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. November 22, 1718 – William Teach (AKA Blackbeard) was captured and executed by the Royal Navy off the coast of North Carolina. His mythical buried treasure has not been …
Author Archives: Michael Carver
Antifederalist No. 52 — On the Guarantee of Congressional Biennial Elections
The following essay was signed by Consider Arms, Malichi Maynard, and Samuel Field. It was taken from The Hampshire Gazette of April 9, 1788. We the subscribers being of the number, who did not assent to the ratification of the federal constitution, under consideration in the late state convention, held at Boston, to which we …
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FEDERALIST No. 52: The House of Representatives
We are on the eve of a very important election. Much has been said about the Constitution and what is Constitutional so let’s take a few weeks and look at the foundational letters written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay arguing for the creation of the US Constitution. The comment tab is open. Please share your …
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Turkey? Why Turkey?
For many a Thanksgiving meal is centered on turkey. Turkeys are indigenous only to parts of North America and Europeans only first came into contact with turkeys roughly 500 years ago. So how did turkeys (the bird) end up being named so similarly to Turkey (the country)? As far as we can tell, the first European …
How to Cheat at 18th Century Whist
Whist was a very most popular card games in Georgian England, played by the gentry in all the best coffee houses in London. It features prominently in the novels by Jane Austen and is considered fashionable in high society as a challenging strategic card game requiring good memory, sympathetic partnering and psychological acumen. The rules …
Antifederalist No. 51 — Do Checks and Balances Really Secure the Rights of the People?
This satire is from a pamphlet of “Aristocrotis,” The Government of Nature Delineated; Or An Exact Picture of the New Federal Constitution (Carlisle, PA, 1788). The present is an active period. Europe is in a ferment breaking their constitutions; America is in a similar state, making a constitution. For this valuable purpose a convention was …
FEDERALIST No. 51: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments.
We are on the eve of a very important election. Much has been said about the Constitution and what is Constitutional so let’s take a few weeks and look at the foundational letters written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay arguing for the creation of the US Constitution. The comment tab is open. Please share your …
Well, I must admit that I am conflicted on this particular subject. A local PA Legislator is introducing a bill reinstituting cursive writing in our schools. YES, I am a great believer in maintaining core skills and I laugh every time I meet someone who cannot decipher cursive text. The question, however, is does this …
Antifederalist No. 50 — On Constitutional Conventions. (Part 2)
Antifederalists sought a second constitutional convention immediately after conclusion of the first. This essay by “An Old Whig,” is from either The Freeman’s Journal or The North-American Intelligencer, of November 28, 1787. It is true that the Continental Convention have directed their proposed constitution to be laid before a Convention of Delegates to be chosen …
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FEDERALIST No. 50: Periodical Appeals to the People Considered
We are on the eve of a very important election. Much has been said about the Constitution and what is Constitutional so let’s take a few weeks and look at the foundational letters written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay arguing for the creation of the US Constitution. The comment tab is open. Please share your …
Continue reading “FEDERALIST No. 50: Periodical Appeals to the People Considered”
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 