Antifederalist No. 1 — General Introduction: A Dangerous Plan of Benefit Only to The “Aristocratick Combination.”

From The Boston Gazette and Country Journal, November 26, 1787. I am pleased to see a spirit of inquiry burst the band of constraint upon the subject of the NEW PLAN for consolidating the governments of the United States, as recommended by the late Convention. If it is suitable to the GENIUS and HABITS of …

UPCOMING EVENT

Washington’s Crossing Autumn Market and EncampmentWashington’s Crossing Historic Park October 16, 2021 12:00pm – 4:00 pm At the Autumn Market & Encampment at Washington’s Crossing Historical Park, colonial townspeople will gather at the marketplace in the Historic Village and sell their wares, soldiers will drill 18th-century military tactics, the park’s fife and drum corps will perform, and …

Serendipity!

Sometimes the most interesting things are the things you learn by accident.  So, I did my normal Spymaster program at Princeton on September 12, 2021 and in this program, I demonstrate invisible inks.  My invisible ink (for cost and safety constraints) is a Na2HCO3 (baking soda) and turmeric reaction.  Unfortunately, when the people who graciously …

Colonial Spymaster (#6) — The Culper Ring and its Codes

Benjamin Tallmadge established a small group of trustworthy men and women from his hometown of Setauket, Long Island. Known as the Culper Spy Ring, Tallmadge’s homegrown network would become the most effective of any intelligence-gathering operation on either side during the Revolutionary War. Tallmadge recruited his childhood friend, the farmer Abraham Woodhull, and Caleb Brewster, …

Colonial Spymaster (#5) — Pigpen Cypher

The Pigpen Cipher is another example of a substitution cipher, but rather than replacing each letter with another letter, the letters are replaced by symbols. The cipher has an interesting history: although its true origins are unknown, it has been used by many groups. Most notoriously, it was the cipher of choice for use by …

Samuel Adams was born on September 27, 1722

On September 27, 1722, Samuel Adams was born to Samuel Adams, Sr. and Mary (Fifield) Adams. Samuel was one of twelve children only three of whom survived past their 3rd birthday. Adams went on to attend Harvard College where he graduated in 1740 and after several failed attempts to make a career as a lawyer, …