What’s so great about the Bronze Age? Nicole Villeneuve of History Facts explains.
Cursive writing is back. And Michael Nordine explains where it came from, on Wordsmarts.com.
Examples of cursive writing from a 1594 educational text. Image from picryl.com, in the public domain. In North Carolina, Meck Deck (May 20) is a day of celebration and pride. Read about it in articles by John Hood and Jane Shaw Stroup in the Carolina Journal.
A “copy” of the Magna Carta purchased for under $30 in 1946 turns out to be real. By Stephen Castle in the New York Times.
North Carolinians: Your barbecue debates reflect your state’s settlement history, says Brent Buchanan of the Daily Wire.
“U.S. Entry into World War One Was the Greatest Foreign Policy Blunder in its History,” writes David Pyne. Hyperbole? See his arguments on Substack.
Andrew Jackson, much admired by Donald Trump, was mostly a free trader, writes John Hood in the Carolina Journal.
The father of our country was an entrepreneur. And he saw perils in British trade regulation.
Cover of John Berlau’s book George Washington, Entrepreneur. John Berlau reveals George Washington’s “amazing entrepreneurship and innovation” and notes that Washington worried that if Great Britain can “order me to buy Goods of them loaded with Duties,” they may also “forbid my manufacturing.” On Law & Liberty.
More about George Washington: He had a hobby of reviewing inns where he stayed. Michael Nordine tells the somewhat charming story on History Facts.
Historian David Beito tells the story of Mound Bayou, an all-black town where people could experience freedom during the Jim Crow era. In RealClearHistory.
Can history reassure us about the impact of artificial intelligence? Investor Stephen McBride says yes, and gives examples on RiskHedge.
One factor in the colonies’ decision to break from Great Britain in 1776 was—free trade! Historian Phil Magness explains it all on the Independent Institute site.
How did we get standardized time zones? Railroads needed to know what time it was to avoid crashes. The federal government (and Detroit) opposed such zones. Lawrence Reed writes about them for the Frontier Institute.
In 2023, Fort Bragg’s name was changed to Fort Liberty because Braxton Bragg was a Confederate general. Now it is Fort Bragg again, but honoring a heroic World War II private named Roland Bragg. Charles Creitz tells the story for Fox News. But also see Sam Staley’s take on the original renaming.
Writing for Chronicles, Jack Trotter
A 1967 edition of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver Travels is available for sale from Rarebookcellar.com. tells us a lot we (I, at least) did not know about Jonathan Swift. Trotter considers Swift and Aristophanes the giants of Western satire.
Anders Chydenius (1729–1803), a Lutheran priest from Finland, was the Adam Smith of the Nordic countries, says Lawrence W. Reed of the Foundation of Economic Education (FEE). And he explains why.
Before there was a Boston Tea Party there were the Boston Sugar Riots. Ronald Beaty of RealClearHistory explains the “molasses mess” of 1743 as a “visceral cry against imperial meddling in a fledgling economy.”
Nat Turner was a prophetic visionary, not just a rebel, writes Carl Rollyson in the New York Sun. He is reviewing a new book about Turner, whose 1831 rebellion was the one successful slave revolt in U.S. history.
This isn’t the first time the U.S. has tried to buy Greenland. Dave Roos tells all on History.com.
An Inauguration Day like no other:
March 4, 1841. Lithograph by Charles Fenderich. From the Library of Congress, in the public domain. William Henry Harrison died in April 1841, a month after his inauguration. His death was the likely result of his 2-hour speech (longest inaugural speech ever) on a cold, wet Washington day, without “hat, coat or gloves.” Julian Atienza discusses the event in RealClearHistory.
What was the most recent letter added to the English alphabet? Hint: Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Iuliet. Bennett Kleinman explains on Wordsmarts.
American Joe Dodge was a little-known inflation fighter. After controlling federal spending during World War II, Dodge was sent to Germany and Japan to cut postwar hyperinflation, and balance their budgets. He did, setting the stage for the spectacular rebirth of those economies. Lawrence Reed explains on FEE.
