This Fourth of July, I got to thinking about the Founders of this country and their respective arts, and why so few people know that many of them considered their artistic pursuits to be passions, just as many of us do today. Many of the male Founders were well-trained tradesmen, farmers, or scientists. Some were...
This post originally ran on July 1, 2017 This Fourth of July weekend, I’m musing on the Declaration of Independence. What exactly did our Founders mean by including “the pursuit of Happiness” as one of our unalienable rights? Some say they were influenced by Francis Hutcheson, an Irish reverend and philosopher, and others who believed...
This Fourth of July weekend, I’m musing on the Declaration of Independence. What exactly did our Founding Fathers mean by including “the pursuit of Happiness” as one of our unalienable rights? Some say our Founding Fathers were influenced by Francis Hutcheson, an Irish reverend and philosopher, and others who believed that happiness was best achieved...
As you know, I’m an historian by training, and the American Revolution has always been one of my favorite eras to study. It continues to fascinate me that great leaps forward (and backward) in our world cultures seem to take place when a particular group of like-minded, ambitious people come together, and never was there...
“I wish I could read your travel journals,” a friend once told me. “I bet they’re amazing.” I changed the subject. Fast. She’d be so disappointed with my journals. They are filled with clichéd lines like, “the view was breathtaking” or “the mountains were beautiful.” I’m a hard-core traveler. I like to see and do...