Résultats lu par "Larry G. Jones" dans Toutes les catégories

Pauite leader Wovoka founded the Ghost Dance movement in the late 1880s as conditions for Native Americans became increasingly hopeless. Wovoka declared himself the messiah and spread the news that Indians were to prepare themselves for salvation through this spiritual practice. In this message, also called “The Messiah Letter”, Wovoka provides instructions for the Ghost Dance. He promises, “When the time comes there will be no more sickness and everyone will be young again.”

Many consider Theodore Roosevelt to be America’s most conservation-minded president. Throughout his presidency, he worked to preserve endangered animals and their habitats. In this 1907 speech to Congress, he states, “The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our national life.” Hear this speech to experience Roosevelt’s conservationist fervor firsthand.

On December 29, 1890, the US military entered the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with the intention of disarming the natives. When met with resistance, the cavalry opened fire on the Lakota in a massacre that killed several hundred men, women, and children. A few months later, some of the Lakota survivors met with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington to state their side of the story. These powerful testimonies present this horrific event from the perspective of those most hurt by it.

At his 70th birthday party, Mark Twain delivered this delightful retrospective of his life. He dished out sarcastic advice on how he’d made it so far, discussing diet, sleep, cigars, alcohol, and exercise, among other topics. In the end, he said, “I am seventy; seventy, and would nestle in the chimney-corner, and smoke my pipe, and read my book, and take my rest, wishing you well in all affection.” He died three years later.

It may seem odd that Mark Twain delivered a 4th of July speech in London in 1907. Aside from poking fun at the American obsession with fireworks and drunken revelry, however, the brilliant Twain knew just how to tie the topic of American independence with his British audience. He recounts how the Revolutionary War was fought between Brits over a Declaration of Independence written by Brits before the United States officially formed as a nation.

Sitting Bull lives on in legacy as a Native American chief who fought against white oppression. When the US government broke land treaties to seek gold in the Black Hills, Sitting Bull took a stand against the desecration of this sacred land. He led his people, the Hunkpapa Lakota, through a period of resistance amidst crisis. He persisted through the end of the Great Sioux Wars, famously facing off against George Armstrong Custer in the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn. Though shot and killed in 1890, Sitting Bull's immortal spirit of resistance continues to inspire.

Grace Kelly only graced American film screens from 1950-1956. She came from a line of successful individuals, and her short career was no exception; she starred in numerous films, worked with legendary director Alfred Hitchcock, and won an Academy Award. She also won the heart of the Prince of Monaco, whom she wed in 1956. She reigned as a philanthropic princess until her dramatic death on a winding Monaco street in 1982. This biography serves as an introduction to her life and legacy as a film princess.

Jesse James grew up in Clay County, Missouri, a place where north and south conflicted over the issue of slavery. Tensions grew in the lead-up to the Civil War, and James’ Southern loyalties meant he had to make a decision. When war broke out, Jesse and his brother Frank joined the Confederate guerrillas known as “bushwhackers” alongside other notorious characters like “Bloody Bill”. By the age of 17, Jesse had escaped death twice and gained a reputation as a ruthless killer.

Long before historians added "the Great" to his name, Alexander stated, "I would rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity." He certainly lived up to this ambition, conquering most of the known world in just 13 years before his death at age 33. Though undefeated in his lifetime, Alexander died unsatisfied - he always wanted more. His ambitious personality comes as no surprise considering his upbringing: born to powerful parents, he studied under Aristotle and grew up believing himself a descendant of the Greek heroes Achilles and Heracles.

When a Cherokee Sal dies giving birth to her son in a prospecting camp, the gold miners adopt him as their own. They name him Thomas Luck, as he seems to indicate a change in fortune for the camp. The miners start to turn their lives around in order to be a better example to the shining boy. But just as their ship seems to have come in, disaster hits, and it soon goes out again in this gripping yet tragic work of historical fiction.

In 1877, the US government ordered the Nez Perce Indians to leave their tribal lands in the Pacific Northwest for a reservation in Idaho. Though this mandate violated previous treaty agreements, the army forced the Indians to flee. Led by Chief Joseph, they trekked over 1,000 miles while being pursued by the army. Charles Erskine Scott Wood was present at the end of this fateful trek and recorded the history of the Nez Perce war, its conclusion, and Chief Joseph’s memorable surrender.

Mark Twain was commissioned to deliver this speech before the virgin voyage of the St. Paul steamship. On the day of its scheduled departure from Philadelphia to England, however, it could not be moved. Had Twain delivered it, this is among the charming witticisms he would have shared: “I have gone over the same road so many times now that I know all the whales that belong along the route, and latterly it is an embarrassment to me to meet them, for they do not look glad to see me, but annoyed, and they seem to say: ‘Here is this old derelict again.’”

Mark Twain delivered this speech after following a toast made to “the ladies.” In it, he praises women for their contributions both large and small to history and society. “Take any type of woman”, he says, “and you shall find in it something to respect, something to admire, something to love.” From Joan of Arc to Florence Nightingale to his own mother, Twain sings the praises of incredible women everywhere.

Counsels and Maxims is a classic work by noted German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. His work has influenced some of the modern world's greatest thinkers, including Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, and Erwin Schrödinger. This piece was originally translated by Thomas Bailey Saunders.

Poe’s characters often take turns for the worse, and this is the literal case in this shipwreck story by the author. Aboard a ship taking off from Indonesia, the narrator’s ship and crew is struck by a storm that kills everyone but the narrator and one other crewmember. As the ship sales on under the enchantment of the storm, it collides with another seemingly enchanted object - a large black galleon crewed by blind men. The narrator keeps a ship’s log while aboard and is forced to abandon it over the side of the ship with the hopes of someone reading it someday.

In 1790, Moses Seixas of the Touro Synagogue wrote a letter to President Washington. Representing a people who had been escaping persecution for generations, he wanted confirmation that Jews would be given full freedom in the United States. Washington assured Seixas, and those of all religions. This letter provides insight into two founding principles of America: freedom of religion and separation of church and state.

Before George Washington was president, he was a great general. He understood not only how to lead men into battle, but also how to keep them fighting when things became bleak. After the brutal Battle of Long Island, Washington wrote to the president of the Continental Congress. In his letter, he described the distressing nature of the situation and how best to maintain an army when morale was low.