Jay Ross's Blog, page 13

Ten Interesting Things About America

Diary of America is history presented as efficiently as possible.  It is not the end of debate, but a starting point.  And hopefully it provides some laughs along the way.  
That being said, let's kick of the blog with some interesting things about this great country.

#1.  When my Revolutionary War was ending, Britain still occupied NYC, Savannah, and Charleston, and I was pretty much out of money.
#2.  My first census (in 1790) had me at about 4 million people.
#3.  George Washington was my only slave owning president to free his slaves.  Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, John Tyler, James Polk and Zachary Taylor did not…
#4.  I never had an income tax until 1862 when one was used to help pay for the Civil War.  When the war was over, the tax was over.  (It would come for good in 1913 with the Sixteenth Amendment.)
#5.  My first World Series was played in 1903.  The Red Sox beat the Pirates.
#6.  Alcoholic Anonymous was formed in 1935, two years after prohibition ended.
#7.  My military built the world's first computer in 1946.  It took up 1800 square feet.
#8.  Congress tried to get me to go metric in 1975 by passing the Metric Conversion Act.
#9.  NASA first warned Congress about global warming in 1988.
#10.  For all the bad press my War in Afghanistan has gotten, there is this undeniable stat:  Before I went in there were less than 5,000 girls in school.  Now there are more than 3 million.

Any question?  Contact me at DiaryOfAmerica@gmail.com.  Thanks!