Thomas Alva Edison, 1847-1931: an American Hero

Thomas Edison stands out as an American icon because of his amazing combination of invention, energy, and entrepreneurship. His only modern parallel might be Steve Jobs, who like Edison, gained his initial fortune while still young, but whose creative energies continued throughout his life.

Thomas Edison at work on an early phonograph.

Meadowcroft’s Boy’s Life of Edison focuses much on his early years and shows that his irrepressible creative energies were evident even in his youth. Edison was instructed at home by his mother and worked far above grade level. By age twelve he was finished with most of his formal studies and decided to see something of the world by working as a newsboy on a local train circuit.

Unable to remain idle for any period of time, young Edison set up shop in an unoccupied train-car and ran both a vegetable market and a newspaper business out of it. Using his own funds, he purchased a second hand printer and began publishing the Weekly Herald, the first newspaper ever written, printed, and sold on board a moving train. As a young man he worked as a telegraph operator, but in order to avoid the boredom of waiting for messages during slow periods, he built a contraption that automatically registered telegraph messages. Instead of encouraging his invention, however, his boss fired him for “laziness”. After reading a half-dozen stories such as these that marked Edison’s youth, the prodigious creativity of his later years seems almost inevitable.

Early Printing Press

Edison is the most famous and prolific of early American inventors, but hardly the only one. Other eminent inventors of the 19th century, whose lives dramatically changed the technological landscape of the nation were Robert Fulton (steamship), Eli Whitney (cotton Gin), Samuel Morse (telegraph), Elias Howe (sewing machine), Cyrus McCormick (mechanical reaper), Alexander Graham Bell (telephone), Charles Goodyear (vulcanized rubber) and the Wright Brothers (air flight).

The vast majority of successful inventions, as it turns out, are much more than “good ideas”. Edison is quoted as saying, “Genius is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration”, and a review of the life stories of most important inventors bears out this observation. Most inventions, from Gutenberg’s moveable type to McCormick’s mechanical reaper, had been thought of by others, but previous efforts had failed to solve important problems with their realization. Successful inventors spend most of their time working to solve difficulties associated with their inventions, and frequently only succeed after many failed efforts.

Edison’s horseshoe paper-filament electric lamp.

Gutenberg’s story, as told by Bachman, is perhaps the best example of this phenomenon. Gutenberg did not actually invent “moveable type”, as he is sometimes credited with doing. What he did was solve dozens of problems, from the casting of suitable molds, to the development of specialized ink, that made the use of moveable type for printing practical and efficient. He spent his entire life perfecting his printing method because he was never entirely satisfied with its results. Likewise “Light bulbs” existed long before Edison’s time, but only in scientific laboratories. Edison saw the potential for their practical use, and spent much effort working to improve them. Just as importantly, he worked out many problems associated with implementing a community power grid, so that electric lights could be used in homes. Edison’s intense focus on practical problem solving was the root of his genius.

Recommended Reading

Many inventions have had a transforming effect on society and are as important for understanding modern history, as wars, battles, or political theories. Heritage History offers over a dozen books that cover major developments in science and inventions, but the three featured below focus primarily on the lives of famous inventors.

A Boy’s Life of Edison, is an authorized biography written by W. H. Meadowcroft, a close associate of Edison. It contains many humorous autobiographical anecdotes and introduces the reader to a broad range of Edison’s astounding contributions to American Industry. Four American Inventors details the lives and achievements of several of the most important American inventors of the 19th centuries. Great Inventors and Their Inventions is an especially good book that we highly recommend for the study of the 18th and 19th century. It tells the life stories of many of the most interesting and important inventors in modern history, and emphasizes the personal qualities—especially perseverance and industry—that characterize successful entrepreneurship.

A Boys Life of Edison, and Four American Inventors can both be found on our Early America Library (available for free with the purchase of any other Classical Curriculum CD during the Month of May). Great Inventors and their Inventions is featured as one of the “core” reading assignments in our British Empire Collection.

The post Famous Inventors and Their Amazing Inventions appeared first on Heritage History.

