HCR: "In the 1920s, President Warren G. Harding’s secretary of the interior, Albert Fall, went to prison for a year for accepting a $385,000 bribe from oilman Edward L. Doheny in exchange for leases to drill for oil on naval reserve land in Elk Hills and Buena Vista, California, and Teapot Dome, Wyoming. Fall was … Continue reading Teapot Dome: First Major Presidential Scandal, 1920s
Economics
U.S. Needs Immigrants To Maintain Global Economic and Political Power
"Demography is destiny," supposedly said 19th-century French philosopher Auguste Comte, noting that increases in population enhance the political and economic power of a region or nation, while decreases in population reduce the economic or political power of a region or nation. China and Russia are losing population, so is India and Japan, partly due to … Continue reading U.S. Needs Immigrants To Maintain Global Economic and Political Power
Startling Statistic On US Income Inequality Shift Since 1981
The U.S. economic system has moved $50 trillion since 1981 from the bottom 90% to the top 10% while exploding the annual budget deficit and the national debt. -- Heather Cox Richardson, History Professor, Letter From An American.Time magazine, 2020: "According to a groundbreaking new working paper by Carter C. Price and Kathryn Edwards of the RAND … Continue reading Startling Statistic On US Income Inequality Shift Since 1981
15 Million High Net Worth Individuals Frequent the Earth, One Third in the U.S.
Individuals with a net worth of $50 million or more are ultra high net-worth individuals, or UHNWI for short. Simple high net-worth individuals hold $5 million or more in liquid assets. Wikipedia: "As of December 2022, there were estimated to be just over 15 million HNWIs in the world according to the World's Wealthiest Cities Report … Continue reading 15 Million High Net Worth Individuals Frequent the Earth, One Third in the U.S.
Why Many Americans Feel Unhappy About The Economy Despite Indicators of Improvement
PBS News Hour: The latest jobs report is proof again of a labor market that has been resilient and often stronger than expected. But according to numerous polls, many Americans don’t feel the economy is strong overall or helping them or their families. Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports on what’s causing the disconnect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoQYV9Ct4T0
J.P. Morgan, One of World’s Richest Men, Faced Regulation By Teddy Roosevelt
J. P. Morgan (1837-1913), a financier and investment banker, dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known as J.P. Morgan and Co., he was a driving personal force behind the wave of industrial consolidations in the United States at the turn … Continue reading J.P. Morgan, One of World’s Richest Men, Faced Regulation By Teddy Roosevelt
Decline In Immigration to US Threatens Growth of Regions
NYT: "Immigrants helped make places like Northwest Arkansas economic dynamos. But their dwindling numbers, a big factor in slower population growth, could have long-term repercussions." Click. Legions of immgrants from El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, India and elsewhere answered the call to work in poultry production, trucking, construction, and computer programming. The United States … Continue reading Decline In Immigration to US Threatens Growth of Regions
US And China Ease Short-Term Tensions, But What About the Long Term?
US President Joe Biden met with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping in San Francisco and eased tensions between the two superpowers -- renewing military communications, agreeing to encourage renewable energy development, and reducing fossil fuel emissions. The occasion was a summit of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which promotes free trade. XI called the … Continue reading US And China Ease Short-Term Tensions, But What About the Long Term?
1929-1932 Rough Shock of the Great Depression and How Workers and WWI Vets Were Treated
October 29, 1929, was when the stock market crashed, historian Heather Cox Richardson reminds us, signaling the end of an era -- the Roaring Twenties -- and the beginning of the Great Depression, and ultimately a new era in which Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt through Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter -- from 1933 until 1981 … Continue reading 1929-1932 Rough Shock of the Great Depression and How Workers and WWI Vets Were Treated
‘Vanderbilt’ By Anderson Cooper
CBS Sunday Morning: In his 2021 book, CNN anchor and "60 Minutes" correspondent Anderson Cooper "tells the story of the Vanderbilt family dynasty – from his great-great-great-grandfather, Cornelius 'Commodore' Vanderbilt, once the richest man in America who built his fortune through steamships and railroads, to his mother, socialite Gloria Vanderbilt. Cooper talks with correspondent Mo … Continue reading ‘Vanderbilt’ By Anderson Cooper
Teaching History's Slender Threads, Including 'What Ifs', Almosts, Alternatives and Turning Points 