By Nancy Spannaus May 2, 2020—The upsurge of public demonstrations against the public health measures being taken to slow the spread of COVID-19 – and even denouncing them as “tyranny” — triggered this question in my mind: What would George Washington have done in the face of such resistance? General […]
By Nancy Spannaus March 17, 2020—The United States, and its predecessor colonies, have ample historical precedents for taking aggressive action to protect public health. It’s high time we put appropriate modern versions into effect. One of the first significant actions came during the Revolutionary War itself. The Continental Army had […]
By Pamela Lowry General Washington Enters New York City as the British Troops End their Seven-Year Occupation On November 25, 1783, General George Washington received the final word from Sir Guy Carleton that the last of the British troops would be withdrawn from New York City. It had been a […]
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. 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 […]
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 […]
Sept. 26, 2021—While Congress continues deadlocked in a battle over inadequate infrastructure spending bills, support is growing for establishing a Hamiltonian Infrastructure Bank. A campaign by local officials determined to meet the full needs of the nation is spreading across the country. The focus of their efforts is H.R. 3339 […]
By Nancy Spannaus Aug. 27, 2021—Come September, I will be teaching two classes at local colleges on “Why American Slavery Persisted.” They will be offered, for a fee, at both the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Frederick Community College in Maryland, and the Lifelong Learning Program at Shepherd University […]
Giving Thanks for a Nation
By Nancy Spannaus November 26, 2020—Contrary to popular culture, Thanksgiving Day in the United States was never just about family. From the time of the Pilgrims, to George Washington, to Abraham Lincoln, it was about humbly expressing our gratitude for surviving as a nation (or a community), and committing ourselves […]