The executioner advanced and laid his hand on the prisoner’s shoulder. He started at the touch, and grew ghastly pale. “Caesar,” he cried, appealing as a last chance to the feelings of the Emperor, “Caesar, we were once friends, and worshipped the Muses together. Will you suffer this?” Nero only smiled. He had long ago steeled his heart against pity. Lucan he hated with that especially bitter hatred which wounded vanity sometimes inspires. Then the unhappy man’s courage broke down. “Stop!” he cried, “I will confess. I am guilty of conspiring against the Emperor.”

The Life of Nero and the Burning of Rome

On April 19, 65 AD, a wide-spread conspiracy against the tyrant Nero was uncovered and dozens of Roman nobles were executed as a result. Some of the more famous Romans who lost their life during the episode were the poet Lucan and Seneca, who had been Nero’s tutor and minister. At least forty conspirators were identified, including 20 senators, and the incident only increased Nero’s tyranny and paranoia. Only three years later, another conspiracy by the praetorian guard to rid Rome of the depraved despot was successful, but it ushered in a two year period of chaos and civil war as four different generals contended for the Imperial throne.

Nero first attempted to kill his mother by wrecking her boat at sea.

Some men’s lives are worthy of study for their accomplishments and others for their courage in adversity. The lives of men such as Nero’s, however, are interesting mostly for their depravity and outrages. Nero came to the throne at the age of seventeen after his mother, the wife of Emperor Claudius, murdered her husband in order to make way for her son. He was a clever and good-natured boy but was too immature to handle the power and praise that was heaped upon him. Nero chose as advisors those who flattered and entertained him and before long sank into depravity and vice, leaving the empire in the hands of his evil favorites.

Nero’s career of murder started when he poisoned his step-brother Britannicus to make sure he had no rivals for the throne. He then arranged for the murder of his mother, Agrippina, his beautiful young wife Octavia, and all others who opposed his schemes. Over time his behavior became more erratic and decadent. At one point, he kicked his pregnant lover to death in a fit of rage, and then overcome with regret, dressed up a male slave in her attire, and married him. Not since the age of Caligula had a Roman Emperor indulged in such outrages.

Nero was the first Emperor to persecute Christians. Among other tortures, he covered them with tar and set them on fire.

The crime that Nero is best known for, however, is the burning of Rome. He is thought to have intentionally set a fire that burned much of Rome in order to clear a location for a new palace, and to have scheduled a musical performance for his courtiers while Rome burned. To throw blame off himself he blamed “Christians”—a sect gaining notice in the city for their piety and righteous living—which Nero and his degenerate companions scorned. He had dozens of Christians rounded up and tortured in bizarre manners before killing them; the first of many Roman persecutions. As Tacitus reports: “Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.”

Nero’s death by suicide after he was deposed by the praetorian guard is also very memorable. Although he lived a life of power, murder, and depravity, his death was utterly pathetic. Chased down and cornered, he could not even find the courage to kill himself and begged for the help of his attendant. His last words—“What an artist dies in me!”—show the warped manner in which he viewed himself; not as a tyrant or a murder, but as a misunderstood poet.

Recommended Reading

The life of Nero is fascinating, not only because of its sordid aspects, because it sheds much light on the court of Imperial Rome. Heritage History offers two books about Nero that are both of enormous interest, although they are more appropriate for older student than younger ones.

Nero, by Jacob Abbott, is part of the Makers of History series, and it covers the bloody legacies of the previous emperors Caligula and Claudius, before delving into Nero’s own reign of intrigue, murder, and atrocities. The women of the family, including Nero’s mother Agrippina, his wife Poppaea, and the empress Messalina, contribute their share of villainy to the tale, and the death of Nero provides a pathetic testimony to the cowardice that often underlies tyranny.

The Burning of Rome, by Alfred J. Church, covers a short but very dramatic period of Nero’s reign, including the catastrophic fire that destroyed Rome and the rebellion, known as Piso’s Conspiracy, that followed. Virtually all of the characters in this book are based on historical Romans, and the levels of treachery, cowardice, martyrdom, and villainy displayed by the characters in this drama would be incredible if they were not actually true.

