Kenneth C. Davis's Blog, page 101
October 23, 2012
Don’t Know Much About® the Cotton Gin: A TED-Ed Lesson
I am very excited to introduce my first contribution to Ted-Ed: “Lessons Worth Sharing.”
This is a relatively new venture that aims to bring interesting and exciting animated lessons to classrooms around the world and was created by the people who brought you the TED Conferences “Ideas Worth Spreading.”
Invented in 1793, the cotton gin changed history for good and bad. By allowing one field hand to do the work of 10, it powered a new industry that brought wealth and power to the American South — but, tragically, it also multiplied and prolonged the use of slave labor. In this video, I discuss innovation, while warning of unintended consequences.
Who Said It 10/23
History will teach us …that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.
“Publius” (Alexander Hamilton) in Federalist Number One published October 27, 1787
October 15, 2012
Who Said It-10/15/12
Our goal is not the victory of might, but the vindication of right- not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this Hemisphere, and, we hope, around the world.
John F. Kennedy. Address to the American People on the Soviet Arms Buildup in Cuba, October 22, 1962 (Source: John F. Kennedy Library and Presidential Museum)
October 8, 2012
Don’t Know Much About® Presidential Debates
The first of three presidential debates gave American plenty to talk about. The New York Times was not impressed, calling the 90-minute debate
an unenlightening recitation of tired talking points and mendacity.
Will the debate, in which President Obama’s performance was widely criticized, really impact the outcome of the 2012 election?
History says few single debates ever alter the outcome of a presidential race. But both men have time to brush up on their history and learn from some of the dos and don’ts in my article “Eight Lessons for the presidential debates,” which appeared in Smithsonian.com
Who Said It 10-8-2012
Eleanor Roosevelt “My Day,” August 13, 1943 The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project
Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884.
September 28, 2012
[read post]
Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you are going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book, as long as that document does not offend our own ideas of decency. That should be the only censorship.
Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Remarks at the Dartmouth College Commencement Exercises, Hanover, New Hampshire.,” June 14, 1953. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pi....
September 23, 2012
Who Said It? 9/23/12
President Dwight D. Eisenhower Press Release announcing Executive Order 10734 which ordered troops into Little Rock, Arkansas (9/24/1957) to enforce a federal court desegregation order via the Eisenhower Presidential Library
September 19, 2012
Don’t Know Much About® the American Presidents: Road Trip!
The grounds at James Madison’s Montpelier
(Photo: Kenneth C. Davis)
Autumn and a presidential campaign are here. That makes it a perfect time to plan a Presidential road trip. I recently wrote this piece suggesting some excellent presidential sites for Fodors.com
“How do I get my kids interested in history?”
As the author of a series of books for adults and children intended to make history less “BOR-ING,” I get that question a lot. Whether it’s a parent asking for their children, or a teacher inquiring about their classroom charges, one of my answers is: “Field trips!”
Read the rest of the article at Fodors.com
And you can learn more about all of these presidents in my latest book Don’t Know Much About® the American Presidents, released yesterday –September 18, 2012– by Hyperion Books.
[image error]
September 18, 2012
Who Said It 9/18/12
George Washington, “Farewell Address,” http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3462 (September 19, 1796)
September 17, 2012
Ugly Campaigns Go Way Back
Think it’s bad now? How about being called a “whoremongering jacobin?”
