Stamp Act - Prelude to Revolt
- Details
- Written by P. J. Byrne
"A few nights later the riots recommenced with redoubled fury. The houses of two of the leading officials connected with the Admiralty Court and with the Custom-house were attacked and rifled, and the files and records of the Admiralty Court were burned. The mob, intoxicated with the liquors which they had found in one of the cellars they had plundered, next turned to the house of Hutchinson"
Lord Grenville, Prime Minister of Great Britain, just couldn't understand why the colonials didn't want to pay their fair share. The Stamp Act was seen as fair and reasonable by the ruling class in Britain, and they were not prepared for the outburst of violent protest that ensued.
The Seneca - America's 1812 Ally
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- Written by Arthur C. Parker
"So thoroughly aroused were the Iroquois, to such a fervent pitch was their patriotism wrought, that more than a score of their women donned uniforms, shouldered muskets and fought like the patriots they were. Most of them were Oneidas and went to war with their husbands. The Oneidas had long been a tribe faithful to the American cause. They wore sometime the rough garments of men, they fought like men, they bled and died like heroes."
Several tribes of Native Americans fought as allies of the United States in our "second war for independence," and we should remember their contribution and sacrifice.
Robert Fulton - Artist Turned Inventor
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- Written by Hamilton Mabie, et al.
"On the very morning appointed for the trial, Fulton was aroused from his sleep by a messenger, who rushed into his chamber, pale and breathless, exclaiming, 'Oh, sir, the boat has broken in pieces and gone to the bottom!' "
A self-educated engineer, and inventor of the first viable steamship, first practical submarine, and first torpedo in history, Robert Fulton was a true example of American ingenuity and practical achievement.
Cyrus McCormick - Feeding the World
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- Written by Reuben Gold Thwaites
"The reaper is to the North," he said, "what slavery is to the South. By taking the places of regiments of young men in the Western harvest fields, it releases them to do battle for the Union at the front, and at the same time keeps up the supply of bread for the nation and the nation's armies. Thus without McCormick 's invention I fear the North could not win, and the Union would be dismembered."
His invention of the first successful mechanical reaper allowed grain production to increase 2,900%, allowing the transition of farm labor to factory labor, and fueling the American industrial revolution.
John Calhoun - States Rights and Slavery
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- Written by Hamilton Mabie, et al.
"Death is not the greatest calamity: there are others still more terrible to the free and brave, and among them may be placed the loss of liberty and honor. There are thousands of her brave sons who, if need be, are prepared cheerfully to lay down their lives in defense of the State, and the great principles of constitutional liberty for which she is contending."
The separate doctrines of States Rights and slavery coalesced under the genius of one man, to the great detriment of the nation.