other books by Sides, Blood and … Continue reading Book Review
Class Notes
During the founding of our country the word freedom had a different meaning. Freedom in early America simply meant land ownership or at least being your own boss. If you had to work for someone else in the days of the open ballot, then politically you were not free. Your employer could insist you vote … Continue reading Class Notes
Historically Speaking 