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  • Kentucky Trivia: The Birth of a State

    Kentucky Trivia: The Birth of a State
    2025/10/21
    I don’t mind embracing my age, so I’ll confess to watching The Daniel Boone TV show (1964–1970). I can even sing the theme song. If you’re a youngster, you may have seen it on cable reruns: Boone as the all-around good guy and frontier hero, conducting surveys and expeditions around Boonesborough, running into both friendly and hostile Indians, before, during, and even after the Revolutionary War. Of course, there’s the TV Boone and the historical one—the Boone who symbolized Virginia’s land policies more than he shaped them himself.Multiple states claim Daniel Boone because of his travels across the frontier — Pennsylvania, where he was born; North Carolina, where he came of age; Kentucky, where he blazed the Wilderness Road and helped open the interior to settlers; and Missouri, where he lived out his final years.Today, our focus is Kentucky: how Boone’s surveying and trail-blazing symbolized Virginia’s land policies, and how those policies paved the way for statehood in 1792.The explanation begins in1609 when King James I granted the Virginia colony a charter that stretched “from sea to sea,” sweeping aside the French, the Spanish, and of course the Indigenous nations already here. During the Revolution, Virginia organized Kentucky County (VA), and by the 1780s it was further divided into Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln Counties. Together these counties formed a distinct bloc that petitioned Congress for separation from Virginia again and again. With over 70,000 settlers by 1790, Kentucky had the numbers and leverage to become a state in 1792 and added the counties of Nelson, Bourbon, Madison, Mercer, Mason, and Woodford. For comparison, Ohio didn’t qualify for statehood until 1802, and that was through an exception called The Enabling Act.“Wasted Land”The Virginians of 1790 often described Kentucky as “wasted land,” which is not a legal term. “Waste” in property law usually referred to land not in active agricultural use (unfenced, uncleared, unplowed). Colonists and early legislators often borrowed this language to justify dispossession.Today, we can appreciate that just because the land wasn’t managed with European methods doesn’t mean it was not being managed at all. For centuries, Shawnee, Cherokee, Mingo, and other nations had hunted, farmed, and burned the forest here. They moved seasonally between river bottoms and uplands, and their claims overlapped, making Kentucky one of the most contested landscapes in eastern North America.Virginia dismissed this history and parceled Kentucky out as if it were empty. This language laid the groundwork for legislation like Virginia’s Land Law of 1779, which opened “unpatented lands” in the Kentucky district to Revolutionary War veterans of the Virginia Line, through bounty warrants. This swath of land is the Military District of Kentucky, shown in gray on the map below. Many veterans never came — selling their warrants to speculators — but the district shaped settlement patterns all the same.The Land Law also legalized settlers’ preemption claims—squatters’ rights that gave anyone who had already built a cabin or cleared fields the first chance to buy land.Encouraged by these policies, thousands funneled through the Cumberland Gap along Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Road, transforming the region within a generation.The Dodgy Deal Behind Boone’s RoadBoone became the symbolic scout, but in reality he was on the payroll of the Transylvania Company, a massive speculative land venture of dubious legality. In 1775 its founder, Richard Henderson, tried to buy twenty million acres directly from the Cherokee at Sycamore Shoals, paying with trade goods. Boone, then living in North Carolina, was hired to blaze the Wilderness Road and help build Fort Boonesborough to anchor the claim.But the Royal Proclamation of 1763 forbade private purchases of Indian land, and both Virginia and North Carolina dismissed Henderson’s colony as a usurpation of their authority (the treaty at Sycamore Shoals took place on land that was then part of North Carolina). Congress also refused to recognize it. Virginia eventually voided the purchase, though it granted Henderson and his partners 200,000 acres in Kentucky as a consolation prize, while North Carolina compensated them with land in present-day Tennessee.It was an audacious bit of what people used to call “frontier lawyering”—an illegal land grab dressed up as a colony whose backers walked away with hundreds of thousands of acres. Henderson wasn’t just any dreamer and schemer—he was a North Carolina judge, with the connections and confidence to push further than most men would dare. And if the playbook looks familiar, that’s because versions of it are still making headlines today.Transylvania collapsed as a colony, but Boone wasn’t a shareholder or speculator — he was the hired scout. When Virginia voided the Transylvania Company’s deal, Boone lost ...
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    27 分
  • A Week Along the Ohio

