Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Historical Insights”
By Scott Vierick, Historian Disease and pandemics have always been a part of human history, but for every illness, there have been countless people who have worked to study and create treatments and cures. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, HAI historians …
By Mimi Eisen, Historian For the past few years, there have been rumblings of a third Reconstruction – the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ‘60s is now widely considered the second. And yet, the namesake of these eras …
By Emily Sullivan, Historian June is Pride Month, a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and the freedom of LGBTQ+ individuals to be themselves. While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the cancellation of most Pride events, we can still take time …
By Scott Vierick, Historian This is Part 2 of our USCT blog—read Part 1, which explores the origins of the USCT, here. USCT regiments fought in battles throughout the Eastern and Western Theatres of the war. Around 40,000 Black soldiers …
By Scott Vierick, Historian In April 1865, African American and white United States soldiers marched through the streets of the former Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. After four years of brutal fighting, the city had finally fallen, forcing the Confederate …
By Scott Vierick, Historian This Father’s Day, we’re honoring Frederick Douglass. Although he became a prominent national figure, the threat of slavery, racism, and white supremacy loomed large for Douglass and his family. Together, he and his wife, Anna Murray …
By James D. McDonald, Research Historian The sheer volume of information generated during the COVID-19 pandemic is stunning. A jumble of facts, fictions, half-truths, rumors, and conspiracy theories parade before us each day on news outlets, cable television, talk radio, …
By Emily Sullivan, Historian This Memorial Day, we’re taking time to reflect on the history of this national holiday. Unlike other countries, whose national days of remembrance for military causalities commemorate a specific battle or the formal end of a …
By Scott Vierick, Historian From 1861 to 1865, Union and Confederate armies battled for control of the town of Harpers Ferry in present-day West Virginia. Although best known as the site of John Brown’s attempted war against slavery, the town’s …
By Mimi Eisen, Historian In 1931, veterinarians reported a new respiratory infection with a particularly high mortality rate—40 to 90 percent—in domesticated chickens in North Dakota. Diseases caused by similar pathogens would be documented in mice and pigs in the …
By Emily Sullivan, Historian Have you been trying to tackle spring cleaning while staying home? Maybe you’ve uncovered some forgotten treasures in the attic and basement and are wondering “Hey, are my old Star Wars toys worth anything?” The answer …
By Scott Vierick, Historian In 1776, General George Washington and the Continental Army faced a threat even greater than the British Army: a continent-wide smallpox epidemic. From 1775 to 1782, a major outbreak of the disease ravaged North America, causing …
