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 The event is prompting me to put onsite a selection of historical documents on Louisiana — much of it about New Orleans — including a complete 400‑page history of the city.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.