On June 30 1864, in the midst of a bloody civil war, President Abraham Lincoln signed “An Act authorizing a Grant to the State of California of the Yo-Semite Valley, and of the Land embracing the Mariposa Big Tree Grove.” For the first time, ideological values implicit in the setting aside of land for public… MORE
James Rogers
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 into orbit, ushering in a space race that threatened to break out since the start of Cold War tensions. American reactions to this Soviet breakthrough were mixed. Politicians under the Eisenhower administration frantically attempted to play down Sputnik’s significance. Various reports and press releases argued… MORE
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Few Constitutional tenets have proved to be more controversial. On February 26, 1963, the United States Supreme Court was required to apply the principles of the amendment to a challenge… MORE
Gentility in the United States For early Americans, reaching high social status was not a process shaped exclusively by birth. Nor did it have to be a long, gradual process, taking place over generations. Gentility was something that could be achieved through careful study and practice. Most significantly, it was something to be performed. Precedents for gentility,… MORE