I don’t know how we arrived at a place where we thought everyone would support democracy because it was an intellectually superior form of government. All of human history contradicts that notion.
It is remarkable that anyone thought they could start a newspaper with little hope for advertising revenue and less hope for reliable delivery. And yet, on Oct. 23, 1787, the first issue of the first newspaper in Berkshire County, the American Centinel, appeared.
It is interesting to contemplate that weather is blamed for the demise of the Vikings, the French Revolution and the bubonic plague. It is also interesting that the founding of this country, the creation of our Constitution, the Civil War, American industrialization and our Gilded Age all happened against a backdrop of extreme cold and global climate change.
Benedict Arnold is a name synonymous with treason. The facts seem clear; the motivation eludes us. Why did Arnold do it? Were his actions motivated by love, greed, hubris, or a rich mix of all three?
In August 1786, Daniel Shays, a Massachusetts farmer, ceased the search for “representatives who can find means to redress the grievances of the people” and took up arms.
Critical reviews of “A Higher Loyalty” are easy to find. Instead, I’m going to offer some excerpts many critics have neglected—reminiscences that reveal why James Comey has become the man he is, providing perspective about why he responded the way he did to the Clinton email investigation and the improper demands of Donald Trump.
Some historians dismiss the Sheffield Resolves; others call them the first American Declaration of Independence. In either case, in just seven days, who wrote this impressive document?