Tag Archives: History

New Year’s Eve, Day holds special meaning for Black Americans

Read about the history of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day traditions for Black Americans.

America’s Gilded Age led by ‘forgettable presidents’ in post-Civil War era

While the Gilded Age is remembered by many, the time period’s presidents are often overlooked. Read about them here.

What We Learned from 5 Million Books

Face it: we’re so overloaded with information that none of us can digest much of it. However, in this TED talk, Jean-Baptiste Michel and Erez Lieberman Aiden present ideas about what we can do—with the five million books and 500 billion words available online today. What do they reveal about who we were, are, and are becoming? Watch the video; then navigate to the site recommended by the speakers. Discover for yourself what five million books have to say!

Jim Crow Stories: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

In 1896, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of “separate but equal” laws, which weren’t struck down until almost 60 years later in Brown v. Board of Education.

Fighting…Maybe for Freedom, but probably not

During the Revolutionary War, black soldiers fought for both the Continental army and the British army. Those who fought for the British were often promised freedom, but that promise was mostly unfulfilled.

Civil Rights Movement

The Emancipation Proclamation did not end racial oppression. Read the Introduction and Background on this web site to learn how African Americans continued to fight for equal rights.

Who Decided to Put 60 Seconds in a Minute?

Watch this video to learn how an ancient civilization still influences how we view something as fundamental as time.

What turned the Wright brothers into pioneers of flight? Their library.

Gavin Weightman, author of Eureka: How Invention Happens, explains that like some other notable inventors, the Wright Brothers built a large library and taught themselves much of what they knew.

Anne Frank: Her Life, Her Diary, Her Legacy

View and read this photo gallery for a timeline of Anne Frank’s life and the historic events that shaped it.

Why did Gandhi march 240 miles for salt?

Salt may seem like a small thing to spark a revolution, but it’s crucial to human health. Learn more about why the Indian people rose up against English rule over the regulation of salt.

Greek Myths Have Scary Ideas About Robots and A.I.

While robots and artificial intelligence may seem like recent concepts, some argue that those ideas originated in ancient Greece.

Between Two Worlds: Black Women and the Fight for Voting Rights

Read this article to learn about the efforts of Black women like Ida B. Wells, who worked hard to secure the right to vote for all Americans, regardless of their race or gender.

Eddie Jaku: Holocaust survivor and peace campaigner dies aged 101

Holocaust survivor and self-proclaimed Happiest Man on Earth, Eddie Jaku, dies at age 101. Read about his extraordinary life and inspiring message.

The Lithuanian Immigrant Who Launched the First Women’s College Basketball Game

Read about how the Mother of Women’s Basketball defied expectation for female athletes and forever changed sports history.

When Industrialists Got Rich, Architecture Went Wild

From white marble to gold, homes of the wealthy in the Gilded Age featured opulent details. Learn about the architects who built these extravagant homes.

Dunlap Broadside History

Visit this online exhibit to learn about the Dunlap Broadside, one of the first printed copies of the Declaration of Independence.

America’s True History of Religious Tolerance

Freedom of religion has brought many immigrants to the United States. This article traverses the complex and largely unacknowledged historical struggle for religious tolerance in the United States.