Posts by Marc Liebman
Brown Bess Meets the Pennsylvania Rifle
They also had another innovation we take for granted. The gunsmiths added a rear sight which the shooter could line up with the front sight before he pulled the trigger
Read MoreThe Hessian Nanny State
Every year, men between the ages 16 and 30 were mustered in their town square for possible induction into Hesse-Kassel’s army. There were formal exemptions based on the needs of the state, but if one wasn’t gainfully employed, you were drafted along with doctors and those convicted of crimes. During the American Revolution, 7% of the 300,000 citizens of Hesse-Kassel were in the army, either being trained or on garrison duty or deployed in the service of King George III.
Read MoreWhat Were the Hessians Paid?
The troops from Hesse-Kassel and the others were known for their discipline and fighting ability. During the 17th and 18th Century, German soldiers from one principality often fought those from another.
Read MoreThere Were Egos Involved
Lord North refused to accept that the British position in North America was untenable and that the war was unwinnable. They still thought they could defeat a determined, if under-equipped, under-armed, underfunded but well-led and highly motivated army that now had French support.
Read MoreOur First Flag
After Lexington and Concord, and after he was made commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, Washington wanted a distinctive flag that would be easily recognized and used by every unit in the Continental Army and Navy. Up until this time, the units in the Continental Army and the local militias flew the flags of their respective colony.
Read More8 Little Known Tidbits About the Battle of Trenton and Its Aftermath
Two years into the war, the British government in London and the British Army in the Thirteen Colonies were confident that, eventually, they would defeat the Continental Army and end the rebellion. Or the citizens would tire of trying to defeat what was then the most powerful country in the world and reaffirm their allegiance to the crown. The Colonials, as the Brits called them, American historians prefer Patriots, needed a decisive victory.
Read MoreFederal Judge Ping Pong
As soon as the Democratic-Republicans took control of the House and Senate, they repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801 before passing the Judiciary Act of 1802. It restored the size of the Supreme Court to six. It also restructured/reduced the number of judicial districts to six and assigned one Supreme Court Justice to each district.
Read MoreThe Midnight Judges Act
The Judiciary Act of 1789 laid the foundation of our judicial system by creating a hierarchy of Federal courts and judicial districts. This created a list of vacancies that the Adams administration was constitutionally required to fill.
Read MoreThe Judiciary Act of 1789
The act’s origins are in Article III (Judiciary), Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution which states that the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in the Supreme Court and such inferior courts Congress saw fit to ordain and establish.
Read MoreCreating the Mighty 11th Amendment
At the same time the lawsuit was winding its way through the court system, Congress passed the Judicial Act of 1789. The provision that is relevant to this story is that the Judicial Act of 1789 specifically allows a citizen (or legal entity) in one state to sue a citizen or legal entity in another state.
Read More