October 1871: Chicago is a tinderbox. In three months, only an inch of rain has fallen. For days a strong, hot wind has blown in from the southwest. The city of wooden buildings and woodpaved streets is ripe for the fire that will destroy three-quarters of it. Chicago is about to suffer one of the worst urban disasters in history.
You are part of a special inquiry by the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners to determine how the fire started, could it have been prevented, and who is to blame?
In all of American, and even world, history, no bovine is more infamous than a cow, belonging to Patrick and Catharine O’Leary, that was accused of starting what Fire Marshall Robert A. Williams called a "hurricane of fire and cinders.” One of the worst urban disasters in American History (until the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906) the fire destroyed 73 miles of streets, more than 17,000 buildings, and left a 3rd of the population homeless. Even as the fire cut a swath through the city, neighbors and newspaper reporters quickly placed the blame on the O’Learys and their cow. In the early hours of October 9, 1871, newspapers first reported that the blaze started when the cow, as Catharine milked it, kicked over a kerosene lantern.
You are part of a special inquiry by the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners to determine how the fire started, could it have been prevented, and who is to blame?
Read the primary source narratives assigned to you in class and then answer these questions on a seperate sheet or in the space provided on the back.
Mid-century New York City was a mystery to those who were unfamiliar with its stratified society, contrasting neighborhoods, and diverse populations. City guidebooks and illustrated newspapers offered to decode these urban complexities for readers struggling to understand the rapidly expanding metropolis. To enliven their descriptions of the city, the authors and illustrators added theatrical sensationalism with themes of light and darkness in text and image. These contrasting images, representing the richest and poorest sections of the city, appealed to a middle-class audience fascinated by tales of both the opulence and the depravity in New York. Many of the guidebook names, such as Sunlight and Shadow in New York and Lights and Shadows of New York Life, indicate how central the contrasting images were to these depictions of the city. Read more...
Although experiments with paper money did occur throughout the early history of the country, they were largely unsuccessful. People, for good reason, didn't trust the notes and preferred gold and silver coin. In 1861, needing money to finance the Civil War, Congress authorized the issuance of Demand notes in $5, $10 and $20 denominations. The Demand notes were so named because they were redeemable in coin "on demand." The notes were nicknamed Greenbacks, a name which is still in use today to refer to United States currency.
By the 1870s the debate between supporters of the gold or silver standard began to dominate national politics. Bankers and others involved in international trade feared that considering silver as money would undermine the economy. In contrast, most farmers favored coining silver hoping it would increase their income. These farmers went on to form the 'Populist' party in 1892.
Folk music, trains, and railroads would hardly exist in this country without one another. Some of the greatest American folk songs of all time can be traced back to the building of the railroads, the advent of train travel, and, of course, the riding of the rails during the Depression—when working class men and immigrants traveled on trains in search of work.
You may know our nation's railroads were built primarily by African-Americans and immigrants (particularly Irish immigrants). It was grueling work made more tolerable by the presence of music (similarly to the way field calls and African-American folk songs developed out of the slave tradition).
In the case of "I've Been Working on the Railroad," the telling line is "...all the livelong day." These men really did back-breaking work beyond the hours of labor now acceptable in our society.
Should President Trump be added to this famous sculpture? Will his legacy be as great? Compare him to the each of the famous Presidents shown.Who is he most like? The least? Why?
"We believe a nation's memorial should, like Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt, have a serenity, a nobility, a power that reflects the gods who inspired them and the gods that they have become"
- Gutzon Borglum, on his reason for building Mt. Rushmore.
Mount Rushmore stands as a ‘shrine of Democracy’, in South Dakota. It has commemorated four epoch-making presidents of America. It typifies the first 150 years of the history of United States of America and dates back to 1923. Mount Rushmore continues to remain the most popular tourist spot in South Dakota.
Machiavelli's name is a byword for immorality and political scheming. But that's deeply unfair. This was simply a political theorist interested in the survival and flourishing of the state. Can you be a 'good person' and a good 'politician?' What would Richard Nixon say?
On September 23, 1952, California senator Richard Nixon reserved a spot on television to deliver the most important speech of his career. With this address, Nixon hoped to squash rumors that he had accepted $18,000 in illegal political contributions to finance personal expenses. The Republicans had recently nominated Nixon to run for vice president on Dwight D. Eisenhower’s ticket. When these charges against Nixon became public, Eisenhower was noncommittal— he did not drop Nixon from the ticket, but he also did not defend him.
In his speech, Nixon said, “Not one cent of the $18,000 or any other money of that type ever went to me for my personal use. Every penny of it was used to pay for political expenses that I did not think should be charged to the taxpayers of the United States.” But, he did confess to accepting one personal gift:
A man down in Texas heard [my wife] Pat on the radio mention the fact that our two youngsters would like to have a dog. And, believe it or not, the day before we left on this campaign trip, we got a message from Union Station in Baltimore saying they had a package for us. We went down to get it. You know what it was. It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate he’d sent all the way from Texas. Black and white spotted. And our little girl—Tricia, the 6-year-old—named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog, and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we’re gonna keep it.
—Senator Richard Nixon, “Checkers” speech, September 23, 1952
Mike Kelly's Reds team, whose known today as the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers, was born under rather strange circumstances. The west side Cincinnati Reds had played in the American Association from 1882 to 1889 before moving into the National League for the 1890 season.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame enshrined King Kelly in their halls way back in 1945. Their online bio reads in part, "Not only was Mike 'King' Kelly one of the premier players of his day, he was also one of the most flamboyant. His daring baserunning prompted fans to coin the battle cry, Slide, Kelly, Slide!
Welcome to the home page of Mr. Kelly's American History class, Talawanda High School, Oxford, Ohio, USA. Here you will find assignments, links to lessons, your grades, and online discussions. Please remember that this site is an online extension of our classroom and to treat each other with respect. Thanks and BE BRAVE!