Younger students will have to learn about Nero from a few chapters in some of our favorite Roman histories, Famous Men of Rome by John Haaren, and Story of the Romans by Helene Guerber. All four of these books, and many more are included in the Ancient Rome Classical Curriculum, available at the Heritage History store.

The post A Failed Conspiracy against a Tyrant appeared first on Heritage History.

April 9, 1916 – German forces launch a third deadly offensive

Accounts of modern warfare do not get more ghastly than those relating to the First World War. For the first time the technological juggernaut that had vaulted Western Civilization to unimaginable heights of comfort and luxury was turned on itself, and produced a murderous onslaught unmatched in human history. A generation of Europeans who had taken enormous pride in their peaceful and prosperous civilization were thrown almost without warning into an intractable war of unspeakable horrors.

Thousands of shells were fired on the fortifications, day and night for months on end.

The scientific advances that had brought so much material comfort to Europe during the 19th century were now laying waste to her cities and children. And even worse, the “pragmatic” philosophies of the age that derided “outdated” concepts of morality had overridden ancient notions chivalry and limited warfare. The human potential that modern thinkers had unleashed by “liberating mankind” from the shackles of superstition and original sin had turned out to be the potential for unspeakable evil.

The Battle of Verdun was the longest and deadliest battle of the First World War, lasting ten months, with 700,000 killed and hundreds of thousands of others wounded. Verdun was a strongly fortified region on the eastern border of France and the Germans determined that if they could take it, France’s defenses would collapse. German strategists realized it would be an extremely costly undertaking but calculated that it would be worth the lives of thousands of soldiers to achieve their objectives. The fact that the French were likely to defend the fortress with all available men was looked upon as an opportunity to killed tens of thousands of Frenchmen as efficiently as possible.

700,000 French and Germans killed at Verdun

The Heritage History collection includes half a dozen books that cover the events of the First World War, and most were written in the first few years after the war. Some are written in order to showcase the heroics of the war while others try to provide a general overview. But the tone of all of them is distinctly shell-shocked. Most of the authors of the time, even when providing eyewitness accounts, don’t quite seem to be able to adjust to the terrible realities of the age. They dutifully report on the incidents, but struggle to make sense of events. As one officer reported in a letter home, “Humanity is mad. It must be mad to do what it is doing. What a massacre! What scenes of horror and carnage! I cannot find words to translate my impressions. Hell cannot be so terrible!”

Recommended Reading

The Great War by Roland Usher provides an exceptionally good overview of the Great War and is richly illustrated. Even though it was published only months after armistice, it provides an excellent analysis of both the causes and the strategic objectives of the war. It acknowledges in the first chapters that this was a world war, fought on many fronts and that the motives and relationships of the combatants were complicated. It then proceeds to give a clear “birds-eye” view of the war, and explains the developing events chronologically, while providing enough details of battles and heroics to keep readers fascinated. Overall, it is one of the best accounts available. Fraser’s Boys Book of Battles includes battles from the Napoleonic Wars and American Revolution, but the last half of the book focuses entirely on World War I battles, and his accounts, which include many first-person passages, are vivid and exceptionally moving.

Gallipoli by Masefield was written while the War was still in progress, and is therefore openly supportive of the allied war effort, yet the reporting of events is of the utmost interest. Masefield writes with a tone of bewildered patriotism rather than jingoism, and though he is anxious to portray the allied effort as heroic, the unprecedented carnage unleashed by modern weapons took its toll on eye-witnesses as well as combatants. When the Russians came to Poland is written from a civilian woman’s point of view, and chronicles the cruelty with which the Slavs were treated by the Prussians. Another moving account of the war, of enormous interest is Fix Bayonets, written by an American Marine who served at Belleau Woods, Soissons, and Argonne.

All of the books listed above, and many more, can be found on the Modern Europe Classical Library. Almost any account of the First World War is likely to be disturbing to students who are too young to deal with the nightmare scenario that is conjured up by images of modern warfare. But for students who are ready to face the tragic fate of a civilization that has abandoned God and descended into madness, the Great War is an excellent case study.