    A Week Along the Ohio
    2025/10/07
    I rode my motorcycle to Athens, Ohio, for a BMW Riders Association rally over the Labor Day weekend. Some of my non-riding friends assume rallies are always boozy events with wet T-shirt contests, but rallies are as diverse as the people who sponsor and attend them. The quieter variety just doesn’t make the headlines. The BMW rallies I attend feel more like family reunions—the chance to connect with like-minded friends and swap stories about destinations, roads, motorcycle mishaps, and everything except politics and religion. Honestly, I can’t tell you what most of my riding friends do (or did) for their livelihoods. We’re too busy enjoying the one thing we have in common: a deep love of motorcycles and the road. Many rallygoers camp on the grounds, which adds to the sense of community—and sometimes the humor. Case in point: this sign I spotted. If you don’t see the unintended humor, give it a minute.I extended my time in Southeastern Ohio for another week so I could do deep research for the book I’m writing for the University of Illinois Press, tentatively titled, Along the Ohio: Stories the River Still Holds. While in Marietta—a river city that was the first settlement in the Northwest Territory—I learned that one of the most respected makers of historical markers is headquartered there. This is the kind of serendipity that makes my pulse race. Please treat yourself to this video about Sewah Studios, which includes scenes from each phase of the manufacturing process. I’ve watched it a couple of times now.Evolution of a Late-Blooming History BuffI didn’t study history in college, mostly because I wasn’t cut out for teaching (which is what I thought the field would necessarily lead to). Besides, my parents weren’t about to bankroll a degree without a solid career plan, so I majored in business. What’s funny is that the part of business that has always fascinated me is its role in cultural history. But that’s a story for another day.Motorcycle travel became my history professor. Out on the road, I’ve picked up lessons in geology and paleontology (Wyoming is top-notch in that department), along with human and cultural history, and plenty of “what-happened-right-here” lessons. Despite my history education being scattershot—it’s more like postcards than a sequenced curriculum—those fragments taught me to look harder at what’s missing, as well as what’s been preserved in public memorials and commemorations.Side note: my kids will someday have the joy of sorting through the 1,000+ postcards I’ve collected on my travels. I’m not doing Swedish Death Cleaning on that collection.I spent the better part of a day in Special Collections at Marietta College poring over brittle papers and pamphlets from 100+ years ago, and it occurred to me that the wording on some of the historical markers didn’t line up with what I was reading. So which version should we believe—the plaques or the papers? You’d think the archives would settle it, but there’s a counterargument to sticking with what’s held in any one collection. After all, history is collected in many different places, and hauled across rivers and seas by descendants of those who lived it.Think about it: history isn’t set in stone. New stories—and new information about old ones—surface all the time: in journals used as insulation for an old home, in the margins of a family Bible, in overlooked archives. Women’s lives are often missing from “the record,” as are the histories of marginalized and ostracized people. I’m enamored with discovering new angles on old stories I thought I knew—the narratives erased or ignored because they didn’t matter to those entrusted with recording the news at the time. When I asked the Special Collections librarian what it takes to get a marker approved, she gave me a wry smile. “Anyone can put up a sign on their property and call it a historical marker”—distinguishing between informal commemorations and the formal program. She continued, “But if you want the official emblem, or to be included in recognized history trails, you have to apply to the sponsoring organization.” She went on to explain that Ohio’s formal system—with the Ohio History Connection’s emblem and inclusion on official trails or registries—is distinct from whatever individuals might erect on their own property. In other words, there is an “official” class of markers in Ohio, and acceptance into the state program is what makes the difference. Still, this doesn’t ensure an error-free or fulsome accounting of the historical place or event being marked.Sometimes local history projects—whether a roadside plaque, a county museum, or a “heritage tourism” trail—are there to reassure the hometown crowd of their historical importance, or to entice visitors to come and spend a little money. They elevate local heroes, polish away contradictions, and speak in absolutes—”...
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    15 分
  • Trivia Time. The Great Migration in the Ohio Valley

