Philadelphia, PA., America’s first capital, held a pivotal role as the cradle of American democracy. When George Washington took the oath of office in 1789, Philadelphia had the largest free and literate community of Africans in the entire British Atlantic. This community raised families, built institutions, created opportunities for self-emancipated Africans to continue north, fought for equal rights, and they participated in public […]
Daniel Boone (1734-1820) was an American pioneer, trailblazer, outdoorsman, revolutionary, and adventurer whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. The story of the early settlement of Kentucky is well documented, and Daniel Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the U.S. […]
Dr. Mikrabedze will speak about his translation of the "Memoirs of a Solder and Statesmen: Alexander Von Benckendorff. Benckendorff was a statesman and general in Russia and served in the early 1800's.
Today our ESU Happy Hour takes us on a journey through the pivotal events that shaped America 250 years ago, this time in the great state of Virginia, where revolutionary ideas became constitutional action. On May 15, 1776, at the Fifth Virginia Convention in Williamsburg, delegates in Philadelphia proposed to transition Virginia from a British […]
Christmas in America has a much richer and stranger history than the cozy images we know today. This festive ESU Happy Hour explores why early New Englanders outlawed Christmas, how rowdy wassailing gangs once filled the streets, and how German, Dutch, and English traditions eventually blended into the modern Santa. We’ll trace the journey from medieval St. Nicholas and Alpine mischief-makers to […]