On this day in 1918, a hero engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. William “Wild Bill” Donovan had already earned the Distinguished Service Cross, and he would later earn the Distinguished Service Medal and the National Security Medal. The awards make Donovan the only person to receive all four of our nation’s highest honors. His Medal action came during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, one of the final Allied campaigns during World War I. The mission facin

On this day in 1787, an author writing under the pseudonym “Federal Farmer” writes his fifth contribution to the anti-Federalist Papers. It would be his last contribution for a while! These papers argued against the new Constitution, then being considered for ratification by the states. At this point, the Federal Farmer is basically wrapping up his thoughts from previous papers and offering his advice on what to do next. (See prior essays: I, II, III, IV.) Despite his earlier

On this day in 1960, the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the New York Yankees to win the World Series. Bill Mazeroski hit a home run in the 9th inning of Game 7! He clinched the title for the Pirates, but it had been a close call. Why tell a baseball story on a history page such as this one? Believe it or not, the series teaches us something about our Constitution. The Pirates barely eked out their World Series win, and they won it only because of that final home run. What a great

On this day in 1787, an author writing under the pseudonym “Federal Farmer” writes his fourth contribution to the anti-Federalist Papers. These papers argued against the new Constitution, then being considered for ratification by the states. This paper is quite lengthy, just like its predecessor. I’ll do my best to hit a few important highlights. The Federal Farmer begins by noting a contrast: The state constitutions then had bills of rights. The proposed U.S. Constitution st

On this day in 1952, an American soldier fights his way through enemy fire to rescue his wounded comrades. Even after losing sight in one eye, he refuses to leave anyone behind. Ernest “Ernie” West would receive the Medal of Honor for his actions that day. But when he learned he was getting the Medal, he initially refused it. Surprising? Maybe not to his friends and family. He was a “man who would talk more about his fishing adventures at Dale Hollow than recalling his her

On this day in 1787, an author writing under the pseudonym “Cato” writes his second contribution to the anti-Federalist Papers. As a whole, these papers argued against the new Constitution, then being considered for ratification by the states. In his first paper, Cato urged his readers to keep an open mind about the Constitution that had been proposed, but he also urges caution. The new system of government that has been proposed should be carefully assessed so its errors mig

On this day in 1787, an author writing under the pseudonym “Federal Farmer” writes his third contribution to the anti-Federalist Papers. These papers argued against the new Constitution, then being considered for ratification by the states. This paper is quite lengthy. I’ll do my best to hit a few important highlights. The Federal Farmer continues to be worried about the small size of the House of Representatives, especially when the issue of taxation is taken into considerat

On this day in 1787, an author writing under the pseudonym “Federal Farmer” writes his second contribution to the anti-Federalist Papers. These papers argued against the new Constitution, then being considered for ratification by the states. The Federal Farmer was worried about the size of the Congress. In a free government, there should be a “full and equal representation of the people in the legislature.” He thinks the Congress that has been proposed is too small. He is, of

During this week in 1492, Christopher Columbus lands in the New World. Exactly 300 years later, New York City would hold the first Columbus Day celebration. More unofficial celebrations would follow, and the day finally became a federal holiday in the 1930s. Since then, the holiday has become controversial—to say the least. Some people want to replace his holiday with an “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” Others want to tear down Columbus statutes, labeling them a “symbol of hate.”

