COLONIAL WINTER MASQUERADESaturday, January 27, 2024 from 5 PM to 9 PM Kings Mills 6000 Pennell RdMedia, PA 19063 From the Italian, a Masquerade is an assembly of persons wearing masks and usually other disguises, the word evolved from Arabic maskharah “buffoon, to make a mockery of.” Dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries, …
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It is great to argue that the first Congress was inspired to adopt the Establishment Clause[i] by stories of Puritans and other separatist fleeing religious persecution in Europe and some mythical ideal that Americans are somehow more tolerant of other religions than their forebears but this is clearly NOT TRUE. Jews, atheists, Wiccans and Muslims …
Continue reading “The Secular Argument for the Establishment Clause of Amendment 1”
Today we think of beer as a luxury item, something to enjoy during our leisure times and beverage known and imbibed for its intoxicating properties. This was not always true. In fact, beer was once considered the most healthy drink to give to children and vital to survival. To understand this, you must first understand …
Continue reading “Basic Colonial Brewing #1 — The Importance of Beer in the 1700’s Colonial America”
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 10, 1776 – Common Sense, a fifty-page pamphlet by Thomas Paine, was published. It sold over 500,000 copies in America and Europe, influencing both the authors of the …
More 18th Century soldiers died of malnutrition and disease than by the hands of their enemies. For the British, each soldier was an investment of a nation’s time and resources so keeping them “fit for duty” was not just a humanitarian concern, it was protecting the nations investment. Getting soldiers trained and transported North America …
In 1994, I became interested in the someone rebellious and definitely an anachronistic hobby of home-brewing. Brewing beer at home became legal (again) in 1979 so by the time I got involved it was a weird mix of semi-commercial home-brew supply stores that sold malt, yeast, and hops in various forms plus a hodgepodge of …
When does slavery end? That is not a simple question. Slavery was “abolished” several times: 1807 – Britain passes Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, outlawing British Atlantic slave trade. 1808 the Migration or Importation Clause (Article I, section 9) of the US Constitution (ratified in 1787) allowed Congress to end the importation of slaves …
Continue reading “The Scourge of Slavery (#14) — Outlawing Slavery”
Several years ago, I was giving tours at Independence Hall when one of the guests approached me outside Congress Hall to ask questions about the Articles of Confederations (BTW, volunteers love to be asked questions, that’s why we do this so don’t hold back. If you ask us a question that we don’t know the …
Continue reading “What Language is that written in? Understanding 18th Century Handwriting”
Poor Richard’s Almanack, which Franklin began publishing at the end of 1732, espoused his greatest life goals: the making of money and the promotion of virtue. It became, in the course of its twenty-five-year run, America’s first great humor classic. The fictional Poor Richard Saunders and his nagging wife, Bridget, helped to define what would …
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 7, 1777 2nd Battle of Trenton On New Year’s Day, Washington’s force of 5,000 massed again in Trenton. The next day Cornwallis arrived with an army 5,500. After …
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Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 