In September 1901, Theodore Roosevelt’s overnight journey from Mount Marcy through Newcomb and North Creek became one of the Adirondacks’ most consequential and well-remembered moments. [Read more…] about 125 Years Later: Teddy Roosevelt’s Ride to the Presidency
Political History
The Declaration of Independence as American Scripture
Each year, millions of visitors flock to see the engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives building in Washington, DC where it rests on display with the United States’s other Charters of Freedom.
But how did it end up there and why do people approach it with religious reverence? [Read more…] about The Declaration of Independence as American Scripture
A New Theodore Roosevelt Interactive Hologram
Thanks to the North Creek Depot Museum in the Adirondacks in Warren County, visitors can now experience Theodore Roosevelt in a dynamic and engaging new way: an interactive hologram of the 26th president.
The hologram, which was developed in partnership with TimeLooper, Inc., recently made its debut at a reception held at the Tannery Pond Center in North Creek, where it will be entertaining and educating guests until it moves to its permanent home at the Museum in late September. [Read more…] about A New Theodore Roosevelt Interactive Hologram
Slaveholders’ Mutiny: Frederick Douglass & The Southern Insurrection
In a July 4, 1862 speech to an audience of about 2,000 people in Himrod’s Corner, in Yates County, NY, Frederick Douglass described what we now remember as the American Civil War as a “slaveholders’ mutiny.”
As a recent New York Times op-ed pointed out, naming that war is very much a political decision that shapes and is shaped by our view of the past and American history. During the war it was usually referred to as an “insurrection” or a “rebellion.” Civil War is a more neutral term that avoids placing blame for ripping the country apart or branding the Southern actions as treasonous and ignores the future of slavery in the United States as the fundamental cause of the war. [Read more…] about Slaveholders’ Mutiny: Frederick Douglass & The Southern Insurrection
Robert R. Livingston and the Declaration of Independence
Five men served on the Second Continental Congress’s Committee of Five, to produce the Declaration of Independence. We know three of them well: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. But who were the other two?
The latest episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast explores the lives and contributions of Robert R. Livingston of New York and Roger Sherman of Connecticut. [Read more…] about Robert R. Livingston and the Declaration of Independence
Some 1896 Lighter Side of Political History Anecdotes
In an era long ago, Republicans had a majority in the New York State Assembly. But Democrats were better at baseball. [Read more…] about Some 1896 Lighter Side of Political History Anecdotes
Play Streets & New York City Recreation History
In summer thoughts turn to fun at the beach, pool and in parks. The vertical files of the New York City Municipal Library include a trove of publications describing City government’s role in providing recreational opportunities between 1919 and 1979.
A good portion of the contents are news clippings that track, decade by decade, City residents’ recreational choices. “Eel Season Ending For City Anglers” the New York Times reported in 1967; “People Pushing Horses Out Of Park” the Daily News decried as the Claremont Riding Academy was poised to close in 1970; and the perennial “New York on Next to Nothing” from the New York Post are just a few of the titles. [Read more…] about Play Streets & New York City Recreation History
Revolutionary New York City: America at 250
Revolutionary New York City: America at 250 (2026) is a five-borough collaborative multi-year effort by The Bronx County Historical Society, Historic Richmond Town, Center for Brooklyn History, and the Gotham Center, with contributions from Philipse Manor Hall, the Lott House, Queens County Farm, and others.
This book of essays moves beyond the iconic battles and founding fathers to reveal the complex, messy, and deeply human reality of the American Revolution in New York City. [Read more…] about Revolutionary New York City: America at 250
The Articles of Confederation
On June 12, 1776, the Second Continental Congress turned to perhaps the most difficult element of independence: drafting a plan of government for their brand new nation.
The man Congress chose to write the first draft was John Dickinson of Pennsylvania. Although he would not vote for independence, Dickinson was the most respected constitutional thinker in Congress. What Dickinson wrote was strong and bold. What Congress did to his draft was something else entirely. [Read more…] about The Articles of Confederation
New York’s Response to the Declaration of Independence
Conscious of the new political status which the Province of New York had attained by the adoption of the text of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4th, the deputies of the New York Provincial Congress voted unanimously on July 10th:
“That the style or title of this House be changed from that of the Provincial Congress of the Colony of New York to that of the Convention of the Representatives of the State of New York.” [Read more…] about New York’s Response to the Declaration of Independence
Reluctant Warriors of 1936: William Bleakley & Herbert Lehman
On a warm, clear afternoon in June 1926, 600 Westchester County Republican delegates gathered in the art deco casino at Playland Amusement Park on Long Island Sound to endorse their neighbor, state Supreme Court Justice William F. Bleakley (1883–1969), for New York Governor. [Read more…] about Reluctant Warriors of 1936: William Bleakley & Herbert Lehman
New York’s Uncertainty Over The Declaration of Independence
At the outset of the emerging American Revolution there was no intent to overthrow the established social order, nor to subvert the government of the British Empire.
