A short history of the United States Electoral College.
Every four years, Americans flock to the polls in November to cast their vote for their favorite presidential candidate. However, when they’re filling in the little bubble next to their candidate’s name, they aren’t actually voting for that candidate directly. This, of course, is thanks to a little system known as the Electoral College.
The United States was founded on July 4, 1776, after the Declaration of Independence was ratified in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. However, the Declaration was all that the young nation had. Establishing a cohesive system of government would take another decade to get around to figuring out.
Shortly after the Declaration of Independence was ratified, the Articles of Confederation were created on November 15, 1777. However, the Articles of Confederation would not be ratified until March 1, 1781. The Articles of Confederation simply served as a short-term national government solution for the young nation after the split from England. …
Born just 30 years after the first photograph was ever captured, “Nebraska’s First Photographer” dedicated his life to documenting the history of white settlement in central Nebraska and the Great Plains region.
On January 24, 1856, a baby boy named Solomon was born to Thomas and Esther Butcher in Wetzel County, Virginia. During the Civil War, this region became part of West Virginia. However, by the time of this territory change, the Butcher family was already settled nicely into LaSalle County, Illinois. Solomon Butcher would spend his formative years in Illinois, moving there as a 4-year-old in 1860 with his family and staying in the region until around 1880.
After spending 20-years planting roots in the Illinois area, Thomas Butcher was once again restless and looking for a change. The west was calling him. In 1880, Thomas Butcher announced to his family that he was giving up his secure job with the railroad and moving west to establish a homestead. …
Or was it the white Josh Gibson?
Baseball historians widely agree that the greatest power hitter of all-time is a man by the name of Josh Gibson. In 1930, Gibson began his baseball career with the Homestead Grays. He would continue to play his beloved sport of baseball until 1946. While Gibson achieved a batting average of .359 and hit almost 800 home runs throughout his career, he was never allowed to play in a game of Major League Baseball. Through the gentlemen’s agreement of 1887, racial segregation had firmly been established in the professional leagues. The color line in baseball prevented one of the greatest power hitters from playing in the league. …
The profound thinking of Mary Oliver.
On September 10, 1935, a future poet was born in Maple Heights, Ohio. The couple that welcomed this child into the world was Edward and Helen Oliver. They gave their little girl the name of Mary Jane Oliver. While growing up just outside of Cleveland, Ohio, little Mary endured a difficult childhood. Mary went through a hardship that no child should have to endure, sexual abuse.
This abuse and trauma lead Mary to experience recurring nightmares throughout her youth. Nature ended up being Mary’s saving grace. Throughout her childhood, she spent a great deal of her time outside, either reading or going on walks. …
A Poem
On March the seventh, nineteen sixty-five,
Over six-hundred would march in protest.
Not everyone would make it out alive,
But equality would remain the quest.
As marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge,
Alabama state troopers attacked them.
Cops never let up, not even a smidge.
For the protesters, it looked rather grim.
But the march from Selma was well worth it.
The protesters had a story to tell.
The violence forced the nation to admit
That Jim Crow was indeed alive and well.
When the once peaceful march turned violent,
The nation could no longer be silent.
Note:
On March 7, 1965, a 25-year-old activist by the name of John Lewis led a group of over 600 peaceful protesters across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. The Selma to Montgomery marches consisted of three protest marches along the 54-mile highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state’s capital of Montgomery. The goal of this peaceful protest was to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the repressive segregation tactics that were still being upheld in Alabama and throughout the South. …
