Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States, after having served as our country’s first Secretary of State, second Vice President, Governor of Virginia, Minister to France and more. Yet, when planning his funeral arrangements, he ordered that his...
At 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, 1865, a train draped in black bunting pulled slowly into Philadelphia’s Broad Street Station. Thousands lined the streets as a coffin was removed, placed into a hearse, and reverently transported to Independence Hall. Viewing that...
The Fourth Amendment to our Constitution guarantees that “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,...
On July 4, 1827, a new two-act national drama premiered at the Chestnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Written by George Washington Parke Custis, it was based on the story of his grandfather’s (through marriage) encounter with indigenous tribal...
On May 28, 1754, George Washington led a band of Virginia recruits and Native American warriors led by the Mingo sachem Tanaghrisson in a surprise attack on French troops. Little did he realize that the incident would spark a world war involving Great Britain,...
It was well-known that Benjamin Franklin had a near-death experience – with a turkey! Among Franklin’s many experiments with electricity was his 1750 attempt to demonstrate a procedure for electrocuting a turkey, believing that killing a turkey in this manner,...
