Squanto’s Remarkable Story Before and After Befriending the Pilgrims

"Imagine being kidnapped and taken in chains across the ocean. Six years later when you finally make your way back home, you find that in the interim your civilization has been annihilated, your villages littered with skeletons. This is what befell a Wampanoag Indian known as Squanto or Tisquantum." Writer George Spencer tells the remarkable …

Hannibal, in 218 BC, Terrified Rome

The relics of ancient Carthage, located in what is now Tunisia in North Africa, have mostly not survived, but the legend of its most famous general, Hannibal, most definitely have. He invaded Rome in 218 BC with 100,000 soldiers and hundreds of elephants and absolutely terrified its citizens, almost conquering the Roman Empire. Writer George …

12 Fascinating Stories About Some of the Giants of History

Writer George Spencer has published more than a dozen outstanding pieces on some amazing characters in history on his Substack site, "Courage 101: True Tales of Grit and Glory." They could be part of a gripping package for beginning students of history or anyone with an interest in the topic. "Hey Bulldog! His Destiny: Save …

Profiles of Eisenhower, Conqueror of the Conqueror of Worlds

"No one ever shot at him. He never shot at anyone. His toughest battle? Controlling his temper. His name? Eisenhower." His name means “hewer of steel” in German. Shortly World War II ended, one of his military aides described him as “the conqueror of the conqueror of worlds.” Writer George Spencer's profile of General and …

Origin of the 1963 March on Washington Began in 1941

Crash Course Black History #32: "The March on Washington of 1963 is an enduring and widely-known event of the Civil Rights movement. But the March has its roots in an earlier planned March on Washington that didn't happen. In 1941, labor leader A. Philip Randolph began planning a gathering aimed at many of the same …

How FDR and Lincoln Changed Thanksgiving + Round-Up of New Perspectives and A Game

In my Slender Threads newsletter, I round up and summarize new perspectives on Thanksgiving, the great historical forces going back to the 1500s that led to the first one, and the wars between settlers and Native Americans that followed. Thanksgiving Games and New Perspectives 400 Years After The First One. My friend George Spencer published …