During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress had no power to levy and collect taxes, nor was there a tangible basis for securing funds from foreign investors or governments. Left with no real money, the delegates resolved to issue paper money in the form of bills of credit, promising redemption once the war was won. …
Continue reading “US Treasury Department Founded: September 2, 1789”
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. September 2, 1752 (sort of) – The British Empire ended their use of the Julian Calendar, switching to the Gregorian resulting in a 12-day shift. The next day on …
Continue reading “Historical Tidbits — Switching to the Gregorian Calendar”
Okay, this is a rant. If that offends you, delete this email or skip this blog article. It is unfortunately, election season and I have some tags left. <<< === Good Hunting! I debated as to whether I was going to write this article. To be sure, it is motivated by an intense ANGER at …
September 15, 202410 AM – 4 PMPrinceton Battlefield500 Mercer StreetPrinceton, NJ 08540 Going into the Revolution, Americans were at a huge disadvantage to the European powers when it came to spy-craft and cryptography. The British and French employed master spies who had the benefit of centuries of experience in coding and deciphering secret communication between public officials. …
John Chapman was born in Massachusetts in 1774 and was a student of Emanuel Swedenborg, who espoused a secular humanist creed. This is similar to the Jewish concept of tikkun olam (תִּיקּוּן עוֹלָם). Secular humanism teaches that the world is innately good but that there is always room for us to improve it. Ethics are, …
Continue reading “John Chapman Worked to Make the World a Little Better”
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. September 1, 1764 — Currency Act The colonies suffered a constant shortage of currency with which to conduct trade. There were no gold or silver mines and currency could …
Okay, this is a rant. If that offends you, delete this email or skip this blog article. It is unfortunately, election season and I have some tags left. <<< === Good Hunting! Taking a Lesson from Kim Jung Il, Donald Trump Mails Trash to Random People. God, it must be embarrassing to be a GOP …
Continue reading “It may be Free Speech, but it feels like Hate Mail”
People are always welcome to come to my events and if you come in 18th Century kit, you can be part of the program or just hang out in the tent as you see fit. However, if you are truly interested in really learning the process, teaching the public, and being the brewer, you should …
In 1740, the “French salute”, or greeting another by kissing them on the cheek, started to become fashionable in London. With the Seven Years War (AKA French and Indian War), the “French salute” quickly became controversial, being called unEnglish. Encouraged instead was the “old English” way of “pulling off a Hat. For the British, removing your …
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. Notes on the Origin of the @ Symbol The modern and now ubiquitous use of the @ in email addresses lends us to assume this is a modern symbol. …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 