On Dec. 20, 1860, 150 years ago today, the Atlantic Monthly published The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem has been a staple in American classrooms ever since, read and often memorized to commemorate the courage of Revere.
However, as we noted in our On This Day about the ride, "Many facts about Revere and his ride have become lost in the mythology that now surrounds the story." An op-ed piece in yesterday's New York Times explains the purpose of the poem was not so much to honor Revere, but to stir Union forces to launch the Civil War and end slavery.
The NEH's EDSITEment offers lesson plans on why we remember Paul Revere today.
On December 20, 1989, U.S. forces invaded Panama to remove General Manuel Noriega from power.
December 20 is the birthday of Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers executive who signed Jackie Robinson and broke ground on so many other fronts in the baseball world.
From SweetSearch2Day:
Big Picture offers the third of a three-part collection of Photos of the Year 2010.
Comments