By Thomas Schwartz John Wade Gordon stood along a hot, dusty California highway not far from Petaluma hoping to hitch a ride to Sausalito ferry about forty miles south. Gordon had relocated to California from Memphis, Tennessee is search of better prospects. It was August 24, 1933. Hungry and in need of employment, Gordon hoped … Continue reading Hitching a Ride with a President
by Matthew Schaefer For some the end of the year is a time of reflection—a time to assess what has happened, what may yet come, and where they fit in the grand scheme of things. Herbert Hoover gave voice to such reflections in the late Decembers between 1913 and 1918. Hoover later titled these notes … Continue reading It’s the End of the Year as we Know it…
When people think of the home front during a world war, the rationing of food and gasoline immediately come to mind. But rationing was a feature of World War II, not World War I. Herbert Hoover as head of the United States Food Administration was able to get Americans to voluntarily reduce their consumption … Continue reading Practical War-Pig Plan
A rapid acceleration of Adolf Hitler’s anti-Semitic violence began the evening of November 9 and continued into November 10. Kristallnacht, or “the night of the broken glass”, witnessed more than 8,000 Jewish shops destroyed with countless synagogues demolished or burned. Individual Jews were attacked, many severely beaten, and more than ninety killed while others committed … Continue reading An Actor’s Response
