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James Madison
James Madison (1751-1836) was a statesman, diplomat, and a Founding Father of the United States, who served as the fourth US president from 1809 to 1817. He played an important role in the drafting of the United States Constitution and the...

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Ten Juneteenth Myths
The celebration of Juneteenth – originally known as "Freedom Day" – began on 1 January 1866 in Texas and, since then, a number of myths have grown up around the event it commemorates: the issuance of General Order No. 3 in Galveston Texas...

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A Soldier Recalls the Trail of Tears: John G. Burnett Account
John G. Burnett (b. 11 December 1810) was a private in the US Army in 1838 when he was ordered to act as interpreter between US officials and the Cherokee during the forced removal of Native Americans now known as the Trail of Tears. On his...

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The Foundation of the Royal Society
The Royal Society was founded in 1662 to promote scientific research and increase our knowledge of the natural world. With royal patronage and a stellar membership of great minds, the society quickly gained international recognition for its...

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The Dreyfus Affair & the Separation of Church and State in France
The Dreyfus Affair, or L'Affaire as it has become known, demonstrated the competing forces at work to either reestablish the monarchy and the Church in power or to solidify and advance the unfulfilled ideals of the 1789 French Revolution...

Definition
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was held at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 25 May to 17 September 1787. Spurred on by economic troubles left over from the American Revolution and compounded by the weak Articles of Confederation...

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Tyler Receives News of Harrison's Death
Vice President John Tyler receives news of the death of President William Henry Harrison. Illustration from between pages 12 and 13 of The Lives of the Presidents, v. 5, by William Osborn Stoddard, New York: Frederick A. Stokes & Brother...

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Mississippian Culture Projectile Points
These stone projectile points date from c. 900-1540 CE and were made by members of the Mississippian culture, which flourished in what is now the United States from c. 900-1500 CE. This set of artifacts were curiously uncovered by the U.S...

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Hitler's Occupation of Czechoslovakia
Throughout 1938, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the leader of Nazi Germany, threatened to occupy the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. The excuse presented was that Sudeten Germans were being repressed but Hitler was intent on creating a 'Greater...

Definition
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919, was an agreement between the victors of the First World War (1914-18) which redivided parts of Europe and imposed reparations, armament limitations, and total blame for the war on Germany, one...