As all of you should be aware, I am a lover of history. Not just that run-of-the-mill American history that everybody knows about and has read about in textbooks. I like quirky, odd, and obscure stories of American history. Here are a few samples of some historical notes about the United States that the majority of you never heard of.
The United States has profited greatly twice at the hands of a nation that viewed Great Britain as their enemy. In 1803, France, aware it could not hang on to the vast Louisiana Territory, sold it to the United States for 2 1/2 cents per acre rather than have it fall into Great Britain’s hands. In 1867, Russia sold the 586,400 square miles of Alaska to the United States for less than two cents an acre. The logical purchaser would have been Great Britain, whose minions in Canada bordered the land on the East, but Russia considered Great Britain to be an enemy (Britain had won the Crimean War against the Russians and sided with the Confederacy in the United States Civil War).
The Pony Express, which has lived in legend for more than a century, lived in fact for less than two years. Indian raids curtailed service on the 1966-mile route between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. The transcontinental telegraph finally replaced it in late 1861.
In 1813, Major George Armistead, command of Fort McHenry, placed an order for a flag “so large that the British would have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance.” In fulfilling the commission for that flag, subsequently celebrated as “Old Glory” and “The Star-spangled Banner,” Mary Pickersgill and members of her family sewed over 400 yards of bunting into a banner 30′ x 42′, costing $405.90. This was the flag that Francis Scott Key saw that “was still there.” It hangs today in the Smithsonian Institution.
The American Colonization Society was formed, in 1816, by the Rev. Robert Finley of New Jersey, for the purpose of establishing an Africa colony to which the 200,000 U.S. blacks freed by slaveholders or born to free parents could be sent. Prominent slaveholders like Calhoun, Clay, Randolph, and Jackson supported the Society because they feared the threat to slavery posed by free blacks. Congress was persuaded to lend aid for land purchases. In all, about 15,000 blacks left America for the colony, which came to be called Liberia. The capital is named Monrovia, for President James Monroe.
The first nation to receive foreign aid from the United States was Venezuela. In 1812, Venezuela, fighting for its independence from Spain, suffered a severe and damaging earthquake. Congress appropriated $50,000 to help the victims.
Eskimos use refrigerators to keep food from freezing.
I wish I could live seventy-five more years and then be able to read a blog similar to this explaining to the citizens of that time how weird, stupid and crazy we were. It would probably be worth a million laughs to those future citizens. The Clinton years alone could supply enough weirdness laughter and gagging for many blog postings.
I was wondering to myself if the response to this posting will be affected by the unusual title. I guess I’ll have my answer sometime tomorrow, but nothing would really surprise me. It’s just my sneaky way of beginning a post on religion. I’m not a big fan as you would already know if you’ve read this blog in the past. I have a friend or two that are true believers, and this is my subtle way of expressing my thoughts on the subject. Many religious folks enjoy using their religions sacred writings to make their points with me, but I find that a bit ludicrous. To take those documents as the literal word of some god is frightening in its naivete. Here are a few blurbs from various religions to help me make my point once again.
According to the Bible If your wife defends your life in a fight by grabbing your attackers genitals, you should cut off your wife’s hand and have no pity on her.
If robbers came to your house while you were having guests, it’s better to offer up your two virgin daughters to the robbers than for your guests to come to any harm.
The proper way to seal a deal in the Bible is to exchange sandals.
More than 60% of Americans think the story of Noah’s Ark is literal truth.
It is better to dwell alone in the desert than at home with a nagging and complaining wife. (Proverbs 21:19)
More than 46% of Americans believe God created humans in their present form, at one time, within the last 10,000 years.
God has commanded Mormons to avoid coffee and tea.
On the eve of Yom Kippur, some observant Jews swing live chickens over their head three times to atone for their sins. It’s called kaparos.
If you want to sleep with your brother’s wife, it’s better to masturbate – or better yet, to pull out early and ejaculate on the ground, in order to avoid getting her pregnant.
Men should not shave any parts of their head and beards.
May the Lord bless everyone who beats your children against the rocks. (Psalm 137:9)
Mormons believe that the Garden of Eden was located in northern Missouri.
The deep freeze continues here in Maine. I just knew that we’d pay dearly for that two weeks of warm temperatures and sunshine we had earlier. Every thing always seems to balance out whether we like it or not. This will certainly be the winter for reading and other indoor activities for us. I’m fortunate enough to be one of those people driven to read everything I can get my hands on and Winter is the prefect time for me.
Recently I downloaded a number of books, essays, and journal transcripts for my Kindle. It’s amazing to me just how many of the classics are now free to anyone to download at their leisure. Last fall I finished reading the autobiography of Ben Franklin and then a book of notes and observations he wrote about his life. It brings his experience to a new level of understanding without my being influenced by people who insist on rewriting history. The old adage of getting information "straight from the horses mouth" has never been truer. That was one of the reasons I first read the Federalist Papers many years ago.
I’ve always been a history buff and I thought I had a good handle on many of the things that took place as this country grew and developed. As usual I was somewhat incorrect. Learning about the history of this country in school depends totally on who supplies the school with text books. Unfortunately it’s human nature when writing to subconsciously slant what your describing in such a way as to reflect your ideals and opinions. Many current text books spend more time apologizing for our country than actually explaining things in the context of the time. It’s terribly unjust to take incidents out of context and then to feed that misinformation to our children claiming it to be the absolute truth. That’s my main reason for always attempting to go directly to the source for much of my information.
This week I began a journey of discovery that made the United States what it is today, at least geographically. I began reading the daily logs and journals of the entire journey of the Lewis and Clark expedition as it moved westward exploring the Louisiana Purchase. It was a grand thing they accomplished but reading the daily entries reveals a whole other side to the story. Their need to hunt for food, bartering with locals, and maintaining discipline within their ranks is gritty and at times difficult to read.
I’m only a few months into their journey as they traveled by boat west up the Missouri River. The spelling and writing of the time is difficult and cumbersome. They used many slang terms and abbreviations making the reading a bit of a chore. It’s worth the effort because the use of the original language seems to take me back to their time. I look forward to learning exactly how difficult and treacherous the expedition really was which in turn will give me a new appreciation for their efforts and accomplishments. The "devil is in the details" as with everything else and I have a driving need to learn those true details.
Being well informed is the responsibility of all citizens. It must include a true knowledge of our history unaffected by liberal academics attempting to rewrite history as they see fit. We all want the truth and believe me, we can handle the truth.
everyuselessthing.com 