    Trivia Time. The Great Migration in the Ohio Valley
    2025/09/25
    Between 1915 and 1970, the Ohio River was more than a border between North and South—it was a corridor of change. As millions of African Americans left the rural South in what came to be called the Great Migration, cities like Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Cairo became places of arrival where new communities took root.Why did so many leave? Some were pulled northward by wartime jobs that could no longer be filled by low-wage immigrant workers. Others were pushed by violence, poverty, and political exclusion in the South. Trains heading to Pittsburgh or Chicago were often full of passengers carrying not much more than a suitcase and a lead from a cousin or neighbor who had gone before.Isabel Wilkerson documents this on a national scale in The Warmth of Other Suns (2010), a deeply researched narrative history of the Great Migration that uses personal stories to illuminate what moved people, where they went, and what they left behind. The book won major awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and the Anisfield-Wolf Award. She also shared these insights in a widely viewed TED talk.The reception in the Ohio Valley was complicated. Industries needed hands, but employers often confined newcomers to the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs. Middlemen cropped up, sometimes helping, sometimes exploiting. Housing was another battle: in Cincinnati, the West End became a crowded hub later targeted for “urban renewal”; in Pittsburgh, the Hill District thrived culturally even as city planners bulldozed blocks for highways and stadiums; in Louisville, Black families were steered into neighborhoods like Smoketown and the West End.Migration also shifted the balance of political power. Where voting rights were less restricted, Black communities could organize, cast ballots, and even tip elections. That influence sparked new opportunities as well as new forms of resistance. We still see echoes of this today in debates over redistricting, representation, and voting rights — reminders that the Great Migration continues to shape American life.From steel towns to stockyards, from church basements to union halls, the Great Migration reshaped the Ohio River valley in ways still visible today. The questions that follow will help you trace how work, politics, housing, and community life along the river were transformed by this movement of people.Note to my fantastic new subscribers:Monthly trivia is for sport. It’s not a test of intelligence or character. Do your best and enjoy learning something new. Oh, and if you do, would you share the quiz with someone else?QUESTIONSAnswers in the footnotes.1. Why did the Great Migration accelerate in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois during WWI?A. Northern industries recruited Black workers to replace European immigrants whose migration slowedB. Southern states began subsidizing train fare northC. Black newspapers advertised opportunities in Northern citiesD. Federal New Deal programs required quotas of Black workers2. Who were “labor brokers” (also called “labor agents”) during the Great Migration, and why were they controversial?A. Recruiters hired by Northern industries to bring Southern Black workers northB. Middlemen who sometimes exploited migrants by taking a cut of their wages or charging feesC. Community leaders who voluntarily helped migrants find housing and jobs without payD. Organizers who tried to unionize Black workers as soon as they arrived3. When Black Southerners arrived in Northern states, many employers assumed they would be best suited for which kinds of jobs?A. Domestic service and janitorial workB. Stockyards and meatpacking plantsC. Foundries and steel millsD. Agricultural and food-processing labor (e.g., canneries, sugar beet fields)4.How did Black migration reshape politics in Ohio River states (PA, WV, KY, OH, IN, IL)?A. African Americans gained the right to vote without poll taxes and literacy testsB. The Black vote began to swing elections in cities like Chicago and ClevelandC. Both major political parties ignored Black voters until after WWIID. Migration triggered white backlash and restrictive housing covenants5.What role did the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) play in the Great Migration?A. It provided free rides north for Southern migrantsB. It hired thousands of Black workers as porters, track laborers, and dining car staffC. It ran ads in Black newspapers promoting Pittsburgh and Philadelphia jobsD. It lobbied Congress to restrict Black migration to control wages6.By 1970, how had the Great Migration reshaped cities along the Ohio River?A. Louisville’s Black population grew as rural Kentuckians moved into the city for industrial and wartime jobsB. Cincinnati’s West End became a major Black community before being decimated by urban renewalC. Pittsburgh’s Hill District flourished culturally but faced job losses as steel began to declineD. Cairo, Illinois, became a safe haven for ...
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    29 分
  • The Parrot, the Pierogies, and August Wilson

