Social and Economic
Founding Fathers Placed Value on Education
Given that books were expensive, schools were not teaching a common or standardized curriculum and were generally ecumenical, i.e., run by religious institutions, the 70% literacy for a population in 1776 of 2.5M was, for the time, astonishingly high. In England in the 1780s, for instance, at best, it was 60% for men and 40% for women. the numbers for France were worse in that only 47% of men and 27% of women were literate.
Read MoreThe Fertile Mind of Benjamin Franklin
His (Franklin’s) fingerprints are all over the U.S. Constitution, specifically his insistence that clauses be inserted to enable the Federal government to establish a U.S. Post Office, a patent office to protect intellectual property and take a census. Franklin was more interested in where one lived and how many were in the household because he saw them as customers of the Post Office as well as knowing where all the taxpayers lived.
Read MorePresident Washington’s Letter About Religious Freedom
Opponents of this position (establishing a state religion), namely Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, were vehemently opposed to a state-sponsored religion. They pointed out that state-sponsored religions often restricted citizens’ freedom to practice another religion or none at all.
Read MoreFirst Payroll Deductions by the Federal Government
The Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen requires the ship’s captain, master, or owner to deduct 20 cents/month from the pay of each member of the crew.
Read MoreThe Tale of Deborah Sampson, a.k.a. Robert Shirtliff
She didn’t want to be taken to a hospital, but one of her fellow soldiers did so against her wishes. There, her head wound was treated by a doctor, but she left before her leg could be treated. In a barn over a mile away, she removed one of the balls with her own knife and sewed her leg closed with a needle and thread. The second ball remained in her thigh until the day she died.
Read MoreNew Coins of the U.S. Realm
When the Coinage Act of 1792 was passed, national currencies were backed by bullion. To collect enough gold and silver to support a national monetary system, citizens of the U.S. were encouraged to sell their gold and silver bullion to the Federal government without penalty or tax. Shortly after this Coinage Act was passed, Congress authorized a bulk purchase of copper (An Act to Provide for a Copper Coinage passed on May 8th, 1792), “not to exceed 150 tons” to be used in the new currency.
Read MoreFirst Bank of the United States
Hamilton was convinced that unless the U.S. got its monetary house in order, it would fail as a country. Goal one was to bring financial order to the U.S. economy. After the War for Independence ended, each state was chartering banks, and there were no standardized rules for their charters, reserves, or how they operated. Hamilton wanted the Federal bank at the top of the financial pyramid with the state banks one level down.
Read MoreThe American Revolution Starts Another Trend
In the 18th Century, women second-class citizens, and few, other than those from wealthy families, went to school. There they learned to read and write and do what was then known as “sums,” i.e., add and subtract.
Read MoreStart of a Trans-Atlantic Migration
So, again going back to U.S. Census data, the first census tallies the population at 3,929,214 in 1790, seven years after the American Revolution ended, the population of the new country grew by 1.7 million people. From that point on, the U.S. population grew by more than 30% every 10 years.
Read MorePatents and One’s Sex
Depending on one’s station in life, marriages were often arranged to create an alliance with another country, for business or economic reasons, or to improve a family’s position in society. Ugly as it sounds, women were considered “property.” In the 21st Century, that sounds incredible, and some women will tell you even today, the fight for equal rights/pay/recognition, etc., still goes on.
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