World History
Richard English at Modern Drunkard Magazine has a fun history article titled When Drunkards Revolt: The Chicago Beer Riot of 1855. While this magazine may not be the most reliable, this article appears to be grounded in some solid history based on some fact checking. It just has an interesting spin...
From the article:
Chicago, circa 1850, was a rough-and-tumble city crouching by the chilly, windy waters of Lake Michigan, a final outpost on the edges of the great western frontier. An argument can be made as to which was more hazardous ? the city or the frontier.
The city?s population numbered some 80,000 souls, with newcomers arriving daily, most looking for work in the burgeoning stockyards or on the lake-front docks. The poor and working classes outnumbered the moneyed elite by almost five to one. Saloons, beer gardens, and taverns outnumbered other businesses two to one, and churches almost fifteen to one. The good people of Chicago liked to drink.
Crime, especially burglary and vice, was epidemic, a fact which disturbed many citizens, especially the upper crust. Chicago?s constabulary, believe it or not, was comprised of a whopping nine men, so little could be done to curb the city?s increasingly chaotic tendencies. The situation came to a head in 1855, and Chicago empowered its first official Police Department. A noted volunteer fireman and occasional private detective named Cyrus P. Bradley was appointed Chief of Police. He reported directly to the newly-elected mayor, Dr. Levi D. Boone, who, in addition to being Daniel Boone?s grand-nephew, was an important member of an up-and-coming political party called the Native Americans, or Know-Nothings. Generally speaking, the Know-Nothings were in favor of civic order and ?traditional American values,? while being vehemently anti-foreigner, anti-Catholic, and anti-alcohol.
- Interactive Mummification Tutorial
From the University of Chicago comes this great site for learning how to make a Mummy. It is the Interactive Mummification Tutorial. This is a cool tutorial that actually walks you through the whole process. From the site: Greetings! I am Anubis, the...
- Teachers Speak Out Of Turn
Teachers speak out of turn. I encourage everybody to check out this article in today's USA Today. It features K-12 teachers who actively blog. Several history bloggers are included. In fact, the most prominently featured blogger is elementaryhistoryteacher...
- Drunkus Maximus: The Power And Purpose Of Alcohol In Ancient Rome.
Drunkus Maximus: The Power and Purpose of Alcohol in Ancient Rome. I found this article at the new issue of Modern Drunkard Magazine online. The author is someone writing under the name Rich English which I think is a pseudonym. While not perfect, and...
- Drunks Of War
Drunks of War. This is an article from the July/August 2003 issue of Modern Drunkard Magazine. In it, the author (Rich English) argues that "Societies possessing a robust and realistic attitude toward intoxication have produced mightier warriors than...
- Teddy Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt This is a brief biography of the life of Teddy Roosevelt. From the site: Theodore Roosevelt ( October 27 , 1858 - January 6 , 1919 ) was the twenty-fifth ( 1901 ) Vice President and the twenty-sixth ( 1901 - 1909 ) President of...
World History
When Drunkards Revolt: The Chicago Beer Riot of 1855
Richard English at Modern Drunkard Magazine has a fun history article titled When Drunkards Revolt: The Chicago Beer Riot of 1855. While this magazine may not be the most reliable, this article appears to be grounded in some solid history based on some fact checking. It just has an interesting spin...
From the article:
Chicago, circa 1850, was a rough-and-tumble city crouching by the chilly, windy waters of Lake Michigan, a final outpost on the edges of the great western frontier. An argument can be made as to which was more hazardous ? the city or the frontier.
The city?s population numbered some 80,000 souls, with newcomers arriving daily, most looking for work in the burgeoning stockyards or on the lake-front docks. The poor and working classes outnumbered the moneyed elite by almost five to one. Saloons, beer gardens, and taverns outnumbered other businesses two to one, and churches almost fifteen to one. The good people of Chicago liked to drink.
Crime, especially burglary and vice, was epidemic, a fact which disturbed many citizens, especially the upper crust. Chicago?s constabulary, believe it or not, was comprised of a whopping nine men, so little could be done to curb the city?s increasingly chaotic tendencies. The situation came to a head in 1855, and Chicago empowered its first official Police Department. A noted volunteer fireman and occasional private detective named Cyrus P. Bradley was appointed Chief of Police. He reported directly to the newly-elected mayor, Dr. Levi D. Boone, who, in addition to being Daniel Boone?s grand-nephew, was an important member of an up-and-coming political party called the Native Americans, or Know-Nothings. Generally speaking, the Know-Nothings were in favor of civic order and ?traditional American values,? while being vehemently anti-foreigner, anti-Catholic, and anti-alcohol.
- Interactive Mummification Tutorial
From the University of Chicago comes this great site for learning how to make a Mummy. It is the Interactive Mummification Tutorial. This is a cool tutorial that actually walks you through the whole process. From the site: Greetings! I am Anubis, the...
- Teachers Speak Out Of Turn
Teachers speak out of turn. I encourage everybody to check out this article in today's USA Today. It features K-12 teachers who actively blog. Several history bloggers are included. In fact, the most prominently featured blogger is elementaryhistoryteacher...
- Drunkus Maximus: The Power And Purpose Of Alcohol In Ancient Rome.
Drunkus Maximus: The Power and Purpose of Alcohol in Ancient Rome. I found this article at the new issue of Modern Drunkard Magazine online. The author is someone writing under the name Rich English which I think is a pseudonym. While not perfect, and...
- Drunks Of War
Drunks of War. This is an article from the July/August 2003 issue of Modern Drunkard Magazine. In it, the author (Rich English) argues that "Societies possessing a robust and realistic attitude toward intoxication have produced mightier warriors than...
- Teddy Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt This is a brief biography of the life of Teddy Roosevelt. From the site: Theodore Roosevelt ( October 27 , 1858 - January 6 , 1919 ) was the twenty-fifth ( 1901 ) Vice President and the twenty-sixth ( 1901 - 1909 ) President of...