On October 18, 1867, the Territory of Alaska was formally transferred from Russian ownership to become part of the United States. The United States purchased the territory from Tsar Alexander II in March of that year for a price of $7.2 million–or about 2 cents per acre–and the transfer was complete at the conclusion of a ceremony at Fort Sitka, at which the Russian flag was lowered and the American … Read more »
Yesterday, October 15, marked the anniversary of the seventh and final debate of the series between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in their campaign for one of Illinois’s two United States Senate in 1858.
The final debate was held in Alton, Illinois, before a crowd of about 5,000 people. In the debate, Douglas attacked Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech and his understanding of the Declaration of Independence. In response, Lincoln … Read more »
Thought Columbus Day had already passed? Well, you would be right to think so–but did you know that for much of its history Columbus Day was celebrated on October 12? As we noted in our history of Columbus Day, it was on the morning of October 12, 1492, that the lookout on the Pinta first saw the New World. In 1866, Italian-Americans in New York City marked the day–October 12–by celebrating … Read more »
In October of 1895, Stephen Crane’s novel about the Civil War, The Red Badge of Courage, was published. In the book, Crane tells the story of a young private, Henry Fleming, who experiences battle for the first time as a soldier in the (fictional) 304th New York Regiment. Throughout the story, Henry–or “the youth,” as Crane refers to him–grapples with what it means to be brave under fire and … Read more »
On September 27, 1722, the American patriot Samuel Adams was born in Boston. Intensely interested in politics–often at the expense of his business ventures–in 1748 Adams helped to launch the Independent Advertiser, a weekly newspaper to which he would contribute essays arguing in favor of the colonists’ rights as British citizens. In 1765, Adams was elected to represent Boston in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, in which he argued vehemently against … Read more »
On September 20, 1958, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (1920-1968) was stabbed at a book signing by Izola Curry, narrowly escaping death. In a speech ten years later, delivered in Memphis the day before he was shot and killed, King recounted the incident to show how much the Civil Rights Movement had accomplished just in that decade:
You know, several years ago, I was in New York … Read more »
On September 19, 1796, the American Daily Advertiser published George Washington’s Farewell Address, a letter the president wrote to his “Friends, and Fellow-Citizens” of the United States informing them that he would not be running for re-election. In the letter, Washington also reflected on his long service to the country and the hope that he had for the young nation’s future, offering his fellow citizens the “counsels of an old and … Read more »
On September 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution they had created, and George Washington delivered the document to the Congress assembled under the Articles of Confederation. Eleven days later, the Congress voted to send the proposed Constitution on to the states to ratify. On December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the new Constitution; eight months later, on July 26, 1788, New … Read more »
On September 15, 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas gathered before a crowd of roughly 1,500 people–mostly Democrats–in Jonesboro, Illinois, for their third debate in their campaign for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois. Three days later, on September 18, the fourth debate occurred, this time in Charleston, IL, with nearly 12,000 people in attendance–many of whom had traveled from neighboring Indiana to attend.
At the Jonesboro debate, … Read more »
On the morning of September 14, 1814, just a few days after the British had burned Washington, DC in the War of 1812, the American lawyer Francis Scott Key sat aboard a British naval ship seeking the release of William Beanes, an American doctor whom the British had captured. The previous day, Key had watched from his ship near Baltimore Harbor as the British fleet began its bombardment of … Read more »
Distinguished scholar-teachers Amy and Leon Kass demonstrate how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civic education and how a pedagogical approach that stresses learning through inquiry can make primary sources come alive for students of all ages.
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“What a wonderful collection of American songs, speeches, and stories. It should be valuable for teachers, students, parents, and readers of all kinds.”
— Diane Ravitch