V Is For Victory: Franklin Roosevelt’s American Revolution and the Triumph of World War II (Scribner, 2023) by Craig Nelson reveals how FDR confronted an American public disinterested in going to war in Europe, skillfully won their support, and pushed government and American industry to build the greatest war machine in history, “the arsenal of democracy” that won the Second World War. [Read more…] about FDR’s Revolution & Triumph in World War II
Political History
Raines Law, Loopholes and Prohibition
A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a legal text or a set of rules that people identify and use to avoid adhering to it. Exploiting loopholes in tax legislation by big corporations or wealthy individuals is a preoccupation of our time. The authorities fight a losing battle trying to plug them as lawyers specialize in finding new and profitable flaws. [Read more…] about Raines Law, Loopholes and Prohibition
Logging, Forestry, Wildfires & Forest Rangers: William Fox’s Legacy
Driving by the Saratoga Tree Nursery, just south of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), most barely notice the state tree nursery’s rustic entrance sign – and you need to squint to see that its full name is “Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery.” The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which owns the nursery, considers William Fox the “father” of today’s DEC forest ranger program, as well at the guy who believed the state should raise young trees for later replanting.
Yet the story of the 19th century Ballston Spa native, who also served with valor in the Civil War, is little-known to the general public. [Read more…] about Logging, Forestry, Wildfires & Forest Rangers: William Fox’s Legacy
Unfriendly to Liberty: NYC Loyalist Networks Before the Revolution
The book Unfriendly to Liberty: NYC Loyalist Networks Before the Revolution (Cornell University Press, 2023) by Christopher F. Minty explores the origins of loyalism in the city of New York between 1768 and 1776, and revises the understanding of the coming of the American Revolution. [Read more…] about Unfriendly to Liberty: NYC Loyalist Networks Before the Revolution
Albany’s Abraham Ten Broeck: A Short Biography
Abraham Ten Broeck was born in 1734 to Dirck Ten Broeck (1686-1751) and Margarita Cuyler (1682–1783). Abraham was one of twelve children born to the couple. Abraham first-generation grandfather had come to America from Holland in 1626 on the same ship with Peter Minuit, the first Director General of the Dutch colony of New Netherland. [Read more…] about Albany’s Abraham Ten Broeck: A Short Biography
Political Anecdotes From Historic Newspapers
Trivia clue: This former New York governor and former U.S. president bagged a buck while vacationing at Upper Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks.
Correct response: Who is Grover Cleveland? [Read more…] about Political Anecdotes From Historic Newspapers
New York’s Anti-Rent Wars & The End of the Patroonships
In this episode of A New York Minute In History, Devin Lander and Lauren Roberts delve into the history of the Dutch Patroon system in New York State, and tell the story of the anti-rent movement of the 19th Century, during which tenant farmers banded together to (sometimes, violently) opposed the system under which they were not allowed to own their land outright. [Read more…] about New York’s Anti-Rent Wars & The End of the Patroonships
America & New York’s 250th Birthdays
New York is slowly preparing for the 250th anniversary of both the birth of the United States (July 2, 1776) and the birth of New York State (April 20, 1777, the day the first state constitution was approved). [Read more…] about America & New York’s 250th Birthdays
Politics of Trash: Corruption & Clean Cities, 1890–1929
The Politics of Trash: How Governments Used Corruption to Clean Cities, 1890–1929 (Cornell Univ. Press, 2023) by Patricia Strach of the University of Albany and Kathleen Sullivan of Ohio University explains how municipal trash collection solved odorous urban problems using nongovernmental and often unseemly means. [Read more…] about Politics of Trash: Corruption & Clean Cities, 1890–1929
Redeeming Al Smith: New York’s Four-Time Governor
Al Smith was many things during his political career: reform champion after the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, four-time governor of New York State, the first Catholic presidential candidate. But he was always a New York City boy at heart. [Read more…] about Redeeming Al Smith: New York’s Four-Time Governor