ChasingHistory - Karen A. Chase

Washington’s Rules of Civility, No. 110

December 19, 2018 By Karen A. Chase

The Spirit of Giving

I heard this morning that some people don’t like Christmas (or the holiday season in general) because it’s not about them. Sigh… That’s entirely missing the point of the season and of George Washington’s maxim No. 110 from his “Rules of Civility.”

Generosity toward others begins with having a filter to sort out whether we are behaving admirably or not. Also known as a conscience.

Checking in with our inner voice during the holidays, might prevent us from saying things aloud that might dim the light around our dining room tables. Perhaps it might make the fires in our hearts burn a little warmer as we go into the new year, too.

Happy holidays to you all. Make memories, scatter joy.

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Thank you for joining me and learning about our collective American History by subscribing to the blog. Guest posts are welcomed and encouraged. Contact me for details.

For Karen-related author research tidbits, book news and events, subscribe to my e-publication, CHASING HISTORIES.

National Bill of Rights Day

December 14, 2018 By Karen A. Chase

In honor of National Bill of Rights Day (December 15), a guest post by historian and author Tony Williams.

James Madison and Bill of Rights Day

On June 8, 1789, during the First Congress, Representative James Madison arose on the floor of the House and made a speech introducing amendments that would come to be known as the Bill of Rights.

963px-Bill_of_Rights_Pg1of1_AC — Bill of Rights via the National Archives

Madison had previously thought the Bill of Rights was unnecessary.

And yet, during an exchange with Thomas Jefferson, Madison started to change his mind and admitted that a bill of rights could help the liberties become ingrained in the American character.

Madison began his June 8 speech by appealing to the spirit of compromise: “We ought not to disregard their inclination, but, on principles of amity and moderation, conform to their wishes, and expressly declare the great rights of mankind secured under this constitution.”

Madison teaches us a lesson about moderation.

James_Madison_KarenAChase — James Madison Portrait via Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division, digital ID cph.3a53278.

“If we can make the constitution better in the opinion of those who are opposed to it, without weakening its frame, or abridging its usefulness, in the judgment of those who are attached to it, we act the part of wise and liberal men.”

Madison became the “Father of the Bill of Rights” as he skillfully guided the amendments through the Congress during the summer of 1789. Virginia became the last state to ratify on December 15, 1791.

This Bill of Rights Day affords Americans an opportunity to reflect on the basis of their rights and their form of government as well as the compromise and spirit of moderation that enabled them to protect their inalienable rights.

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Tony Williams is Senior Teaching Fellow at the Bill of Rights Institute, and author of Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America and Hamilton: An American Biography. You can also follow him on Facebook.

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Thanks for sharing in the spirit of learning about our collective American History by subscribing to the blog. Guest posts like this one are welcomed and encouraged. Contact me for details.

For Karen-related author research tidbits, book news and events, subscribe to my e-publication, CHASING HISTORIES.

Rice and Slavery in Colonial America

December 12, 2018 By Karen A. Chase

Not the Land o’ Cotton

A Guest Post by Susan Keogh

When most Americans think of the Old South, they envision the cotton plantations of Gone with the Wind or Roots. Most think cotton was all the South produced. They might also think of tobacco growing. But I would wager few outside South Carolina think of rice.

Rice_SusanKeogh — A demonstration rice field at Middleton Plantation in South Carolina, photo taken by Susan Koegh as part of her research.

How important was Rice in the Revolutionary South?

“Nowhere in the Americas did rice play such an important economic role as in South Carolina,” writes author Judith A. Carney in her book, Black Rice. “Rice and South Carolina share a history that led to the establishment of the crop early in its settlement… On the eve of the American Revolution… rice exports from South Carolina exceeded sixty million pounds annually.”

Who Introduced Rice to the Colonies?

To work the fields of this labor-intensive crop, English planters in Carolina used slaves brought from Africa. While some Colonists may have claimed credit for introducing rice to Carolina, the more likely source was the slaves who were born and raised along Africa’s Rice Coast and provided the knowledge of rice cultivation.