The post Hell on Earth: A Million “Casualties” at Verdun appeared first on Heritage History.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon, where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light and where there is sadness joy.

For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”—Prayer of St. Francis

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved of saints, known for his humble cassock, simple joys, and love of all of God’s creatures. Born into a wealthy family in Italy, Francis was at first drawn to the gay and carefree life of a prosperous merchant’s son. Seeking adventure, he became a soldier and traveled, but soon returned home to Assisi, determined to give all his belongings to the poor, give up the trappings of privilege, and humbly serve his fellow creatures. His conversion infuriated his powerful father, but won him dozens of faithful followers, and he has served as a vivid reminder of the true spirit of Christian charity ever since.

As we approach the Easter season, this is an excellent time to reflect on the lives of hundreds of saints who have represented Christian ideals over twenty centuries. Some saints, such as Francis of Assisi, are well known and lived influential lives even while exemplifying the Christian virtues of piety and humility. Others are lesser known as historical figures, but are especially beloved by people of specific regions or those who share similar occupations. Saints have arisen from all stations in life and their stories vary, but many are full of conflict, since living according to Christian ideals always has put one in at odds with worldly materialism, love of pleasure, popular vices, and the powers-that-be.

Recommended Reading

The Heritage History library includes dozens saint biographies. We do not, however, include them all in one single collection. Our Ancient Rome collection features Christian heroes of antiquity. Our British Middle Ages collections feature Christian heroes of England, Ireland, and Scotland, and the Christian Europe collection contains over a dozen saint biographies featuring well-known saints of Medieval Europe. The subjects of our biographies range from legendary saints, such as Sts. George and Christopher, to the life stories of important Church Fathers such as Augustine and Ambrose.

The Four Saint Books presented here all feature stories about St. Francis, and are taken from either the Young Readers collection, or our Christian Europe library.

God’s Troubadour by Sophie Jewett relates the story of how a gay, courtly young soldier, who grew up amid wealth and privilege became a knight of Jesus Christ, gave up earthly ambitions and vowed devotion to Lady Poverty. In Gods Garden by Amy Steedman features engaging saint stories that were selected to be especially appealing to young children. The inspirational stories of both legendary and historical saints are told with emphasis on the life of faith. The Book of Saints and Heroes by Mrs Andrew Lang is an especially delightful collection of beautifully illustrated Saint Stories that are told with in the style of a fairy tale or romance. The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts is especially attractive to younger children because it features many saints, including Francis of Assisi, who tamed wild beasts and had special relationships with animals.

Many of the stories in these book are based on true heroes, but some include some fantastic elements. The stories of saints and Christian heroes are not only delightful to children, but also serve to remind Christians that we affirm miracles and the wonder of creation. We hope your family enjoys some of these inspiring stories during this blessed Easter Season.

The post Saint Stories and Christian Heroes appeared first on Heritage History.

These quotes illustrate a few of the objections that homeschoolers have to curriculum standards and state-sanctioned history education. We at Heritage History are veteran homeschoolers and are opposed to government-sponsored curriculum standards as a matter of first principles. We believe that families and voluntary communities, rather than federal or state government, should be in control of children’s education and we created the Heritage History library as an alternative to state-sanctioned history programs. When considering whether or not we support such movements as “Common Core State Standards” we don’t need to read the fine print or ponder the details—the notion that we would go along with program of “national history standards” is counter to the very purpose of our existence.

Alfred the Great managed quite well without CCSS.

That said, when curriculum standards are suggested, it can be instructive to review them, because they reveal much about the government or organization that is proposing them. The Common Core State Standards that are currently being discussed among homeschoolers, however, are so vague and opaque that the main thing they reveal is that the education establishment in America is thoroughly absorbed in a bureaucratic maelstrom of ed-school-jargon mumbo-jumbo. You can see the Middle School Social Studies standards here.

Are you asleep yet? To the untrained eye, these standards appear to be nothing more than pablum and gobbledygook—and yet strangely uncontroversial. How could anyone object to insisting that students study “primary” and “secondary” sources, or analyze “key points” of the text.

