In view of the charges that I am a hypocrite over my relationship with my slave Sally Hemings and the 1998 DNA connecting results, I decided to tell my side of the story. Sally and my beloved wife Martha were half-sisters. Sally’s mother Betty was a slave concubine to Martha’s father, John Wales. On the [...]
Historians have mainly sidestepped Jefferson’s personal beliefs and lifelong ownership of slaves, having revered him for his immortal words “All men are created equal.” Based upon two recent books, Jefferson’s honeymoon may be over. In Henry Wiencek’s book “Master of the Mountain,” he states that a reading of Jefferson’s records reveal “a coldblooded taskmaster who [...]
Two candidates are running for the U.S. Senate; one a two-term Senate incumbent, and the other, a former one term Congressman. Both express positions on a major issue impacting a part of our nation. The Senator believes we should let the people in the impacted area vote and decide the issue for themselves. The opposing [...]
Ask long-time Nevada residents why their state was admitted into the Union on October 31, 1864 and the probable answer would be because its silver and gold production “was needed to help finance the Civil War.” It’s a wonderful tale but not true. According to Nevada State Archivist Guy Rocha, “The myth of Nevada’s mineral [...]
When George Washington was unanimously elected President of the United States in February 1789, he was “amid a full-blown financial crisis,” was deeply in debt and unable to pay his bills. He borrowed five hundred pounds to cover his travel expenses from Virginia to New York to attend his presidential inauguration. According to historian Ron [...]
I urge everyone to see Steven Spielberg’s remarkable achievement in the heroic movie “Lincoln,” about compromise; where satisfying a moral position – embracing of social equality between black and white – would have led to defeat of the 13th Amendment. Lincoln was willing to compromise on “almost everything – except his ultimate destination.” The precise [...]
One of the strangest mysteries of George Washington’s life was his strained relationship with his mother, Mary Ball. As a child, George feared his mother; his father, Gus, died when George was 11 years old and away on business so often that George remembered him vaguely. When George was appointed Military Commander of the Colonial [...]
British General William Howe and his officers rested in comfortable winter quarters in Philadelphia, as eighteenth century warfare remained “a seasonal business.” Howe saw no reason to fight in cold weather, as well as his having confidence they could defeat George Washington and his rag-tailed ill trained troops at any time they desired. Washington struggled [...]
George Washington, as military leader of Colonial America, received numerous accolades from the adoring public during the Revolutionary War, but, according to historian Ron Chernow, nothing could match the tribute from a Boston woman named Phillis Wheatley, who sent him a flattering poem in October 1775. In polished poetry she wrote: “Proceed, great chief, with [...]
In 1753, it was only a question of time until the British and French clashed over their North American colonies. The British colonies were mainly along the eastern seaboard west to the Allegheny Mountains. The French claimed the entire area west thereof, including Canada. Both nations claimed the huge Ohio Country, covering today’s Ohio, West [...]
According to historian Robert A. Caro (The Years of Lyndon Johnson, The Passage of Power), “Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency (1963-1969) is arguably one of the greatest success stories of any president in American history, as well as one our worst failures.” With the assassination of Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Vice President Johnson assumed the [...]
On November 22, 1963, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson became president upon the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The entire situation of Johnson assuming the presidency from Kennedy, according to historian Robert A. Caro, was ironic. The Kennedy’s (JFK and his brother Bobby, the Attorney General) had completely lost confidence in Johnson as Vice President [...]
This November, I will be term-limited out after serving almost ten years as a Commissioner in Aventura. As my political days are over, I offer advice to those who are running for political office: “Reach out, touch people, because you care.” Years ago, I had the great honor of serving Hillside, N.J. as City Attorney, [...]
At the recent Republican National Convention, Marco Rubio joked of President Obama, “By all accounts, he is a good husband, a good father…and thanks to lots of practice, a pretty good golfer.” Obama is not alone as nearly every president over the past century has been a golfer. The exceptions since Taft (1912) were Truman, [...]
