History of the United States

[ 71 printed pages, presented in 8 webpages ]

When some of the citizens of Baltimore, including the editors of an important news­paper and several generals with impeccable Revolutionary War credentials, protested the recently declared War of 1812, others, feeling themselves to be better patriots, went on a murderous rampage: the Great Baltimore Riot of 1812 became an ever-topical example of how not to face pacifism. Here is the report of it in a contemporaneous pamphlet.

[ 3/1/06: over 2100 printed pages
presented in 90 webpages, 55 photos, 112 engravings, 11 maps ]

In August 2005 Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, causing several breaks in the levees that defend the city against high waters and a consequent flood disaster unprecedented in any large American city. The event is prompting me to put onsite a selection of historical documents on Louisiana — much of it about New Orleans — including a complete 400‑page history of the city.

[ 12/17/07: 538 printed pages
presented in 106 webpages, 88 photos, 3 maps, 3 engravings ]

Since I live in Chicago, I'm developing a small site on the History of Illinois. The first installments: Illinois in 1818, a very good book by Solon J. Buck on the state's pioneer history, its land and its economy, its pathway to statehood; and — by no means as good a book, but sketching a richly anecdotal picture of the 19c here — John Drury's Old Illinois Houses.