In 1864 the American Civil War was still raging. The capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia, was still tantalizingly close to Union forces, but as of yet out of reach. There on an island in the James River was Belle Isle, a holding pen for Union prisoners. Like most Civil War prisons, it was not […]
Category: Americas
Typhoid Mary
There were many ways to die in the overcrowded disease ridden cities of the late 19th century and early 20th century. Typhoid was one the most terrifying ones simply because of the speed it could spread through a household. It’s initial symptoms could be anything- fever and some abdominal cramping. Then the fever got higher […]
The Current Wars
AC/DC- It’s not just a band. It was the culmination of the struggle between two geniuses. In the late 19th century, electricity was the hot new technology. Thomas Edison had begun work with this field and in the 1870’s invented the first practical light bulb. Arc lamps were used in cities on larger scales, but […]
The Fox Sisters
Spiritualism was sweeping the United States in the late 1840’s. As discussed in the book Occult America, this was the first chance for women to exercise any type of religious or political leadership. There were many women who were involved with the Spiritualist practices of seances and spirit channeling. The first American-born woman to become […]
East St. Louis Riots of 1917
The Great Migration saw great numbers of Southern African Americans who traveled north to find jobs and opportunities. One of the places that became a stopping point was the industrial city of East St. Louis. In Illinois across the Mississippi river from St. Louis, East St. Louis was booming due to increased production for World […]