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Looking back at past elections…
November 10, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Now that the 2016 U.S. Presidential election is in the rear view mirror, we thought it might be fun to take a look back at past elections.Which were the most impacting? hotly contested? controversial? The History Channel has an interesting post (Memorable Elections) which explores these questions. It begins, in part:
“With the chance to serve as chief executive of the world’s premier power at stake, the race for the U.S. presidency has delivered its share of hotly-contested elections. George W. Bush became the fourth president to win despite losing the popular vote in 2000, an election that wasn’t decided until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a Florida recount to be unconstitutional. Harry S. Truman won in 1948 despite the publication of a newspaper that announced otherwise, while Rutherford B. Hayes moved to the White House only after a controversial electoral commission helped him overcome a massive popular-vote deficit in 1877… (read more).”
Please enjoy the currently available authentic historic newspapers containing election content, spanning from George Washington to Barack Obama. The list has been arranged in reverse-chronological order: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS (excuse the stray reports regarding non-U.S. elections).
Where is Polypotamia today?
September 12, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The “Maryland Gazette” of April 30, 1784 includes a small yet fascinating report from Congress that ten new states cut out of the Western Territory had bee created, but none of the states are as we know them today.
Through the information provided by QalaBist.com we learn that the state of Sylvania was proposed to include much of present-day Minnesota, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and some of northern Wisconsin. The State of Michigania was proposed to include most of Wisconsin, but nothing of Michigan. The State of Chersonesus (the Greek word for peninsula) was proposed to include most of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The State of Assenispia (named after the Assenisipi River, also known as the Rock River.) was proposed to include the northern part of modern-day Indiana. The State of Metropotamia was proposed to include southern Michigan and parts of northern Ohio and Illinois. The State of Illinoia was proposed to include most of Illinois. The State of Saratoga was proposed to include most of Indiana. The State of Washington was proposed to include most of Ohio. The State of Polypotamia was proposed to include most of western Kentucky. The State of Pelisipia was proposed to include most of eastern Kentucky.
A fascinating piece of American history not known by most.
First use of the term “Columbia”…
December 6, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Finding “first” mentions of significant, people, places and terms is always a delight for the rare newspaper collector, and with the internet–and the time required–many fascinating items can be found.
The term “Columbia” as a reference to America, very commonly used through the 19th century in both print & image, was first used in the London publication “Gentleman’s Magazine” in 1738. Because the printing of Parliamentary debates was illegal in England, they appeared under the thinly veiled heading of “Debates in the Senate of Lilliput” or similar heading, with names & places often fictitious or taken from Johnathan Swift’s famous work, which was the literary sensation at that time. The term Columbia was coined by the famed Samuel Johnson, a regular contributor to the “parliamentary” reports found in “The Gentleman’s Magazine“.
In the June issue of 1738, the debates from Parliament note: “…It is observable that their conquests and acquisitions in Columbia (which is the Lilliputian name for the country that answers our America,) have very little contributed to the power of those nations…”.
A significant “first use” of a very popular poetic name for the United States of America.