    The Parrot, the Pierogies, and August Wilson
    2025/09/16
    I felt like I was twenty again, introducing my boyfriend Matt to my parents in a rush of hope they would like him. But this time, Matt was my spouse of 40 years and I was introducing him to Pittsburgh. From our Airbnb on Mt. Washington, the whole city lay at our feet—426 bridges, mostly yellow, strung across rivers like necklaces, glass towers glinting where smokestacks once stood, and of course Point Park, headwaters of the Ohio River. We boarded the Duquesne Incline, its wooden car polished by a century of hands and dungaree work pants. The pressed-tin ceiling gleamed like a copper penny, and an old lantern swung overhead as if it remembered gaslight. Even the lettering on the sign—Duquesne Incline Car #2 seemed to whisper history. We rattled down the hillside toward the city, then hoofed it to PNC Park to watch the Pirates play the Reds in a river rivalry. The closer we got to the Clemente Bridge, the more fans we saw in yellow gear. Matt struck up a conversation with a couple wearing shirts that looked Hawaiian at first glance, but instead of hibiscus and palm fronds, the fabric was scattered with Pittsburgh’s own icons—bridges, skyline, maybe even a pierogi or two. It was the perfect welcome: playful, civic-proud, and just a little kitschy. The woman tipped us off that it was Bucket Hat Night at the stadium, and I felt a silly rush of adrenaline at the thought of scoring fanwear just for walking through the gate.This was my first night at a professional baseball game, and I suspect someone alerted the whole stadium staff because our section usher even finagled a photo opp for me with the Pirate Parrot. I don’t know much about baseball, but I do know about people watching, and I got more than I bargained for that night. Little kids with their scorecards and ball mitts, camera kisses, and of course the “Great Pittsburgh Pierogy Race” sponsored by Mrs. T’s Pierogies.Matt had to ask what a pierogi really is, since they were human-sized on the track surrounding the field. If you’re also in need of the information, it’s an Eastern European dumpling, usually stuffed with potatoes, cheese, or sauerkraut—comfort food carried here by the waves of Polish, Slovak, and Ukrainian immigrants who once poured into the mills and mines. In Pittsburgh, it’s been elevated from kitchen staple to cultural mascot, and nowhere is that clearer than in the delirious spectacle of grown adults racing around the diamond in dumpling suits.But not every story in Pittsburgh that week brought pep to my step. On August 7, ICE agents raided Emiliano’s, a Mexican restaurant chain, detaining 16 workers, leaving broken doors, trashed kitchens, and fear in their wake. Here’s an update on that story.The ICE raid at Emiliano’s echoed an old Pittsburgh story. A century ago, the “new” immigrants bringing their dumplings from Poland, Slovakia, and Italy were branded as dangerous or unfit, their strikes met with state militias and Pinkertons, their very presence resented by nativists and the Ku Klux Klan. Roughly a hundred years ago, nativist tensions boiled over in Carnegie, just a few miles from where Matt and I were staying. On August 25, 1923, thirty thousand Klansmen gathered in nearby Scott Township to initiate new members, then—against the warnings of local officials—marched into Carnegie, a borough known for its proud Irish Catholic community. As they crossed the Glendale Bridge, residents met them with rocks and clubs. Shots followed, leaving more than a hundred people injured and one Klansman dead.In the aftermath Carnegie residents were charged, Klansmen were not, and the national Klan leader, Hiram Wesley Evans, used the death as propaganda to lure even more recruits. Yesterday’s “foreign” Catholics and Slavs, today’s Mexican restaurant workers—the names and cuisines change, but the scapegoating machinery looks hauntingly familiar.Yet even in those dark chapters, people found ways to knit themselves together—through churches, clubs, and often through sport. Pittsburgh has long used games as a kind of glue, binding neighborhoods that outsiders tried to divide (as you learned in August Trivia). I saw it again when Matt and I visited the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum inside the Heinz History Center, where the displays trace everything from mill league softball to the Steelers’ dynasty years. If the Sports Museum showed how games helped Pittsburghers find belonging, the city’s native son and playwright August Wilson revealed the same search playing out in living rooms and backyards.Not yet a subscriber? Let’s fix that!I’m not a theatah person, but everyone I know from Pittsburgh insisted I visit the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, which honors the city’s most famous playwright. Their pride was unmistakable: to Pittsburghers, Wilson is both neighbor and national treasure, their own Shakespeare whose words have traveled far beyond the Hill District ...
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    11 分
  • August Trivia: The Manly Sports of Corporate Paternalism

