Do you keep a diary? In times of crisis, firsthand, contemporaneous accounts are among the most valuable to the historians of later decades. We call these ‘primary’ sources – those created by the people who lived the events that are described. Letters and diaries have long been fertile sources for understanding history, and the blogs… Read more »
Tag: history
Why voting matters
While the right to vote has been part of the US Constitution since the founding of this country. it was originally limited to white male landowners – a wealthy elite in many cases. The right to vote, considered a cornerstone in the popular conception of democracy, is a hard-won right earned through centuries of war,… Read more »
The 19th Amendment and Suffrage in Indiana
January 16th marked the centennial anniversary of Indiana’s ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment (which would become law later in the year, in August of 1920). A vital milestone in the evolution of equal rights, the women’s suffrage movement had existed in one form or another since the nation’s founding, but had gained particular momentum in… Read more »
The American myth of Stagolee
On the evening of December 25, 1895, “Stag” Lee Shelton was doing the 19th century version of a bar crawl when he entered the Bill Curtis Saloon in St. Louis. He took a seat next to William Lyons, and they talked about a number of different things. But when the subject switched to politics, Lyons and Shelton, who… Read more »
Three Women of Indiana’s Past: empowering change in education, housing & prisons
When one thinks of Indiana, thoughts may race from the Indy 500, grow to include cornfields and combines, then settle on limestone. The names Albion Fellows Bacon, Eliza Blaker, and Rhoda M. Coffin may not come to mind. Yet these three women were instrumental in laying the groundwork for how we perceive life in Indiana… Read more »
The 1619 Project and the legacy of slavery
In August 1619, the White Lion, an English privateer ship, landed in Point Comfort, a small settlement in the new colony of Virginia. According to John Rolfe, a Jamestown colonist, the cargo was unique in the history of North America. “20. and odd Negroes” from Angola were sold for food by the privateers “at the… Read more »
The magic of abracadabra
We’ve all seen it – a magician in a top hat waves his wand and says the magic word Abracadabra. Poof! A rabbit appears! A watch is restored to perfect condition after being smashed to bits! The woman who was sawed in two is now whole again! Wonders are associated with this word, but what… Read more »
How accurate is Hamilton?
Hamilton, the ten dollar Founding Father musical released in May 2015, is among the most successful musicals in history. With the all-time best selling cast recording and a total gross of $463 million by January 2019, not to mention 11 Tony awards and a thoroughly lovable collection of alternative “Hamildrops,” the musical continues to remain… Read more »
Spotlight on History: Frederick Douglass
Born with the name Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in 1818, the man the world knows today as Frederick Douglass left an indelible mark on American history. From his bestselling first book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, first published in 1845, to his groundbreaking work on both African-American equality and women’s… Read more »
From the past to the present: Continuing community engagement at Indiana University East
The IU East campus has a long history of community engagement. IU Bicentennial intern Maureen Girdler is learning about that throughout the Spring 2018 semester. From interviews with students, staff and faculty, and research using historical documents in the IU East archives, she presents here some highlights of the past editions of the Pioneer Press… Read more »