Unfortunately, it is not that innocent. By focusing entirely on methods and failing to disclose the intended content of history instruction, these standards give the green light for government schools to do exactly what they are already doing, i.e. teaching state-sanctioned, socialist ideals of “global citizenship” under the guise of social studies. The CCSS movement was not conceived of to reform public education, but merely to rubber-stamp the mediocre status quo and deflect efforts at genuine reform (i.e. vouchers and charters). The fact that they were “quickly embraced by 46 states and the District of Columbia” tells you all you need to know these standards; they upset no apple carts and serve only to empower the existing education bureaucracy. If there was a shred of actual reform or accountability associated with these standards, they would have been violently opposed at all levels of government.

The Heritage Curriculum—Traditional, not “Standard”

The real tragedy of the CCSS history standards, however, is not that they leave the door open for politicizing captive students. The worst thing about these standards is that they instruct teachers to present history in the most mind-numbing, mundane manner possible. Instead of delighting in the most exciting stories of 3000 years of human endeavor, the CCSS standards treat the whole field as fodder to teach “critical thinking”. History is a subject that should be the most interesting part of a child’s education, and the core curriculum standards reduce the entire topic to a pedantic slog.

It can almost be said that the Heritage Classical Curriculum is the antithesis of CCS standards. The standards are entirely process-oriented and make no explicit judgments regarding the value of particular texts. At Heritage History, we are entirely content oriented, and deemphasize busywork. We’ve spent years collecting hundreds of historical texts that we believe are worthwhile and interesting to students, and our core readings emphasize fundamental historical knowledge. Instead of requiring students to “cite textual evidence to support analysis”, “summarize how key ideas develop” or “integrate quantitative analysis”, we simply encourage students of all ages to “read”, “read”, and “read” whatever histories interest them the most.

Instead of using selected history texts as fodder for teaching lessons in “global citizenry” we give students a huge selection of the best history stories ever written and encourage them to cultivate a genuine interest in history. And if our efforts are not in accordance with government “standards”, so be it.

The post Heritage History and Core Curriculum Standards appeared first on Heritage History.

Related posts:

1. Ancient History Core Reading Selections
2. British History Core Reading Selections
3. The Modern Europe Curriculum Is Here!

I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword . . . I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls I shall never surrender or retreat. . . . . I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country VICTORY OR DEATH.” —William Barret Travis

The Battle of the Alamo: Feb 23 to March 6, 1836

Some defeats do more to inspire a nation that a victory ever could. The battle of the Alamo, which ended in disaster for 186 brave defenders was such a defeat and it instilled in Texans a fighting spirit that survives to this day.

Outnumbered 10 to 1, Texans stand their ground

The conflict between Mexico and Texas began in 1835 when the Mexican government threw out the existing constitution of the republic and began to consolidate more power into the central government. The settlers in Texas decided to fight for their independence and spent the fall and winter of 1835 driving Mexican soldiers out of Texas territory. In February 1836 Texan leaders met at Washington, Texas to declare their independence and develop a constitution, leaving only a small garrison near the Alamo Mission under commanders William Travis and James Bowie.

Determined to teach the rebellious Texans a lesson, Santa Anna marched towards the Rio Grande and arrived much earlier than expected. The Texans left to defend the region were woefully undermanned. At once Colonel William Travis made his famous declaration and sent an emergency dispatch to his commanders, nearly 200 miles away. A few of the riders gathered reinforcements on the way, who bravely joined their comrades, bringing the total force of defenders inside the Alamo mission to 186 men arrayed against a force of over 1800 Mexicans.

Day and night, the defenders of the Alamo repelled the advances of the Mexican Army. The Mexicans were unable to destroy the Alamo with cannonade, so after 10 days of fighting, on the night of March 5th, Santa Anna’s men stormed the mission. Every wall and room was fiercely defended, but one by one the defenders fell, until only the women, children, and servants were left standing. Five soldiers were taken alive, but when they were brought before Santa Anna, he ordered them to be executed.

Santa Anna’s brutality towards the surviving soldiers and the stories of heroism related by the women who had witness the battle energized the citizens of the new Republic. Only seven weeks later, Sam Houston led the Texans to a final victory over Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto, invoking the immortal battle cry “Remember the Alamo” to rally his troops.

