In my last post (read it with this link) I described the events of what happened in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. Today, I’ll move on to what caused the Salem Witch Trials. Trials such as those in Salem are not common in American history. Perhaps the closest example from later American history would be in […]
Month: October 2022
The Salem Witch Trials – True Magic or True Madness?
With Halloween approaching, I feel it’s a good time for a discussion of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. It’s one of those events that seems rather anomalous in American history. Witch trials were relatively common in Europe starting in the later Middle Ages. To my knowledge, however, this is the only major example of them […]
What Made Roberto Clemente’s Death Such An Awful Tragedy?
If you are a baseball fan, you know the name Roberto Clemente. If you aren’t, you still need to know his story and why it matters. His life was uplifting to many, yet had a tragic end. Furthermore, the story of Roberto Clemente’s death, and life, reveals much about America during the middle of the […]
The Ellenton Riot – One More Bloody Massacre in American History
The Ellenton Riot began about a month after the Hamburg Massacre, on September 16 of 1876. Like the Hamburg Massacre, it was in South Carolina and involved angry, armed, racist whites massacring African Americans. The main difference seems to be that in the Ellenton Riot, the body count of dead African Americans was much greater. […]
The Hamburg Massacre – A Tragic, Bloody Day In U.S. History
The Hamburg Massacre took place in South Carolina in July of 1876. It was another of the low-water marks of the era of American history we call Reconstruction, the twelve years following the end of the Civil War. Hamburg was a small town in South Carolina, just across the Savannah River that forms the state’s […]
Who is John Newton and Why Does His Life Matter?
John Newton is an interesting figure from British history. You’re familiar with his work, I bet, even if you don’t realize that you are. He led an amazing life. Probably the most similar figure I’ve blogged about before would be Bartolome de las Casas. (Read about de las Casas with this link.) Both de las […]