Barack Obama on the Importance of Reading Books, Even When You’re Extremely Busy

Each year, President Barack Obama releases his reading list. His recent recommendations include: "The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams" by Stacy Schiff, a biography of a Founding Father. “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation,” by Imani Perry, which won the National Book Award for its nuanced analysis of …

Attack Ads, Circa 1800

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_zTN4BXvYI&t=102s ReasonTV: "Have this year's negative political ads really "taken dirty to a whole new level, as CNN's Anderson Cooper frets? Is a "return to civility...a relic of a bygone era," as President Barack Obama laments? Er, not exactly. If anonymous political speech, the other widely decried villain of this political season, helped found the …

Smartest Presidents & American History Questions People Generally Get Wrong

Who fought in the French and Indian War? Who discovered America? Who were the smartest presidents (with the highest IQ's)? Click for detailed answers on the Readers Digest site. These are subjective judgments of course. Many didn't take IQ tests. Short version: John Quincy Adams. Thomas Jefferson. James Madison. John F. Kennedy. Bill Clinton. Jimmy …

American Revolution: Black History #8

Crash Course Black History with Clint Smith: "When we talk about the American Revolution and Revolutionary War, the discussion often involves lofty ideals like liberty, and freedom, and justice. The Declaration of Independence even opens with the idea that "all men are created equal." But it turns out, the war wasn't being fought on behalf …

Founding Father John Adams: 6 Posts

John Adams Put Principles Above Politics. That Did Not Make Him Popular. Ode to the Federalist Party’s Dazzling Accomplishments in 12 Years Constitutional Crisis: Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 Five Events Led to the Rise of Jeffersonian Republicans and Decline of Federalists Supreme Court Power Struggles Started in 1800 and Continue Today 2 Lectures on John Adams from …

Lectures on John Adams by Historian David McCullough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMXsd83Nv1w The John Adams Institute: On September 21, 2004, The John Adams Institute hosted an evening with David McCullough. To celebrate the 2004-2005 lecture season, the John Adams Institute paid tribute to the American patriot, John Adams, who provided both the original inspiration and namesake to the institute. 2005 marks the 225th anniversary of his …

‘What the 1798 Sedition Act Got Right’

"It forced a conversation about the dangers of misinformation, one we need to have again today," wrote Katlyn Marie Carter in The Washington Post. No self-respecting journalism student of my era would ever think the sedition act of 1798 got anything right. We learned that it was a stab into the heart of the First …

Sam Adams and Committees of Correspondence Were Essential to Development of U.S. Democracy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mXfTNY3lmg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFYkoxZUpi8 In the years prior to the American revolution, citizens in the various colonies organized ‘correspondence committees‘ to share ideas in the new experiment called self-government. They were “shadow governments organized by the Patriot leaders of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of the American Revolution,” Wikipedia explained. “The committees of correspondence rallied opposition on …

States’ Rights Vs. Federal Rights: Factors in Trump-Biden Election Certification, Nullification Crisis of 1832 and in Civil War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfQf208o3eI It's ironic that the current dispute over election fraud centers on "conservatives" or Trump supporters who claimed that the federal Congress could nullify election results that have been certified by the states. Eight Republican senators and 139 House members voted for this position on the early morning of Jan. 7, 2021. They wanted Congress …

Alexander Hamilton’s Hyper-Critical View of John Adams’ Administration

Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were both members of the Federalist political party, but they despised each other. Hamilton even challenged the President of the United States to a duel! Adams viewed the challenge as beneath him and ignored it. This rap that was cut from the "Hamilton" musical pretty much sums up their relationship. …