    August Trivia: The Manly Sports of Corporate Paternalism
    2025/08/26
    After the Civil War, industrial giants along the Ohio River—think Carnegie Steel, the railroads, and early electrical firms—began sponsoring baseball and football teams as part of a larger push to shape worker behavior, boost morale, and anchor company loyalty. Before jumping into the quiz, here’s some background. Industrial Culture Loved “Manly” SportsIn the late 19th and early 20th centuries, steel mills, coal mines, and railroad yards weren't just workplaces—they were gritty proving grounds for “real men.” * Baseball emphasized discipline, timing, and team cohesion—ideal traits for industrial workers.* Football, especially in its early brutal form, was framed as a crucible of toughness and hierarchy. Company executives loved it for “character building.”The captains of industry (cough-cough) started “works teams” not simply as morale boosters, but also as tools of corporate paternalism, offered up alongside housing, clinics, and “recreation grounds” to reduce turnover and, conveniently, undermine union organizing. I wrote about this in the Kentucky coal fields on my website because my maternal family experienced Henry Ford’s “largesse”.Some players held nominal jobs—night watchman, messenger, or other make-work titles—but were effectively paid to win, not to work. By the early 1900s, companies like Carnegie Steel were recruiting ringers and paying salaries that rivaled the minor leagues, all while claiming amateur status. Teams like the Youngstown Ohio Works and Homestead Library & Athletic Club dominated regional leagues and occasionally squared off against professional clubs in exhibition games. The line between amateur sport and industrial propaganda? Let’s just say it was easy to blur when the scoreboard looked good.I was in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum and will give you a longer story in a future newsletter. When Works Teams Became ControversialFirst get to know The Ohio–Pennsylvania League (O–P League)* Founded: 1905 and featured franchises based in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The league was founded by Charlie Morton and operated for eight seasons, with the Akron Champs winning four league championships.* Level: The teams would be considered a Class C minor league by later standards, though such classifications weren’t fully formalized at the time.* Region: Mostly small-to-mid-sized industrial cities along the Ohio River and its tributaries—including Youngstown, Niles, Canton, Akron, and New Castle, PA.In the 1905 Ohio–Pennsylvania League season, the Youngstown Ohio Works—sponsored by Carnegie Steel—drew sharp criticism for paying its players nearly double the league average, despite claiming to be “amateur.” Local newspapers fretted that the team’s salaries threatened the entire league's viability by forcing smaller-town clubs to overspend or fold.To make matters wilder, a riot broke out during a game in Niles, Ohio, triggered by a fight among fans that escalated into dozens flooding the field and interfering with play, revealing how tightly corporate ambition, sport, and public spectacle intertwined. Works teams weren’t just mascots of industrial generosity—they were flashpoints for debates about fair play, regional pride, and the limits of corporate influence in civic space. And when fans stormed the field, they showed that sport still belonged to the community—not just the company.From Works Teams to the Big LeaguesAs the 20th century unfolded, the scrappy industrial teams of the Ohio River Valley gave way to the polished machinery of professional leagues. No longer rooted in a specific mill or factory, teams began to represent entire cities—and their fans. With that shift came new forces: advertising, syndication, star players, and spectacle. Sports were no longer just tools of corporate morale or community cohesion. They became business.The relationship between fans and teams evolved too. Where once the pitcher might’ve been your neighbor or coworker, now he lived in a nicer part of town—or maybe another city altogether. But the ties didn’t break—they morphed. Media coverage, mascots, and radio broadcasts helped forge a new kind of loyalty, more symbolic than social. The rise of mass media didn’t just change the game; it changed who the game was for.Note to my fantastic new subscribers:Monthly trivia is for sport. It’s not a test of intelligence or character. I had to do a significant amount of research before writing this. Do your best and enjoy learning something new.Would you share this quiz with someone else? Please?QUESTIONSAnswers in the footnotes. Good luck.* Which of the following are true about the Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team near Pittsburgh in the early 1900s? Select all that apply.* Its roster included multiple Ivy League All-Americans recruited by William Chase Temple with unusually high salaries.* The team emerged after...
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    42 分
  • From Geopolitics to Giant Pierogis

    From Geopolitics to Giant Pierogis
    2025/08/06

    Next week I’ll be fulfilling a 30-year dream: a week at the Chautauqua Institution. The main lecture series focuses on The Middle East: The Gulf States’ Emerging Influence, which promises to explore the region’s histories, demographies, and shifting power dynamics—especially among the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran, and Iraq. It’s an ambitious and timely program, centered on understanding these states in relation to each other and the broader Middle East, including the Israel–Palestine conflict.

