When Franklin Delano Roosevelt took the oath of office on March 4, 1933, unemployment was 25 percent; homes and farms were lost to foreclosure, and people were hungry. Hobos rode the rails looking for work. Farmers from the Great Plains migrated to California, a journey described by John Steinbeck in the Grapes of Wrath. Incumbent
Articles Categorized Sandra Wagner-Wright
First Ladies in the “Roaring Twenties”
For various reasons, we are more aware of some First Ladies than others. Last week, I skipped over Edith Roosevelt and Helen Taft in favor of closing the blog with Edith Wilson. This week, I intended to begin with Lou Hoover, but I started thinking about 1920 as a pivotal year. The United States had
First Ladies in Unusual Circumstances
After the civil war, American First Ladies were women with direct experience in the social movements of their time. As young women, none had any expectation of the office they would hold, but their role as presidential spouses continued to bring change to the White House. The Election of 1876 After eight years in the
First Ladies: Expanding the Role
During the course of the nineteenth century, First Ladies emerged from behind their husband’s careers to become separate personalities. Though these women were still identified most broadly as wives and mothers, social expectations changed. This second installment in my series about First Ladies profiles a selection of nineteenth century First Ladies who caught my interest:
Christmas Star 2020
Solstice, the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, happens on December 21. In addition to being the longest night, December 21, 2020 is also the date of the Great Conjunction when Jupiter and Saturn will be so closely aligned that, providing the night is clear, you can go outside and see a
Christmas Cards: From Convenient Greeting to Annual Burden
I grew up in a different America, one that had one black plastic rotary phone per household and one black & white family television powered by tubes. Yes, it was that long ago. Christmas trees were “live” with scraggly branches and decorated with strands of tinsel that had to be correctly placed, usually by a
The First Thanksgiving Feast
Over the years, historians have shared stories about the multi-cultural harvest event that took place in Plymouth in 1621. The usual version is that when the Pilgrims arrived on Cape Cod, the Wampanoag People showed them how to plant corn, and that when the harvest came in, everyone celebrated. If you don’t look too closely,
Cranberries — An American Fruit
Do you recognize this iconic Norman Rockwell picture? The artist created it in 1943 with the title Freedom from Want to illustrate one of Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms justifying American participation World War II. The illustration went on to represent the perfect American Thanksgiving Celebration. Three generations gather around the dinner table to enjoy a truly
Lillian Gilbreth & The Modern American Kitchen
This is a story about Lillian Gilbreth and how she applied principles of scientific management developed by Frederick Taylor to modernize American kitchens. Taylor believed there was one best way to accomplish any task. The trick is to find it. Once the method is discovered, tools and work methods can be standardized to increase efficient
Daylight Saving – It’s About Time
Do you have a traditional clock or watch? Did you remember to push time back an hour? If you use a smart device to find “tell” time, the change happened automatically. If, like me, you still wear an old-fashioned watch, the adjustment requires a bit more attention. Daylight Saving happens twice every year, forward in
Ichabod Disappears
Imagine. Two horses approach Sleepy Hollow Bridge at a thunderous gallop. No doubt the first horse, Gunpowder, is on his last legs. He’s hardly fit enough for a trot. Now he catches his rider’s terror, and gallops as if the very devil is behind him. The second horse is sleek and muscular. His hooves pound
Ichabod Crane Flees The Headless Horseman
Ichabod Crane is a poor man with aspirations; a lover of ghost stories who fears the dark. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving creates an unsympathetic character as the subject of his American ghost story. Last week, Ichabod courted Katrina Van Tassel, hoping she would accept him as a suitor. One wonders why
Ichabod Crane Goes a-Courtin’
In honor of Halloween, I’m sharing Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow this month. It’s about more than a wild horseback ride in the dead of night. Last week we met Ichabod Crane, a man of unfortunate appearance and few prospects. Nevertheless, Ichabod persevered in his quest for a comfortable life. Ichabod set his
Meet Ichabod Crane – Credulous Schoolteacher
October is best known for Halloween, a spooky holiday on the last evening of the month. The day is associated with costumes, ‘trick-or-treating,’ and spooky stories of ghosts and other supernatural beings. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, published by American writer Washington Irving in 1819, is one of the most well-known. The famous headless horseman
West v.West:The Salem Scandal of 1806,Part 3
On November 19, 1806, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts declared the matrimonial bonds of Elizabeth Derby West and Nathaniel West to be dissolved on grounds of Nathaniel’s adulterous activities. Elizabeth charged these acts took place both before and after the new divorce law passed on March 7, 1806. The court disagreed, ruling that evidence
West v.West:The Salem Scandal of 1806, Part 2
On May 23, 1783, Elizabeth Derby married Nathaniel West. As noted in last week’s blog, Betsey, as she was known, was the eldest daughter of the richest man in Salem, Massachusetts. Betsey was 21 years old, free to marry the man of her choice. Nathaniel West, five years older than his bride, had been sailing