Most colonists wanted self-government, self taxation and direct representation within the empire, and professed to stand for their old and recognized rights as men and as Englishmen under the British constitution, which they believed a blind parliament and an obstinate ministry were violating. [Read more…] about New York’s Uncertainty Over The Declaration of Independence
The Anti-Rent War in the Catskills
In 1845, a feudal land system that had survived the American Revolution met its match in the Catskills’ hills above Andes, in Delaware County, NY — and the clash left a county undersheriff dead and hundreds of farmers under arrest.
The Anti-Rent War was a massive, organized uprising that had been building since the late 1830s and swept across Upstate New York. [Read more…] about The Anti-Rent War in the Catskills
New York’s Revolutionary Provincial Congresses 1775-1776
By May 1775 civil war between the American colonies and the British government had begun. The Battles of Lexington and Concord, and the seizures of Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point told the story of an appeal to arms.
Town, county, city and state committees, as representatives of the people, assumed the functions of government, took the initiative in opposing the objectionable acts of the British parliament, and gradually, perhaps more or less unconsciously, prepared the people for the Revolutionary War. [Read more…] about New York’s Revolutionary Provincial Congresses 1775-1776
16 Socialists Poised for State Legislature, Most in New York State History
At least seven Democratic Socialist candidates have won primary elections for the New York Legislature in districts considered safe in November. The primary sweep included multiple victories over incumbent Democrats and in competitive open seats.
Not only will it more than double the socialist contingent in the state house to 16 across both chambers, it will mark the largest socialist contingent in the state legislature in New York history. [Read more…] about 16 Socialists Poised for State Legislature, Most in New York State History
An Intoxicating History of the American Revolution
America’s founding generation drank a staggering amount of alcohol by today’s standards. It influenced their politics, built and sustained their relationships, and drove the economy.
Booze was not a small part of colonial society, nor covertly consumed in private spaces — it was integral to American life. [Read more…] about An Intoxicating History of the American Revolution
Road to Independence: The 1776 Lee Resolution
On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence. But that vote didn’t begin with the Declaration of Independence.
It began on June 7, 1776, when Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794) of Virginia introduced a three-part resolution that would set the American Revolution on its definitive course to independence. [Read more…] about Road to Independence: The 1776 Lee Resolution
19th Century NY Law and Birthright Citizenship
In August 1829 the passenger ship Emily arrived from Liverpool and anchored in New York Harbor. Like many 19th century ships entering New York’s bustling port, Emily carried migrants intent on making a new life in the city. Passages such as the Emily’s were commonplace but the actions of her master, William Thompson, proved exceptional.
Thompson, likely on the order of shipowner George Miln, flagrantly ignored an 1824 New York State law intended to regulate the flow of migrants into the metropolis. [Read more…] about 19th Century NY Law and Birthright Citizenship
New York’s Provincial Congress: From Association to State Government
The New York Provincial Congress on May 26, 1775, appointed a “standing committee of correspondence” and the next day ordered all the counties in the Province of New York to name committees for the counties, towns and districts and to have the “general association” signed, in order to execute the orders of the Second Continental Congress.
Every citizen was to be invited to sign the “association” and by July 1775, all the non-signers (loyalist, or otherwise) were to be reported to the Provincial Congress. [Read more…] about New York’s Provincial Congress: From Association to State Government
The American Revolutionary Committee System: 1765-1775
During the controversies over the enforcement of the Navigation Acts, the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765, committees were created in New York to correspond with those of other colonies and to contrive means of opposing those measures. Similar committees were organized elsewhere.
The Townshend Acts of 1767 reawakened the disturbance occasioned by the Stamp Act and furnished a renewed occasion for protests through committees. [Read more…] about The American Revolutionary Committee System: 1765-1775