On this day in 1787, an early contribution is made to the Anti-Federalist Papers. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays written in defense of the newly proposed Constitution as the states considered whether to ratify it? The Anti-Federalist Papers took the opposing viewpoint. The Federalist Papers were written in an organized fashion, under one pseudonym, “Publius.” By contrast, the Anti-Federalist Papers were not at all organized. Various authors

On this day in 1918, a badly wounded American soldier charges an enemy machine-gun nest with an empty pistol. Somehow, he captures 30 enemy soldiers and four machine guns. His name was Patrick J. Regan, and he received a Medal of Honor—yet today, he’s almost entirely forgotten. Would you believe that a memorial field in Massachusetts even got mixed up about which war hero it was trying to honor several years ago?! Two Medal recipients share the name “Patrick Regan,” you s

On or around this day in 1780, a female agent in one of Washington’s spy rings may have been arrested. Can you believe that this woman was so good at hiding her identity that we still do not know who she was!? We can mostly just guess at what happened to her. The mystery lady, a.k.a. Agent 355, was a member of the Culper Spy Ring, which operated in the New York area under the supervision of Benjamin Tallmadge. Other members included Abraham Woodhull (a.k.a. Samuel Culper, S

On this day in 1776, Benedict Arnold prepares to take on the British. He is badly outgunned. His sailors are inexperienced. His ships are inferior. Naturally, he went anyway. After all, back then, he was still a good guy, fighting valiantly for the American cause! Arnold had no intention of letting George Washington’s army fall victim to the latest British plot: A fleet was being prepared to push through Lake Champlain toward the Hudson Valley, joining Howe’s forces near

On this day in 1787, an author writing under the pseudonym “Centinel” writes his first contribution to the anti-Federalist Papers. These papers argued against the new Constitution, then being considered for ratification by the states. Their authors were not working together in any type of organized fashion, as the writers of the pro-Constitution Federalist Papers were. This particular author, “Centinel,” was probably Samuel Bryan of Pennsylvania, although it is possible that

On this day in 1945, President Harry Truman awards the Medal of Honor to a Marine and a veteran of the Battle of Peleliu. Arthur “Bull” Jackson had singlehandedly taken out 12 enemy positions in about 90 minutes! Unsurprisingly, he’s been labeled “nothing less than a one-man Marine Corps” for his actions. Many World War II battles in the Pacific were bloody and hard-fought—and Peleliu was no exception. Americans had hoped to take the island in a matter of days. Instead, the

On this day in 1803, Samuel Adams passes away. Much could be said about this fiery Patriot, of course. “[He] has the most thourough Understanding,” his cousin John Adams once said, “of Liberty . . . as well as the most habitual, radical Love of it, of any of them.” That “radical love” of liberty shone especially bright in one incident, years before shots rang out at Lexington Green. Indeed, Sam Adams went toe-to-toe with the British that day—and won. Parliament had then

On this day in 1866, Bernard J. Cigrand is born. He is considered by many to be the Father of Flag Day. What would Cigrand think of modern-day refusals to salute the flag as our national anthem is sung? After all, those protests are pretty much the opposite of what he spent his entire life working towards. Cigrand was the youngest child of Nicholas and Susan Cigrand, immigrants from Luxembourg. The elder Cigrands loved their new country. “They instilled that love of the c

On this day in 1939, a football game is televised for the first time. The nation was not yet in the habit of playing the Star-Spangled Banner before such sporting events, but it soon would be. Did you ever wonder how and why we began playing the national anthem before football games? Technically, it all started with baseball. As early as 1862, the Star-Spangled Banner was played at an opening day game in New York. The song wasn’t yet the national anthem, but it was a much

At about this time in 1863, the “Mother of Thanksgiving” makes one more attempt to get her favorite holiday recognized nationwide. Five days later, Abraham Lincoln took action. But Thanksgiving was hardly Sarah Josepha Hale’s only claim to fame. She wore many hats during her lifetime. She was a writer and a poet. She raised money for the Bunker Hill Monument and helped save Mount Vernon. She was “Editress” of Godey’s Lady’s Book. She was a widow who raised five children. Sh

On this day in 1917, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born in Hawaii. Yet when America entered World War II, the Army initially didn’t even trust Yeiki Kobashigawa to keep his rifle. Kobashigawa had been working on a sugar plantation when he was drafted into the Army late in 1941. Just a few short weeks later, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. That attack made life difficult for all Japanese Americans, of course, but it created special difficulties for those who were