Carney writes: “About a hundred slaves accompanied the first settlers arriving in South Carolina from Barbados in 1670; within two years they formed one-fourth of the colony’s population, and by 1708 blacks outnumbered whites.”

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Susan first published a series of novels centered around the adventures of Jack Mallory, a young Englishmen who is both pirate and eventually the patriarch of a large rice plantation in the colonial province of Carolina.

Her latest book, THE DRIVER’S WIFE, set in 17th Century South Carolina, is available now. Follow her via: Facebook, Twitter, or on her blog.

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Thanks for sharing in the spirit of learning about our collective American History by subscribing to the blog. Guest posts like this one are welcomed and encouraged. Contact me for details.

For Karen-related author research tidbits, book news and events, subscribe to my e-publication, CHASING HISTORIES.

Christian Di Spigna Reexamines History

December 6, 2018 By Karen A. Chase

The Generous Benedict Arnold

A Guest Post by Christian Di Spigna

To many Americans, the name Benedict Arnold is synonymous with treason and treachery. The former American patriot hero flipped sides and became a spy in the employ of the Crown. When Arnold’s betrayal was uncovered in 1780, it shocked and pained patriot sons and daughters of liberty.

Many historians have claimed that one of Arnold’s motivations for becoming a traitor was financial. Yet such a rationale betrays an incredible act of generosity that Arnold bestowed upon the young orphaned children of Dr. Joseph Warren, the martyred hero of the Bunker Hill battle.

Arnold and Warren had met briefly and befriended each other in the spring of 1775. Arnold’s wife died that June—the same month Warren was killed in action, leaving Arnold a widower with young children of his own.

A remarkable letter written by Warren’s fiancé, Mercy Scollay, to Benedict Arnold in July 1780 has uncovered the fact that Arnold had personally given nearly 3,000 pounds for the education and care of Warren’s orphaned children in the years since his battlefield death.

This kindness contradicts Arnold’s motivation of greed. It adds an additional layer to the many complexities surrounding the man. None of Dr. Joseph Warren’s patriot brethren—including future American governors and presidents—provided Warren’s children such financial support. Perhaps now, centuries later, Arnold’s historical lens needs some refocusing.

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You can attend events with author and historian Christian Di Spigna (listing via his website) or connect via Twitter. His newest book Founding Martyr is about Dr. Joseph Warren, an architect of the colonial rebellion, and a man who might have led the country as Washington or Jefferson did had he not been martyred at Bunker Hill in 1775. It’s available online, and at bookstores via IndieBound.

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Thanks for sharing in the spirit of learning about our collective American History by subscribing to the blog. Guest posts like this one are welcomed and encouraged. Contact me for details.

For Karen-related author research tidbits, book news and events, subscribe to my e-publication, CHASING HISTORIES.

Celebrate the Flag

June 29, 2012 By Karen A. Chase

CH_Flag — A properly hung American Flag in my neighborhood in Church Hill. Photo courtesy of Worthington Photography located here in Richmond. Worthington-photography.com

I’m a Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR), which means I’ve proven I have an ancestor who fought in the American Revolution. Today, the DAR helps share knowledge about our country’s history, including information about the American flag, which is very appropriate for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations. In case you don’t know, there is an official US Flag Code, and it may alter your July fourth party plans.

The flag should not be put on an article of clothing or anything disposable (paper plates, napkins, etc.). Should you really be wiping BBQ sauce off your face with the flag? It shouldn’t have anything beneath it or touch the ground, so no flag table cloths. If you do hang the flag (stripes down), it should be lit at night if it stays outside and come down during bad weather.

Can you burn a flag? Section 8k states: “When it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, [it] should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.” The Girl Scouts is one of the organizations that performs official retirement ceremonies.

You can read the Flag Code in it entirety, or for a more fun review of wrongful uses go to the Flag Wall of Shame. It’s also a great what-not-to-wear guide.

An interesting note: Betsy Ross didn’t design this flag we have today. Our current flag with the 50 stars was designed by a 17-year old, Robert G. Heft, who in 1958 designed it for a school project. He got a B-minus. When it was chosen out of 1500 entries to be the flag, the teacher changed the grade to an A.