history

Past politicians, legislation and political movements have changed the course of history in ways both big and small. Welcome to our blast to the past.

The Fall of the Modern GOP
This ain't your daddy's GOP anymore. The Republican party has undergone many transformations in its 160 year existence. It was the birthplace of modern progressivism, at least that's what Teddy Roosevelt would tell you. It was a little more complex than that, with the party doing much as the modern Democratic party is doing with folks to its left, which is gobbling up all of the good ideas in order to co-opt any challengers. Now, one could say that the Republican party tried to do the same to folks on its right. Well, that is true and that is what has landed the GOP in its current predicament.
By Peter Carriveau8 years ago in The Swamp
President Trump Is the Logical Conclusion of the Republican Party
Today’s Republican party is unrecognizable from 1865. In that year, Republican President Abraham Lincoln and future Republican President Ulysses Grant oversaw the defeat of the southern Confederacy, thus freeing African Americans from slavery. For decades, the Republicans were the progressive party while Democrats, such as Klu Klux Klan sympathizer President Woodrow Wilson, advocated for Jim Crow racial segregation laws. Today, the Grand Old Party is the purported purveyor of conservative values, and Democrats are the supposed liberals. What happened?
By Robert Wells8 years ago in The Swamp
Equiano
Throughout the journey from Africa to Montserrat, Equiano possessed a strong conscience, curiosity, dedication, and overall, high morals. Even though he was separated from his sister in the process, he maintained even the smallest amount of hope. With those traits, he was able to improve himself and be favored by those he came across. He builds confidence as well as bravery from each situation he was faced with.
By Selena Huerta8 years ago in The Swamp
Winston Churchill - The Fraud
Winston Churchill’s demigod-like status is unrivaled in the field of British political history; he was a personification of "Britishness" encompassing the very values that put the "Great" in Great Britain. It is wholly unsurprising that in 2002 he was declared the "Greatest Briton" via a BBC nationwide poll, beating such luminaries as Shakespeare, Brunel, and Cromwell. However, is Winston Churchill’s prodigious legacy well deserved? Or are our impressions of him distorted; a mere propaganda-funded stratagem designed to dress up the atrocities of our modern history in the form of strong leadership.
By T.P Schofield8 years ago in The Swamp
How John F. Kennedy Became a Cultural Icon. Top Story - June 2018.
Tensions reached new heights due to marches on civil rights, women’s rights, the never-ending war in Vietnam and farmworker conditions. Although the majority of these movements began peacefully, the ongoing hostility from those opposing made violence inevitable.
By Shandi Pace8 years ago in The Swamp
Anne Frank
What happened to Anne Frank after she was arrested? “I want to go on living, even after my death” (Anne Frank, House). Anne Frank was a 13-year-old Jewish girl who was one of the many who suffered through the Holocaust. Anne and her family, along with the Van Pels, went into hiding during the Nazi invasion. The Nazis captured and killed over six million people—Jews being their number one target to exterminate. On August 4th, 1944, an anonymous tip was given to the Nazis that the Franks were hiding. At the age of 15, Anne, along with her family and the Vann Pels, were sent to the concentration camps. Life in the camps was cruel during Anne's time in Westerbork, Auschwitz, and Bergen Belsen.
By Ally8 years ago in The Swamp
Village Ghetto Land
Disclaimer: The views expressed are my own and I do not intend them to be taken as fact. I do not own any of the images and video used.
By Thabani Miles8 years ago in The Swamp
The Origins of the Term Socialized Medicine and How Mad Men Sank Our Chance for National Healthcare in 1948
Back in 2008, the smoke cleared, we wiped our noses, and finally got healthcare reform. Gesundheit!! Well, sort of… With a universal acceptance of a system in dire need of repair, I envisioned congress intelligently fighting it out. As a result, the best of both worlds would create compromise that could not be beholden to any one political ideology or sustainable business model. Oh my God, what was I smoking back then?
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in The Swamp
A Glimpse of LGBT History
Gay history is far less known than any other type of history. I could tell you more about the US capitals or photosynthesis than the history of the LGBTQ+ community, the people within it, and the symbols that represent it.
By Sarah Eubanks8 years ago in The Swamp
How To Judge Figures Like Christopher Columbus
To what degree do we judge the individuals that founded and/or aided in the development and success of our country? Christopher Columbus has occupied a position of scrutiny in the limelight of contemporary America, with much of the discussion revolving around the moral compass of him and his merry group of bandits. The arguments presented on both sides depict the triumphs of the Europeans with their alleged, proxy discovery of America, and those that believe that the cruelty that took place as a result of Columbus, is the most pivotal aspect that should be remembered. Altering the stories to fit into the mollycoddled mold created by the American education system allowed for omissions and errors in textbooks. With the understanding that the majority of sources are biased and that there are facts that we don’t have, how do we judge a miscellaneous figure like the “discoverer” of America?
By Rachel8 years ago in The Swamp
Please Don’t Forget
I just read an article by the Washington Post that states surveys show two-thirds of Millenials don’t know what the Holocaust is. At first, I was almost in shock and I thought, “That can’t be right.....?” But now I’m mostly just angry. Angry that we are letting such a crucial piece of history - of our story! - fade away into the boring, dusty pages of an outdated history book. Is that truly all history is to some people? Just a homework assignment to skim over and then forget after the test?
By Kimberly Alcorn8 years ago in The Swamp
The Nazi T4 Program
This was a program of mass euthanasia targeted at disabled people of all kinds, just because they had a disability and were viewed as unfit. In modern times, disabled people are paid sub-minimum wage on the job, depending on how functional they are, which is similar to the equal work for women problem. So if you are female and disabled in some way you get paid less. Eugenicists called disabled people “life unworthy of life,” which in a modern context seems horrible. Before they started on the Jewish people, the Nazis went after disabled people to perfect their mass genocide plan. The term “t4” was named after the physical address of the program, in Berlin, Tiergartenstrasse 4.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in The Swamp