History

Abolitionist, women’s rights activist, and temperance advocate Sojourner Truth was born an enslaved person. One of the era’s best-known figures, she was the first Black woman to win a court case against a white man when she won custody of her son after running away. Due to the fact that Sojourner Truth herself didn’t write … Read more

There have been some claims over the years that the Morrill Tariff, passed in early 1861, caused the American Civil War. It was said that this law, which taxed imports into the United States, was so unfair to southern states that they seceded. There is, of course, controversy surrounding this interpretation of history. During the … Read more

Tonatiuh (pronounced Toh-nah-tee-uh and meaning ‘He who goes forth shining’) was the name of the Aztec sun god and patron of all Aztec warriors, especially the jaguar and eagle warrior orders. Tonatiuh derives its etymology from the Aztec verb “tona,” which means to shimmer, to shine, or to emit light. Scholars take the Aztec word … Read more

Your parents taught you to be afraid of this because it could cause permanent damage to your face. While you quickly figured out your nose was safe, the phrase “until death do us part” means something new to some very famous deceased people whose body parts have been mysteriously “re-located. John F. Kennedy’s Vanishing Brain … Read more

The ancient Greeks believed that people had souls that went on after they died. They thought that if someone had a good afterlife they would be rewarded. Hades was the Greek god that ruled over this part of the world, as well as his kingdom. In Greek mythology the Underworld was ruled by Hades, the … Read more

The truth is, we don’t really know how George Washington died. What we do know, however, is that he was the first president of the United States. The question is: what caused him to die? It’s a big question, but one that is easy to answer. According to historians, George Washington died of pneumonia on … Read more