BC to AD

Pontiac was born between 1712 and 1725 in an Ottawa village on the bank of the Detroit River. Little is known about his early life. By 1747, he became a war leader among the Ottawa tribe. Pontiac and his tribe were key French allies during the French and Indian War. After their victory in the war, the British claimed much of the territory formerly held by the French. The Ottawa and several other tribes greatly resented their new British overlords. On April 27, 1763, Pontiac held a council with representatives of neighboring tribes. He asked them join him in attacking the British held Ford Detroit. On May 7, his small band of tribesmen laid siege to the fort. News of the siege quickly spread, bringing over nine hundred native warriors to his cause. The Fort finally capitulated later that day. Over the following weeks, Pontiac would capture over a dozen forts in the surrounding area.

During the First World War, dirigibles were used for reconnaissance and air raids. After the war, it was thought that they could be used a reliable, and cheap source of air travel. Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s, the blimps ferried passengers throughout the countries of the world. In May of 1937, the German dirigible, LZ 129 Hindenburg departed from Frankfurt for a round trip ending in Rio de Janeiro. On the morning of May 6, the Hindenburg was spotted floating gently over Boston. Inclement weather had slightly delayed its planned layover in Lakehurst, New Jersey. Over the course of the afternoon, the blimp traveled slowly down the East Coast toward its destination. Around 7:00 at night, the dirigible began its descent. The events of next half hour are a mystery. At 7:25, the Hindenburg erupted into flames during its descent. The flaming wreck hit the ground hard. Thirteen passengers and twenty-two crew members died in the resulting wreck.

By the end of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln was desperate for a general who could defeat Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. In March 1864, he decided on the victor of Shiloh and Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was different from any of Lincoln’s previous generals. He was dogged, methodical, and had a plan on how to defeat Lee. Instead of attacking the Confederate capital of Richmond, he would take the fight directly to Lee’s army. In April, the newly promoted, Lieutenant General Grant rode to down to link up with the Army of the Potomac in Virginia. The former commander of the army, George Gordon Meade nervously awaited his replacement’s arrival. When Grant arrived, he decided that Meade would keep command of the Army of the Potomac with his direction. He further assigned, his friend, William Tecumseh Sherman his old command of armies in the Western Theatre of the war. He gave the command of the Union cavalry to Philip H. Sheridan, a commander known...

During the Civil War, Chicago emerged as a major industrial center in the United States. Thousands of recently arrived immigrants flocked to the city, working in the numerous factories located in the city. During the subsequent decades, conditions experienced by the workers increasingly grew worse. The average worker could work up to 60 hours per week, taking home about $1.50 a day. In order to address the worsening conditions, workers began to seek collection action. However, most employers disallowed their workers from joining unions. Throughout the 1880’s, many workers found solace in the Socialist and Anarchist organizations that were springing up around the world. On May 1 1886, factory workers throughout the United States marched in collective protest for the introduction of an eight-hour workday. On May 3, workers gathered near the McCormick Harvesting Machinery factory in Chicago. Many prominent pro-union speakers addressed the crowd throughout the day. As the 3 rd tu...

William Walker was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1824. At age 14, he attended the University of Nashville to study law. He went on to attend the University of Edinburgh, and Heidelberg before receiving a degree in medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. He moved to New Orleans to practice law. While in New Orleans, he became an ardent advocate for slavery and its expansion into the new territories in the United States. He then moved to San Francisco to work for a local newspaper. In 1851, he conceived the idea of filibustering, or the idea that foreign countries should be conquered in the name of the United States, in order to create new slave states. In the summer of 1853, Walker traveled to Mexico to ask the government for land in order to make a colony. He told them he intended to create a buffer state against native American attack. They refused him. That October, he recruited 45 men to take the territory by force. They captured the Mexican town of La Paz and estab...

Throughout 1863, Robert E. Lee fought back against the Union advance toward Richmond. The Peninsula Campaign, was Union General George B. McClellan’s attempt to seize the Confederate capital of Richmond. Confederate President Jefferson Davis promoted his military advisor, Robert E. Lee to take command of the army and push back McClellan. Lee was able to push back McClellan at the Battle of Seven Pines; however, the battle would prove not only to be a watershed moment for Lee but also for another of his generals. During the battle, troops under the command of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson led the charge against the Union soldiers. Jackson cut a very interesting figure. He was an uncompromising hypochondriac. He would suck lemons in the heat of battle, and keep one arm lifted because he felt it kept “the blood balanced.” However even with all of quirks, he was a brilliant tactician, with an utter disregard for the lives of his soldiers. But his soldiers loved him because he brought them...