There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.
—Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
“The intelligence of the death of Gen. Jackson came upon us like a shock. We feel that his death is a national calamity. The poorest soldiers among us appreciated his worth - loved the man, and mourn his loss. I knew him well. He was my preceptor for more than four years and whilst during that time I did not appreciate the man, as schoolboys are not like to do, yet I always had great reverence for the man on account of his piety & uprightness of character… But God has seen proper to take him from us, and what He does is right, and for the best.” —Col. Abram Fulkerson, Cumberland Gap, May 18, 1863
Smoke Rings (The Little Struggler) , Georgios Jakobides. Greek (1852 - 1932)
(via shiveringflank)
Ernest Hemingway in Havana Harbor after catching a marlin. Included in the picture are Carlos Gutiericz, Ernest Hemingway, and Sidney Franklin. Others are unidentified. July, 1934
From the Ernest Hemingway Collection of the John F. Kennedy Library
Author Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Old Man and the Sea was awarded the Pulitizer Prize for Fiction 60 years ago on May 4, 1953.
![tuesday-johnson:
ca. 1855, [ambrotype portrait of a young man playing his guitar]
via Charles Schwartz Photography](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m75qtiKqyG1qa51rdo1_500.jpg)
ca. 1855, [ambrotype portrait of a young man playing his guitar]
An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.
—Secretary of War Simon Cameron
How well I remember my first encounter with The Devil’s Brew. I happened to stumble across a case of bourbon—and went right on stumbling for several days thereafter.
—W.C. Fields
Piece of Hardtack With Original Paper Wrapper, Issued By The United States Army During the Civil War.
Hardtack is a biscuit (or cracker) made from flour, water and salt. It was a staple of the Civil War soldier’s diet because it was inexpensive and, when properly stored, lasted for years. Hardtack, while nutritious, could be exceedingly hard and usually had to be soaked before it could be eaten. The wrapper reads “Army / Cracker / or / Hardtack 1864 / John W. Weiser / Ohio Infy”. It was given to Levi Longfellow, Principal Musician of the 6th Minnesota Regiment, Company B, by John W. Weiser, Ohio Infantry, at the close of the Civil War.
Watch the Collections Department’s podcast about hardtack to learn more.-Curator Matt Anderson shows a very old piece of food from the Minnesota Historical Society’s collection: an original piece of hardtack from the Civil War. It’s one of the more bizarre items in the collection, and an edible that was made to last.
“The Sheet-iron Cracker.”
(Source: lemerovingien, via asthepoemsgo)
April 22, 1970: Earth Day is Created
On this day in 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson accomplished his goal of creating Earth Day, a day dedicated to increasing awareness of environmental issues.
During the first Earth Day, Senator Nelson spoke to the Denver public and said:
“Our goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human being and all living creatures.”
Today, the American public will perform an array of actions to help our environment, whether it’s through cleaning up local neighborhoods or promoting environmental protection.
Celebrate Earth Day with this exclusive PBS’ Our Planet collection!
Image: Cleanup Along Bank of Chattahoochee River, 1972 (National Archives).
This scene looks awfully familiar! Another great find from DOCUMERICA!
(currently on exhibit at the National Archives: “Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project”)
