The First Political Cartoon: Benjamin Franklin’s Satirical ‘Join, or Die’
Join or Die Benjamin Franklin is famous for his sense of humor. In 1751, he wrote a satirical commentary in his Pennsylvania Gazette suggesting that …
America’s Founding
Young America’s Miraculous Defeat of the French Fleet
On this day, a national fast was observed throughout America for the Lord to protect them as a fleet and armament to recover… Novascotia, and …
1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery
Slavery is not simply a historical phenomenon.. It persists to this day in modern forms, such as trafficking. Quakers have opposed it from very early …
The First Thanksgiving Proclamation in Charlestown, MA
On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that …
Massachusetts Passes the First Education Law
Massachusetts Bay Colony passed the first law in the New World requiring that children be taught to read and write. The Massachusetts School Laws were …
Harvard College is Founded as a Religious School to Train Clergy in the Christian Faith
Only eighteen years after the Pilgrims landed in the New World, Harvard College, the first of the Ivy League schools, was established for the sake …
Rev. John Lothropp Arrives in Boston, Massachusetts
John Lathrop was born December 20, 1584 in Etton, Yorkshire, England. It is said the ancestral home of the Lathrop family is Lowthrope, England. He …
The ‘Petition of Right’ Approved by King Charles I in England
The Petition of Right (see document) is a statement of the objectives of the 1628 English legal reform movement that led to the Civil War …
The Second Thanksgiving: Governor Bradford Proclaims November 29 a Day of Thanksgiving
In 1623, a period of drought was answered by colonists with a proclamation of prayer and fasting. This prayer and fasting was changed to another …
The First Thanksgiving Occurred between Sept 21st and Nov 9th, 1621
The unfamiliar American soil presented problems to the Pilgrims, but an Indian named Samoset greeted them and taught them how to fertilize best fertilize the …