Shin-Kickers From History
Shin-kickers from History: Samuel Gompers and the American Federation of Labor
It’s Labor Day here in the United States. A day that many of us celebrate by firing up the grills, hitting up sales, and attending outdoor festivals. In short it is a day off. Something we can thank the American labor movement for, along with child labor laws, the forty-hour week, paid vacations, etc. (1)…
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Butterflies, Bugs, and Maria Sibylla Merian
Once you start looking, it seems like you find examples of women who did important things in the past everywhere. Women you’ve never heard of unless you happen to be in their field of expertise—and maybe not even then. Take, for instance, naturalist and illustrator Maria Sibyella Merian (1647-1717). She was trained as a painter…
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Shin-kickers From History: Margaret Chase Smith
A blog post about Senator Margaret Chase Smith (1897-1995) could easily consist of nothing more than a collection of the trenchant remarks with which she skewered political opponents, reporters, and occasionally herself: Speaking against Senator Joseph McCarthy’s scare tactics: “I don’t want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the four horsemen…
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