Kategoria BISAC: History >> United States - State & Local - Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA)

Streetcars "are as dead as sailing ships," said Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in a radio speech, two days before Madison Avenue's streetcars yielded to buses. LaGuardia was determined to eliminate streetcars, demolish pre-1900 elevated lines, and unify the subway system, a goal that became reality in 1940 when the separate IRT,...

In this engrossing and informative companion to her New York Times bestsellers Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty, Cokie Roberts marks the sesquicentennial of the Civil War by offering a riveting look at Washington, D.C. and the experiences, influence, and contributions of its women during this momentous period of American history.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social Southern town of Washington, D.C. found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year battle that would determine the future of the United States.

After the...

In Church and Estate, Thomas Rzeznik examines the lives and religious commitments of the Philadelphia elite during the period of industrial prosperity that extended from the late nineteenth century through the 1920s. The book demonstrates how their religious beliefs informed their actions and shaped their class identity, while simultaneously revealing the ways in which financial influences shaped the character of American religious life. In tracing those connections, it shows how religion and wealth shared a fruitful, yet ultimately tenuous, relationship.

In the rich tradition of oral storytelling, Chief Irving Powless Jr. of the Beaver Clan of the Onondaga Nation reminds us of an ancient treaty. It promises that the Haudenosaunee people and non-Indigenous North Americans will respect each other's differences even when their cultures and behaviors differ greatly.
Powless shares intimate stories of growing up close to the earth, of his work as Wampum Keeper for the Haudenosaunee people, of his heritage as a lacrosse player, and of the treaties his ancestors made with the newcomers. He also pokes fun at the often-peculiar behavior of his...

Byrdcliffe was, and remains, a place of haunting beauty. More than a century ago, it was established as an Arts and Crafts colony in the heart of the Catskill Mountains. Craftsmen, writers, and musicians came, lured by the atmosphere of creativity amid like-minded people. Furniture, pottery, paintings, metalwork, and textiles were all made there, and the people themselves became an interwoven part of the fabric of the place. This book is the story of the first years of the colony, the artists who visited, and the artistic community they fostered.

Illustrated with 200 images and...

Cornell University has 21,600 students in 2015, about twice as many as it did in 1950. Half of them are women, compared with one-fifth back then. And more than one-third of today's Cornellians are black, Hispanic, or Asian. In 1950, all of the university's minority students probably could have fit into a single lecture hall.

Cornell is also a lot richer now. In the late 1940s, it was struggling to balance the budget and recovering from a severe case of growing pains. Enrollment increased 40 percent between June and October 1946. Many freshmen lived in poorly insulated temporary...

The Rev. Jermain Wesley Loguen was a pioneering figure in early nineteenth-century abolitionism and African American literature. A highly respected leader in the AME Zion Church, Rev. Loguen was popularly known as the "Underground Railroad King" in Syracuse, where he helped over 1,500 fugitives escape from slavery. With a charismatic and often controversial style, Loguen lectured alongside Frederick Douglass and worked closely with well-known abolitionists such as Harriet Tubman, William Wells Brown, and William Lloyd Garrison, among others.
Originally published in 1859, "The Rev. J. W....

Daniel J. Flood was among the last of the old-time movers and shakers on Capitol Hill. A flamboyant vaudevillian who became a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania, he was a sight on the House floor, sporting white linen suits, silk top hats, and dark, flowing capes. Flood presented his addresses and arguments with the overly precise and clipped accent of an old-fashioned stage actor, and he reveled in the attention he attracted for every performance.

At the same time, "Dapper Dan" understood the complexities of the old power politics and played the legislative game with sheer...