Immigration and citizenship have been on the forefront of the political debate most of this year and especially recently. On Tuesday, President Trump announced his intention to end birthright citizenship with an executive action. This comes one day after the Pentagon announced plans to send more than 5,000 American troops to the Southwest border to […]
The news of the past week has largely revolved around questions of immigration and citizenship. With that in mind, a recently released novel caught our eye: “A Cobbler’s Tale,” by Neil Perry Gordon, explores his family’s struggle for survival as Jewish immigrants passing through Ellis Island into the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the […]
As World War I wound down in the Spring of 1918, soldiers around the world began getting sick with something flu-like. But this form of influenza far outpaced the normal illness, spreading quickly from city to city. Its progression through a single patient was very rapid in many cases. By the time the pandemic ended, […]
This is part 3 of a 3-part series. Read the previous installment here. Back in Berlin, Möllhausen was invited to live in Humboldt’s household for a while. He married his fiancé, Caroline Seifert, met King Frederick William IV, who was interested in hearing first-hand accounts about the American West and even bought some of the […]
This is part 2 of a 3-part series. Read the previous installment here. Compared to the earlier two-man expedition of Duke Paul and Möllhausen, the 1853 Railroad Survey under the command of U.S. Army Lt. Amiel Weeks Whipple was a large, impressive undertaking. He had assembled a wagon train and about seventy men. A few […]
Adapted from Looking for Humboldt & Searching for German Footprints in New Mexico and Beyond by Erika Schelby Few Americans are aware of the long-standing fascination Germans have for the American West. Even fewer know that it was two Germans, Heinrich Balduin Möllhausen and Friedrich Wilhelm von Egloffstein who were the first to depict the […]
The American Civil War proved to be one of the bloodiest, most devastating wars in United States history, claiming more than 600,000 lives within four years. However, twice the number of soldiers who lost their lives in battle died as a result of disease. Poor sanitation and unsophisticated medical care contributed to the contraction of […]
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and the richest man in modern human history, pledged last week to give $2 billion to support homeless families and education programs in underserved communities. The announcement was met with mixed responses. Many voiced concerns about the role of the wealthy in policy making, the focus on short term solutions […]
In July of 1892, Homestead, Pennsylvania was the site of a violent labor strike between the Carnegie Steel Company and many of its employees, represented by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers. With the contract between the union and Carnegie Steel set to expire on July 1, Andrew Carnegie, away in Scotland at […]
On September 25, 1904, the “Chicago Tribune” printed an article entitled “How to Catch a Millionaire Husband.” It featured women who had made “brilliant” matches to some of the wealthiest and most prominent men of the time. With its strong use of graphics and gossipy style of writing, the article foreshadows the modern-day “listicle.” With […]