Before the Civil War, several of my ancestors in Western Pennsylvania were staunch abolitionists. They participated in the Underground Railroad, helping escaped slaves from the South make the journey to freedom. During the War itself, several of these same ancestors, fought in that conflict. At least two of them died, along with several hundred thousand
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Did you know that the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery did not apply to ALL slaves? Most see slavery as a simple black-vs.-white issue. But those who do may not realize that the “Five Civilized Tribes” of the southeast — Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole — also participated in the institution of slavery. Because these tribes were
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I spent nearly a week in June in the flyover part of the country – Topeka, Kansas, to be exact – and found it to be a refreshing change. There’s noticeably less snark, whining, self-entitlement, and virtue signaling there than in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live and work. Several of the friends
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Our nation’s birthday is approaching once again, along with the celebrations which have accompanied the holiday for so many years. In recent years, however, Independence Day celebrations are often overshadowed by bickering over race or class. With this in mind, I’d like to share a story from my classroom years ago. As a former teacher
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As the 2020 presidential campaign heats up, it’s disturbing that members of both parties seem unwilling to talk about Social Security. It appears that the program is on such shaky ground that even its mention is political dynamite. How bad is it? Social Security will become insolvent in just 16 years. Who says so? The
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Marvel recently re-released the final film in its “Avengers” series with extra footage and a post-credit tribute in hopes of breaking the worldwide record for top-grossing movie of all time. So far, the gambit seems to have failed. As of July 2, “Avengers: Endgame” had collected US$2.77 billion in worldwide ticket sales. This is still
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