As an Army captain commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, Zebulon Montgomery Pike (1779-1813) explored much of the American West. He led two expeditions through the Louisiana Purchase, first in 1805–1806 to reconnoiter the upper northern reaches of the Mississippi River, and then in 1806–1807 to explore the southwest to the edge of the Spanish-colonial settlements of New Mexico and Texas. [Read more…] about Zebulon Pike And The Pike Historic Trail
Louisiana Purchase
Trump Impeachment Recalls Aaron Burr’s Treason
Donald Trump’s recent impeachment trial in which the President was accused of incitement of insurrection against the United States recalls to mind a case from more than 200 years ago.
In that case another New York politician, former Vice President Aaron Burr, whose personality was arguably not dissimilar from Donald Trump, was tried and acquitted of treason in 1807. [Read more…] about Trump Impeachment Recalls Aaron Burr’s Treason
John W. Taylor: A Moderate Anti-Slavery Activist
It’s hard to believe that the nation’s fourth-most-populous state (New York — nearly always number one, and in the top five since 1790) has only one native who served in the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Well, technically, there are two, but one of them served 99.82 percent of the pair’s total time in office — to be explained later. The man of the House is John W. Taylor, born in the town of Ballston in 1784. [Read more…] about John W. Taylor: A Moderate Anti-Slavery Activist
Aaron Burr Revised: Conspiracy, Treason and Justice
Who remembers Aaron Burr as anything more than Quick Draw McGraw shooting down the near-sighted Alexander Hamilton at dawn in 1804? But there is much more to the man, as Gore Vidal revealed in his intriguing 1973 historical novel, and other subsequent scholarship.
Two aspects of Burr’s varied career stand out in today’s world. First, his treason trial that closely examined issues of what counts as an act of war against one’s own government. And second, his relationships with a series of highly intelligent and accomplished women, reflecting his high opinion of the female sex and its potential. [Read more…] about Aaron Burr Revised: Conspiracy, Treason and Justice
Thomas Jefferson Letters Make Public Debut in NYC
For the first time, the Museum of the City of New York have put on public view more than 20 original letters from Thomas Jefferson to Robert R. Livingston, who served as Chancellor of the State of New York and whom Jefferson appointed resident minister at the court of Napoleon. The personal letters, which span from 1800 – 1803 and have been part of the City Museum’s collection since 1947, will be on public display through Friday, December 5, 2014.
In these documents, Jefferson writes about a number of remarkable and historically important topics, including: the Louisiana Purchase, the Napoleonic Wars, early debates over the Constitution, the unearthing of a buried mammoth skeleton in upstate New York, the technical details of the first steam engine, the development of new codes for delivering secret messages to American diplomats living overseas, and much more. [Read more…] about Thomas Jefferson Letters Make Public Debut in NYC