By Nancy Spannaus May 25, 2019—Rand Scholet, founder of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness (AHA) Society, gave an insightful presentation on Hamilton’s 25-year military career at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia yesterday. More chairs had to be brought it to accommodate the crowd, which grew to more than […]
By Nancy Spannaus May 20, 2019–George Washington’s “Grand Idea” of uniting the country through developing the Potomac River as the gateway to the West, was the subject of a lively book talk last night. Author Joel Achenbach spoke to a group of approximately 30 people about his book The Grand […]
By Nancy Spannaus Feb. 22, 2019—George Washington deserves to be celebrated in his own right, but I am going to devote this brief Washington’s Birthday post to the Washington-Hamilton alliance. The two men shared a vision of developing this vast country into a strong continental republic, committed to the “blessings […]
American Dialogue: The Founders and Us, by Joseph J. Ellis. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018. 283 pp. Reviewed by Edward Spannaus , November 29, 2018 This is both an ambitious and a provocative book. Joseph Ellis, who taught college-level American history for decades, takes the major debates among the […]
By Nancy Spannaus Oct. 2, 2018—Two of our greatest Presidents—George Washington and Abraham Lincoln—chose October 3 to issue proclamations for a national Day of Thanksgiving, to be held late in November. The settings in which they took this action couldn’t have been more different. Washington’s came in 1789, a relatively […]
By Nancy Spannaus Sept. 19, 2018—The quotation that forms the headline of this post comes from George Washington’s letter to “the people of the United States,” subsequently known as his Farewell Address.[1] That letter was published in the American Daily Advertizer (a Philadelphia newspaper) on September 19, 1796 as an […]
The sixth and final article in the series “The Supreme Court Affirms the American System.” Sept. 17, 2018–We publish this article today to commemorate Constitution Day, the 231st anniversary of the signing of the founding document of the United States of America. It was Supreme Court Justice John Marshall who […]
By Nancy Spannaus Sept. 11, 2018—On Sept. 11, 1789 President George Washington nominated Alexander Hamilton for the position of Secretary of the Treasury. The Senate confirmed his nomination the very same day. Washington’s decision, and his continued support of Hamilton until the Secretary resigned in 1795, was one of the […]
By Edward Spannaus June 15, 2018–Much ink has been spilt over President Donald Trump’s use of his pardoning power. Yet his use of that power is entirely consistent with the powers granted to the President by the U.S. Constitution, and with the intent of its Framers. It is refreshing to […]
By Nancy Spannaus Nov. 21, 2019–“We Must Save America’s Manufacturing Sector, Prosperity in the post-industrial service economy is a myth,” read the headline of an article in Industry Week yesterday. The article presents a solid argument about the disastrous results for empires which have relied on their financial power, rather […]
By Nancy Spannaus Nov. 19, 2019—Are some Democrats actually ready to put the vital issue of infrastructure on Congress’s agenda again? Such a welcome change might be in the offing, thanks to the initiative of Oregon Democrat and Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Peter DeFazio. Rep. DeFazio […]
The Constitutionality of the National Bank
By Nancy Spannaus Feb. 27, 2019—February 25 was the anniversary of a momentous event in American history—George Washington’s signing of the bill establishing the Bank of the United States. This action was crucial to establishing a government-backed source of national credit and a uniform currency in the United States, and […]