THE BILL OF RIGHTS: A BRIEF HISTORY #1

Insurrections often are propagated upon misinformation.   So too are the most recent band of domestic terrorist who like to hide behind our most sacred American institutions.  In this series, I want to explore the Bill of Rights and why some of the hype and hyperbole thrown around by the extremist is not just wrong but …

The original “Doctor Death”

During the 1700’s, executions in France were public events where entire towns gathered to watch. A common execution method for a poor criminal was quartering, where the prisoner’s limbs were tied to four oxen, then the animals were driven in four different directions ripping the person apart. Upper-class criminals could buy their way into a …

Historical Tidbits — Revolt of Pennsylvania Line

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. January 1, 1781                 Revolt of Pennsylvania Line On January 1, 1781, the Pennsylvania Line held a raucous New Year’s Day celebration. That evening, soldiers from several regiments armed themselves …

How to Survey Land with 18th Century Tools — Using the Gunter’s Rule

Using the Gunter’s Rule So how was multiplication done in the 18th Century.  Sure, you could and people did do long-hand multiplication just like you were taught in elementary school.  For example, we can multiply 384×56. The number with more digits is usually selected as the multiplicand: The long multiplication algorithm starts with multiplying the …