Tag: History
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A Rebel And an Outlaw: The Life of Jesse James
America loves outlaws: Butch Cassidy, Billy the Kid, John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, and many more. One of the most famous in American mythology is an original Wild West outlaw, Jesse James. The truth is the popular ideas about Jesse James are mythological. The man described in most of those stories did not exist. The…
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Following Up: Florence and the Banking Machine: the Rise and Fall of the Medici Bank
**Following up is a series in which I explain interesting things about the topic I chose or why it matters that people know this history. It also provides a review of the books used with links to buy them. It greatly helps the blog if you use these links to purchase any book that interests…
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Florence and the Banking Machine: the Rise and Fall of the Medici Bank
The Medici Bank of the Renaissance is possibly the most famous institution from that era. Historians often state that at its height, it was larger and more powerful than any of its competitors. However, the bank only lasted for less than one hundred years, and its time at the top was even shorter. Why did…
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Outlaw Detectives and Strike-Breakers: The Pinkerton Detective Agency
Chances are you’ve heard of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. They’ve been portrayed in books, movies, and video games. (I will never forgive them for what they did in Red Dead Redemption.) They’re such a mythical part of American lore that I could see some people questioning if they were real. Well, they are, and they…
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Vicious Enough to Write About: The Glanton Gang
Before discussing the Glanton Gang, I must confess that I’ve never read Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian. So, what I know about the fictionalized version of the gang and its members comes from reviews I’ve read online. I don’t think this fact will matter for the contents of this article, but I wanted to be upfront. Also,…
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Entertainment by Exaggeration
The Review of My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue by Samuel Chamberlain This article is not something I intended to write. I was researching the Glanton Gang for another post and had to read this book in that pursuit. I was only a few pages in when I decided to write about this book and…
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Hitmen for a Revolution: Michael Collins’s Squad
Imagine for a second you’re a young man in your early twenties. You’re a revolutionary at heart and want nothing more than to take part in the war to free your country. Now imagine one of the rebels’ leaders asks you to join an elite squad that will be used for some of the most…
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Small Skirmishes, Big Impact: The Battle of Iron Works Hill
I was looking for smaller and less monumental battles of the American Revolution. The type that was important but unrecognized. Searching through battles all over the colonies, I came upon a small series of skirmishes in New Jersey that played a part in a much big victory. The battle took place in and around the…
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Robert Morris: Financing A Revolution
The American Revolution was not a cheap endeavor, and the Continental Congress often found itself in desperate need of funds. Congress used multiple methods to obtain funds, including loans from France, issuing colonial currency, and eventually taxation.[1] Congress reported that after the war, its debt totaled $8 million to foreign loans and $42 million to…
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Why I Wrote It: The Perils of Pacifism
**Why I wrote it is a series in which I explain interesting things about the topic I chose or why it matters that people know this history. Please see the story being referenced here. Sometimes explaining the importance of a historical topic is easy. Why does knowing the history of the First Amendment matter? Simple,…
Here For History 