Moonshine

Racial Disparity in Cry, the Beloved Country Discrimination has plagued this earth for centuries. One finds it difficult to identify a time where ostracism among a nation’s people didn’t exist. Surprisingly enough, such a heinous act hasn’t died off either. South Africa began the segregation of its non-white citizens in 1795 with the arrival of the Dutch. Later, in 1948, legislature introduced Apartheid, which led to the relocation of over 3.5 million nonwhite South African citizens to separate…

General Sherman once said, “War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.” This quote of his rang especially true during his march through Georgia, where he garnered most of his military fame and accolades with the sacking of Atlanta, and the subsequent march from there to Savannah, which served to break the military back of the Confederacy once and for all. Sherman invented a form of warfare that would come to be known as “Total War”; it was…

The Ku Klux Klan has been the poster child for white supremacists and neo-nazi movements in North America for more than 150 years. However, most people only remember the last 50 years in the Klan’s and for good reason, due to how violent and barbaric their actions were. However, American professor Donald Holley’s 2001 academic paper theorizes the possibility that the Klan was not always pictured out this way. During the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan had a very different rise to power as well as a…

Former lieutenant General George S. Patton once said, “Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.” From segregation to the war on drugs, throughout United States history our government has continued to infringe on our civil rights. One of the most talked about substances cited in the war on drugs is the controversial drug Cannabis, also known as Marijuana. Falling to third with 37% of the vote behind alcohol, and…

the tension between the wet—those who were against prohibition—and the dries—those who were for prohibition—increased largely (Negative Effects). Since consuming alcohol was never illegal, many people tended to make dangerous moonshine. The Prohibition lead to toxic moonshine. Many stills used lead coils or leading soldering, which gave off acetate of lead. Some bootleggers often added iodine or even embalming fluid, which could cause paralysis, blindness or even lead to death. In 1927, almost…

The Guidance of Blues Blues is an African American art form that was created in the early 20th century. It was a secular response for the segregation that African Americans faced during the post-reconstruction era. African Americans use blues for catharsis, a spiritual relief from physical and emotional grievance in their difficult position in the society. Elements of it has been passed through the adaptations over the century and still exists in the modern blues we hear nowadays. Looking back…

On March 3rd, 1791, the federal government, with George Washington as acting President, had passed an excise tax on whiskey. The farmers mostly grew the grains, however giving their location in the western counties of Pennsylvania, made grain shipments near impossible to the east. Traveling with shipments were difficult and very time consuming because the Allegheny Mountains separated the west from the east. Almost all farmers, from small to lager, kept their whiskey stills and continued to make…

1. During Washington’s presidency the population was overwhelmingly more rural than later years, nearly 90% of citizens located in small settlements rather than some of the few established cities. Additionally, only 5% of them lived to the west of the Appalachians, which was largely Indian territory; most still lived within the original colonial borders on the eastern seaboard. Washington was drafted for presidency unanimously despite not directly pursuing the office, a feat that has never been…

Prohibition, part of the Temperance Movement, argued that alcohol and intoxication were responsible crime, murder, and other negative aspects of life. Prohibition started from a wave of religious realism that swept the United States, also leading to other "perfectionist" movements such as the abolition of slavery. Leaders of Prohibition were concerned with the behavior of Americans and with the immigrating Europeans, they thought that behavior would only worsen. In 1919, the 18th Amendment of…

few years since I composed a Christmas letter because final grading always trumped my desire to celebrate the season and keep touch with friends and family. So, let’s catch up! As most of you know, I love mountains, creeks, moonlight (perhaps moonshine), walks in the woods, and bonfires. Additionally, I really dislike snow & ice, frigid temps, gray skies, and prairie winds. Due to this fact, Chris and I spent many years discussing possible locations to relocate to and Tennessee always made the…