Recommended Reading

If you would like to read more about this fascinating battle, Heritage History offers a number of Choices. Edward Sabin’s Boys’ Book of Border Battles provides exciting, in depth accounts of the both the Siege of the Alamo, the battle of San Jacinto, at which Houston avenged the heroes. Almost all American histories mention the Alamo, but only a few, such as Charles Morris’s American Historical Tales give it the detailed attention that it deserves.

Both of these volumes listed above provide excellent accounts of the battle itself, but to really understand the politics leading up to the conflict, Arthur Noll’s Short History of Mexico provides fascinating insights into the complicated shenanigans of the Mexican government at the time.

Texas is a unique and fascinating state, with an unusual history. We’ve managed to track down a few more children’s histories of Texas and hope to have them available by later this year.

The post “Victory or Death” at the Alamo appeared first on Heritage History.

Alexander the Great and the Philosopher Diogenes

Few writers in history have been more influential or as widely read as Plutarch. His biographies of famous Greeks and Romans were read with enthusiasm by classical scholars from the time they were written in the first century AD until recent times. Plutarch was the very archtype of classical wisdom, but unfortunately, his brilliant and sympathetic understanding of human nature is now shunted aside by modern scholars who seek to understand human behavior by means of “scientific” observation instead of thoughtful insight.

The wisdom that can be gained from reading Plutarch is well described in the quote featured above. Each biography is not just a recount of achievements or conquests, but rather a study of the nature of the man himself. What were his inherent strengths and primarily influences? How did he deal with difficulties? Who were his enemies, and perhaps most important, what were his fatal flaws? In addition to examining the temptations, foibles, and errors of the great men of history, Plutarch has much to say about the fickle nature of public adulation and fair-weather friends. His works stress not only the character of individual men but say much about the societies in which they lived.

Plutarch’s unabridged works are appropriate for college-level study, but Heritage History offers several books that provide a good introduction to younger students. The problem with simplifying Plutarch, of course, is precisely the same problem as that of “re-telling” Shakespeare. It is difficult to simplify the works of either author and retain that which makes their work a masterpiece. Plutarch’s works are rich in anecdote and commentary, much of which must inevitably be stripped out in order to make them accessible to young people.

The books listed below, therefore, are all greatly simplified, but are intended for different audiences. Gould’s Children’s Plutarch (two volumes) is severely simplified, and retains only a basic narrative for grammar school students. Kaufman’s Young Folks Plutarch provides very through biographies, but skimps on the “moralizing” that makes Plutarch, with his vivid insights into human nature, so fascinating.

Both Gould and Kaufman cover all fifty or so of Plutarch’s lives, and shorten their versions correspondingly. Weston, on the other hand, in his Plutarch’s Lives for Boys and Girls focuses only on fourteen the of Plutarch’s most famous subjects, and is therefore able to retain more of the tone of Plutarch’s original. His versions eliminate detail, extraneous secondary characters and side plots, but retain more of the commentary for which Plutarch is best known. It is therefore, our favorite rendition of Plutarch and one we recommend to thoughtful students who are ready to appreciate the insights a classical education can provide.

Plutarch was enormously influential among many writers and philosophers, including Shakespeare, Chaucer, and the founding fathers. His Lives have been favorites of classical scholars of all ages, and are much more than brilliant histories. The great biographer was primarily a moralist and his works are imbued with piercing and eternal “value judgments”. It is a small wonder that Plutarch is no longer a favorite of the mediocre and nihilist gate-keepers of the modern academy. Such mendacity cannot cannot tolerate the glare of timeless truth.

This post is part of the Quotable Wisdom Link-up by the bloggers of iHomeschool Network.

The post Plutarch and the “Marks of the Souls of Men” appeared first on Heritage History.

