The white supremacy movement called the Ku Klux Klan has had at least three major incarnations:
the first during Reconstruction (1860s-1870s), the second before and after World War I (1915-1920s; final disbandment in 1944), and the third since World War II (1946—present).
Founded in 1780 by Zadoc Benedict, the first beaver-hat factory in America was located in Danbury, Connecticut. As late as the early 20th century, two thirds of the mills in this town were engaged in hat making.
In colonial New England, “hiving out” meant leaving a town when the rules or the neighbors were not to one’s liking and settling somewhere else.
Previous handguns before the Colt revolver could fire only once before they had to be reloaded. Samuel Colt’s invention, patented in 1835, had a six-chambered cylinder that rotated with each shot, automatically readying another bullet for firing. The Colt revolver became standard equipment on America’s western frontier.
The tepee was a conical dwelling made from buffalo hides, supported by poles, and often painted or decorated with beadwork. It was commonly used by Native Americans of the Great Plains. The wigwam was a rounded dwelling made from woven mats or birch bark over a framework of poles. It was widely used in the…
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place not on Bunker Hill but on Breed’s Hill, on June 17, 1775. The opposing forces were supposed to engage on Bunker Hill, but for unknown reasons the soldiers dug in on the smaller site, about 2,000 feet away. To straighten things out for visitors, Breed’s Hill was later…
The “Hurricane of Independence” was a hurricane that swept from North Carolina to Nova Scotia from September 2-9, 1775, killing over 4,000 people. It received its name because it coincided with the first stages of the American War of Independence.