Thought and Memory

Tag: America

  • Blacklisted by History

    The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America’s Enemies by M. Stanton Evans

    I’ve been lax posting my reading list updates. I will resolve to start posting more about what books I’ve read.

    Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America’s Enemies by M. Stanton Evans is a comprehensive and well-researched account of the life and work of one of the most controversial figures in American history. Evans provides a detailed analysis of McCarthy’s life, his political career, and his fight against Communism during the height of the Cold War. While the book can be slow-paced at times due to the wealth of information it contains, it is well worth the effort to read, as it sheds new light on McCarthy’s life and legacy. The book’s wealth of information can be overwhelming at times, but it is essential reading for anyone interested in this pivotal period in American history.

    One of the most compelling aspects of this book is how it challenges the prevailing narrative about McCarthy, which has been largely negative since his downfall in the 1950s. Evans offers a nuanced portrayal of the senator that shows him not as a reckless demagogue but as a determined patriot who was genuinely concerned about the threat of Communist infiltration in the United States government.

    Evans’s research is meticulous and exhaustive, drawing on primary sources and newly released government documents to paint a vivid picture of McCarthy’s life and work. The book also sheds light on the larger political and cultural context of McCarthy’s era, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the forces at play during one of the most tumultuous periods in American history.

    Ultimately, Blacklisted by History is an important and engrossing book that challenges our preconceived notions about one of the most controversial figures in American history. While the book can be slow-paced at times due to the wealth of information it contains, it is well worth the effort to read. Anyone interested in the history of “McCarthyism,” the Cold War, or the politics of the 1950s should make a point of reading this book. It is a powerful and thought-provoking work that challenges our preconceived notions about Joe McCarthy and his legacy.

  • Dr. Space: The Life of Wernher Von Braun

    My current read –

    Written by veteran aerospace journalist Bob Ward, who spent years investigating his subject, this biography presents a revealing but even-handed portrait of the father of modern rocketry. As he chronicles Werner von Braun’s life, Ward explodes many myths and misconceptions about the controversial genius who was a hero to some, a villain to others. The picture of von Braun that emerges is of a brilliant scientist with limitless curiosity and a drive to achieve his goals at almost any price—from developing the world’s first ballistic missile used against the Allies in World War II to helping launch the first U.S. satellite that hurled Americans into space and the Saturn V super-booster that powered them to the moon. Along the way readers are introduced to the human side of this charismatic visionary who brought the United States into the Space Age.

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/237011.Dr_Space

  • American Hero – Charles Lindbergh

    American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, activist and Medal of Honor recipient. First man to complete a nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance of 3,600 miles (5,800 km), flying alone for 33.5 hours.

  • On the 400th Thanksgiving.

    The First Thanksgiving, 1621

    This is the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving festival in the new world. Our ancestors landed here in 1620 and celebrated their first successful harvest in 1621.

    Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (August 8, 1863 – March 18, 1930) was an best known for his series of 78 scenes from , entitled The Pageant of a Nation, the largest series of American historical paintings by a single artist.

  • Happy 433st birthday to Virginia Dare!

    Virginia Dare (born August 18, 1587, date of death unknown) was the first English child born in a New World English overseas possession, and was named after the territory of Virginia, her birthplace. Her parents were Ananias Dare and Eleanor White (also spelled Ellinor or Elyonor).

  • Apollo 11

    One of mankind’s greatest accomplishments happened 51 years ago.

    Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin formed the American crew that landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface six hours and 39 minutes later on July 21 at 02:56 UTC; Aldrin joined him 19 minutes later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and they collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material to bring back to Earth. Command module pilot Michael Collins flew the Command Module Columbia alone in lunar orbit while they were on the Moon’s surface. Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21 hours, 36 minutes on the lunar surface at a site they named Tranquility Base before lifting off to rejoin Columbia in lunar orbit.

    Wikipedia
    Left to right: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin

    Thank you to the genius of Wernher von Braun, the chief architect of the Saturn V super heavy-lift launch vehicle that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun (March 23, 1912 – June 16, 1977) was a German–born American aerospace engineer and space architect. In 1967, von Braun was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, and in 1975, he received the National Medal of Science. He advocated a human mission to Mars.

    Wikipedia

    Sadly we’ve focused our efforts not on reaching Mars but rather on less fruitful endeavors for the past 50 years.

    Wernher von Braun

  • Charles Lindbergh, Hero

    March, 21 1928 – President Calvin Coolidge presents the Congressional Medal of Honor to Charles Lindbergh, a captain in the US Army Air Corps Reserve, for making the first solo trans-Atlantic flight. On June 11, 1927, Lindbergh had received the first Distinguished Flying Cross ever awarded.

  • “The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth” (1914) By Jennie A. Brownscombe

    Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (December 10, 1850 – August 5, 1936) was an American painter, designer, etcher, commercial artist and illustrator. Brownscombe studied art for years in the United States and in Paris. She was a founding member, student and teacher at the Art Students League of New York. She made genre paintings, including revolutionary and colonial American history, most notably The First Thanksgiving held at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She sold the reproduction rights to more than 100 paintings, and images of her work have appeared on prints, calendars and greeting cards. Her works are in many public collections and museums. In 1899 she was described by New York World as “one of America’s best artists.”

  • Lewis and Clark

    On this day, 24 November 1805, Lewis and Clark reach Pacific Ocean, 1st Americans to cross continent.

    >The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States, departing in May 1804, from near St. Louis making their way westward through the continental divide to the Pacific coast.

    >The expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, consisting of a select group of U.S. Army volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend, Second Lieutenant William Clark. Their perilous journey lasted from May 1804 to September 1806. The primary objective was to explore and map the newly acquired territory, find a practical route across the Western half of the continent, and establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it.

    >The campaign’s secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area’s plants, animal life, and geography, and establish trade with local Native American tribes. With maps, sketches, and journals in hand, the expedition returned to St. Louis to report their findings to Jefferson. Via Wikipedia.


  • George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

    By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

    Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

    Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

    And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

    Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

    Go. Washington

    Gilbert Stuart Williamstown Portrait of George Washington.jpg

    Gilbert Stuart – http://www.clarkart.edu/Collection/7577