Category Archives: American history

Chewing Gum’s Sticky Secret

Several weeks ago, I wrote about Mexican dictator Santa Anna’s connection to the guy who invented chewing gum. Believe it or not, several readers messaged me, asking to learn more. So here goes.

It turns out chewing gum has a complex history. I’ve been popping the stuff into my mouth since Kennedy was president, and yet I only recently learned the tale I’m about to share with you. I promise this: if you read all the way to the end, there’s a surprise twist to one of gum’s early pioneers that you won’t see coming.

With that disclaimer, sit back, pick your favorite flavor and chomp away as we unwrap an interesting legacy. Continue reading →

A White House Séance & A President’s Sad Secret

Historians loving ranking presidents by their performance. You’ve seen the lists. There are the Greats (Messrs. Washington, Lincoln, et al). There are the Near Greats, and the Average or Mediocre ones. Scholars have a field day pigeonholing a particular president in this category or that.

Then there is the bottom of the barrel. The washouts. The Failures. There’s little arguing over the Worst of the Worst. Grant, Harding, and my personal pick for All-Time Worst President, James Buchanan. (When it comes to being lousy at the job, you can’t beat standing by helplessly as your country splits in two and slides into civil war.)

Another name always makes the Failure list. And maybe he deserves to be there. But after you’ve heard the story of the secret pain that haunted him during his time in the White House, you’ll probably look at him in a new light and, at the very least, pity him. Continue reading →

Uncle Adolf’s American Nephew

Every family has a rotten relative, a black sheep, the one relation you go out of your way to avoid.

Even Adolf Hitler.

Yes, the living personification of evil had a relative he couldn’t stand.

And that relative was (eventually) an American. Continue reading →

Was He President for One Day?

What would you do if you could be President of the United States for one day?

My answer has changed over the years. When I was a boy it was, “Fill the White House with root beer floats and drink as many as I want!” During my college days it was, “Create a National Bikini Modeling Competition with the president as judge!” Nowadays it’s just, “Make sure there’s something left in Social Security’s bank account when I reach 65.” Funny how your dreams downsize with time. But I digress. Continue reading →

The Pastry War (or) How We Wound Up With Santa Anna’s Leg

History is filled with incidents that are so odd, they strain believability. Take John Adams and Thomas Jefferson dying on the very same day. (July 4, 1826 – which happened to be the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which also carried both men’s signature. How do you explain that? I can’t.)

For sheer weirdness, though, nothing compares to the time when France and Mexico fought the Pastry War, Santa Anna lost a leg, and we (the U.S.) wound up with it. Don’t worry – I can explain everything. So sit back and enjoy the strangest tale you’ll ever hear. Continue reading →

Harry Hits the Road

When an ex-president gets behind the wheel, the destination is Adventure!

You’ve just wrapped up the most demanding job on earth. For nearly eight years you were President of the United States. You used the atomic bomb for the first time, transitioned the economy from war footing back to a peacetime free market basis (including managing the tsunami of millions of men and women rushing home from World War II, each impatiently demanding a job and a place to live), helped create the United Nations, and stood up to Communist aggression in Korea.

So, what do you do next?

Continue reading →

When Hitler Invaded England … in 1974

History is littered with possibilities, and the only thing historians love more than bickering among themselves is speculating about what might have happened if the past had played out differently.

What if JFK hadn’t been assassinated?

What if FDR had only served the traditional two terms as president?

And perhaps the most intriguing of all … what if the South had won the Civil War?

Tantalizing possibilities of what may have been gained, or lost, in a history that wasn’t.

Continue reading →

Meet the Old West’s Last Gunfighter

You know Jesse James and Billy the Kid. You’ve watched “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and heard tales of John Wesley Hardin and the Dalton Brothers. All legends in their time, all still outlaw icons today.

Every era eventually ends, and the Old West was no exception. The lawlessness that began with the Civil War’s conclusion stretched into the earliest days of the 20^th Century. And when that era finally wrapped up, who was its final desperado?

Meet Harry Tracy, who went down with guns blazing in 1902. He was wildly famous in his day, much like John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde were later on. If the FBI had existed then, he would have been Public Enemy #1. Continue reading →

Happy 5th of July!

Here we are, the day after Independence Day. So what to write? Our interest in the Fourth of July ended with last night’s fireworks display. Nobody enjoys reading about the Big Day on the Day After the Big Day. Ever read an article about the true meaning of Christmas on December 26^th? No, and you never will.

But I have to write about something. July 5th happens to be my father’s birthday (happy birthday, dad!) which got me wondering: what else happened on this date?

Continue reading →

How A Murdered Hound Became “Man’s Best Friend” (Sort of)

Our Sally. February 12, 2002 – June 26, 2015

You run a terrible risk when you welcome a dog into your life. We know they will only be with us a short while, and yet we fling our heart wide open to them anyway. Even if we tried to resist, we couldn’t: they would wiggle their way inside anyhow. And when the time comes that we must say goodbye, it hurts like a thousand darts hitting your soul.

Continue reading →