The history of the errors of mankind, all things considered, is more valuable and interesting than that of their discoveries. Truth is uniform and narrow . . . But error is endlessly diversified; it has no reality, but is the pure and simple creation of the mind that invents it. In this field the soul has room enough to expand herself, to display all her boundless faculties, and all her beautiful and interesting extravagancies and absurdities. —Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin, printer’s apprentice

Those of us who would love to use history help teach good character in our students need to take a broad view of the situation. It is easy to find inspiring heroes at first pass: Alfred the Great, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln come to mind. But the range of unambiguously good characters, outside of the fields of missionary and charity work and is fairly slim. Politics, discovery, and military conquest are seldom the province of saints, and the moral lessons that history teaches are often complex. The most interesting history stories feature plenty of decadence, cowardice and adversity. The bravest and most irrepressible souls often have character flaws a mile wide. The most noble and patriotic characters often meet with ingratitude and bad ends.

Students who clearly understand the difference between good and evil, and most essentially, understand man’s tendency toward sin, have some chance of making sense of history, where as those who are only capable of doing a “cost-benefit” analysis of historical events and characters will come up empty. Truth may be “uniform and narrow”, but it is our only reliable guide.

This post is part of the Quotable Wisdom Link-up by the bloggers of iHomeschool Network.

The post Benjamin Frankin on the “Errors of Mankind” appeared first on Heritage History.

As the Americans swarmed over the rails and came upon the deck the pirates gathered in a panic-stricken, confused mass on the forecastle. Apparently they thought themselves assailed by an opponent many times more numerous than themselves, whereas, in truth, the odds were all on their own side had they but known it. . . . .The pirates, terrorized from the beginning, stood before the fierce onslaught only long enough to see scores of their number go down under the unerring pistol shots and cutlass thrusts of the Americans, and then those of them who could, fled to the rails and jumped madly overboard. . . .”

This Week in History: February 16, 1804

The Burning of the Philadelphia

Decatur’s ship, a captured Tripolitan ketch that had been outfitted—complete with Arab-speaking sailors—as a merchant vessel returning from a long voyage, drifted slowly across the harbor towards the USS Philadelphia. Explaining to the guards that they had lost their anchors in a storm, the “merchant ship”—filled with seventy-five cutlass-wielding seamen,—requested permission to fasten against the larger ship for the night. Permission was granted, ropes were passed across to hold the two ships together, and moments later the Americans used the ropes to board the captured frigate.

After a sharp, but brief conflict with pirate guards aboard the Philadelphia, Decatur ordered the powder from the Intrepid “merchant ship” to be transferred to the doomed frigate. Working swiftly, Decatur and his crew set multiple fires aboard the Philadelphia and hastened back to the Intrepid. The swift blaze of the burning ship illuminated the harbor and alerted the surrounding forts, who opened up the full force of their gun batteries against the fleeing Intrepid. Miraculously, they escaped unharmed across the harbor and were soon out of reach of the cannons. Not a single American life had been lost.

Lessons Learned

Decatur and his men board the Philadelphia

Although France and Britain had powerful navies and could have easily destroyed the pirate enclaves of Tripoli long before the Americans took on the task, they declined to do so. The Barbary pirates dared not attack British or French ships so they preyed on those from smaller and weaker countries—and by doing so helped wealthy and powerful nations maintain a monopoly on sea trade.

When the Americans struck a blow against the Barbary pirates, they struck a blow for freedom of the seas—not just for America, but for all nations. And their target was not just savage pirates but also the cynical and self-serving empires that tolerated them and benefited by them. The narrow interests of American merchants could have been protected just as easily by paying tribute, but America refused to do so on principle. The early naval heroes of America understood what they were fighting for and it is important that our children—who will have to stand up to modern terrorists and present-day cynical politicians—understand what fighting for freedom involves.

Recommended Reading

This daring escapade described above won a permanent place for gallant Steven Decatur in the hearts of Americans and in the annals of naval history. Yet Decatur was only one among many bold and talented officers who helped to establish the United States as a world class naval power. Due to the heroic efforts of such stalwart sailors as John Paul Jones, Edward Preble, William Bainbridge, Isaac Hull, and Oliver Perry, the American Navy,—founded only a generation before the Barbary Pirate Wars,—was quickly established as force to be reckoned with.

Twelve Naval Sea Captains tells the thrilling stories of a dozen of the earliest heroes of American Naval history. It focuses on the critical period between 1776 to 1815, by which time the U.S. Navy was firmly established.

Two other books that feature American naval heroes and battles are Boys’ Book of Sea Battles by Chelsea Fraser, and Midshipman Farragut by James Barnes. Both authors specialize in military history written for young men, and their books are filled with exciting episodes and feats of daring do. Fraser’s book includes one of the best accounts of the story of John Paul Jones that we currently have available at Heritage History, and Barnes provides a fascinating account of some of the early adventures of one of America’s best known navel heroes.

The post Fight for Freedom of the Seas: Stephen Decatur appeared first on Heritage History.

Related posts:

1. Poem: Old Ironsides
2. Moslem History: Barbary Rovers

Charles refused to plead, except before a lawful authority. “It is not my case alone,” he said; “it is the freedom and liberty of the people of England; and do you pretend what you will, I stand more for their liberties. For if power without law may make laws, and may alter the fundamental laws of the kingdom, I do not know what subject he is in England that can be sure of his life, or anything that he calls his own.”

This Week in History: January 30, 1649.

King Charles I on the Scaffold

On January 30th, 1649, Charles I was led to the scaffold. He had been found guilty of treason, but the court that convicted him was of dubious authority. The parliament that authorized the proceedings was hand-picked by Cromwell and judges that hesitated to condemn the king to death were either excluded or refused to participate.

The king was executed in order to bring a clear resolution to a devastating Civil War that had dragged on for almost eight years, but it didn’t work. Fighting continued even after the death of Charles I, and only subsided when Cromwell’s army finally crushed all active resistance. Even after establishing a successful Commonwealth and implementing many of his cherished reforms, Cromwell’s government was never popular and on his death, the son of the executed king was restored to the English throne.

A Defining Moment

The English Civil War was a watershed event in both British and American history. Many of America’s Founding Fathers descended from families that had fled to the colonies to avoid persecution during the War. The issues at stake during that devastating war were foremost in the minds of the founders when they framed the constitution of the United States, and they provide a fascinating case study in political and religious entanglements.

The simple explanation for the English Civil War was that it was a conflict between supporters of the king, representing the traditional order, and supporters of Parliament, who believed elected representatives should have more control over national government. However, the underlying divisions were complicated by religious loyalties, so instead of being resolved on the battlefield or by political compromise, the conflict dragged on even after the king surrendered and conceded to many of Parliament’s demands.

Rupert’s Charge at Edgehill

Lessons Learned

The long and devastating English Civil War touched the lives of almost all Englishmen and provided enormous food-for-thought for political philosophers for decades afterward. The founding fathers of the United States, as well as many of England’s greatest political thinkers and statesmen (Hobbes, Locke, Burke, Pitt, etc.), lived in the century following the English Civil War and all were deeply influenced by it.

One of the many “lessons learned” from this conflict was that men of different religious persuasions could live peaceably together only if the state refrained from efforts to impose uniformity of belief. This insight was not embraced by most other European countries until the 19th century, but it became one of the tenets of the American constitution. Another lesson was that both radical change and uncompromising adherence to tradition are enemies of liberty. Perhaps the greatest lesson learned was that government of any kind needs restraints on its power or it will tend to become tyrannical.

Reading Suggestions

There is no historical subject that provides a better foundation for understanding the deepest concerns of the men who framed of the United States Constitution, than the English Civil War, and no better way to learn how American ideas of “Freedom of Religion” were formed.


All the “core” British histories in the Heritage History library cover the English Civil War, but most books written for younger students cover the incident briefly. Only those histories written for older students, such as The Tudors and Stuarts by Nisbet, Charles I by Jacob Abbott, and Oliver Cromwell, by Estelle Ross cover the conflict in enough detail to provide a solid understanding of the political and religious issues at stake. Alfred Church’s With the King at Oxford, a fictional account of the war, also includes a great many interesting historical insights.

All these books, which are included on the British Middle Ages Curriculum CD, provide an excellent background to the study of the English Civil War and are worthwhile for High School students intending to study American Civics.

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