    I know just a little more than nothing about the Gulf States’ history, but most of it came from reading T.E. Lawrence’s biography and watching Lawrence of Arabia. Steep learning curve ahead of me there. I’m excited about that!

    Not much Fodder from Chautauqua—But…

    My spouse and I are road-tripping from home in North Carolina to Chautauqua, with a two-day stop in Pittsburgh to include a Pirates–Reds game. The Reds are scrapping for a wild card spot; the Pirates… not so much. But that’s not really why I’m going. I’m going because Matt’s excited—and for the view: skyline on one side, river and bridges on the other, right at golden hour. Matt’s never seen the skyline and I can’t wait to see his response.

    Bring on the Parrot and Pierogis

    Then there’s the mascot sideshow, which I suspect will be the real show for me. Word is that a giant green parrot might break into dance or trip a human-sized pierogi during the mid-inning sprint. The Great Pierogi Race is apparently a fan favorite, and honestly? I’m here for it. If you need me during innings five and six, hold that text—I need to see whether Cheese Chester can finally take down Sauerkraut Saul.

    Start Boning Up for August Trivia

    I’m thinking about a sports-themed August Trivia, so start boning up—you’ve been forewarned.

    Meanwhile, I’ve been working on something much weightier.

    I’ve Got a Book Deal—Now I Need a Title

    NEWS FLASH: I’m writing a book for the University of Illinois Press! Would you help me find the perfect title? Here’s what it’s about:

    For nearly a thousand miles, the Ohio River marked the line between slavery and freedom—a boundary drawn in water, and carried forward in memory, myth, and silence. Though often overshadowed by the Mason-Dixon Line or the Deep South, the Ohio remains America’s longest and only visible slavery border, its legacy still etched into the landscapes it divides.

    In [TITLE], travel writer and narrative essayist Tamela Rich follows the river from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, stopping at courthouses, riverfront parks, faded historical markers, and places where no sign remains at all. What emerges is not a neat chronology, but a mosaic of reckoning: towns shaped by what they choose to remember—and what they quietly forget.

    With a motorcyclist’s eye for detail and a memoirist’s restraint, Rich explores how the river’s legacy lives on in tourism slogans, plantation reenactments, Underground Railroad memorials, and gaps in the public record. This is not a story of reconciliation, but of recognition: of how borders shape belief, and how history lingers even in the rearview mirror.

    You can give me your opinion for a title HERE. Thanks so much!

    Let’s Meet Up?

    I’ll be back in the region over the Labor Day Weekend. If you’re anywhere near Athens or Marietta, Ohio, please get in touch. I’d love to meet you in person.



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    6 分
  • The Great Strike Quiz: Power on the Tracks

    The Great Strike Quiz: Power on the Tracks
    2025/07/10
    When I started poking around for significant historical events in our region that took place in July, I came upon The Great Railroad Strike. “Huh?”Same here.Lately I’ve been diving into railroad history, thanks to a few of my spring motorcycle stops out West. My father’s family worked for the Santa Fe (now part of BNSF) and in a fascinating twist, his family tree contains union men and union busters. I’ll be talking about that in my new series, “Buckskin Rides Again,” beginning July 20.Here’s what you need to know to crush this month’s quiz.In the summer of 1877, the nation’s railroads ground to a halt—not because of weather or mechanical failure, but because tens of thousands of workers had had enough. Sparked by wage cuts on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Martinsburg, West Virginia, the Great Railroad Strike quickly spread across the industrial heartland, disrupting cities from Pittsburgh to Chicago. It was the first major, national labor uprising in U.S. history—an unplanned but powerful response to mounting frustrations over low pay, dangerous conditions, and unchecked corporate power during the Gilded Age.The roots of the strike stretched back four years to the Panic of 1873, a financial crisis that triggered a long and brutal depression. Railroads overbuilt during boom times and then collapsed into bankruptcy, responding with layoffs, wage cuts, and speedups that made a hard job even harder. With few labor protections and no social safety net, workers were left to fend for themselves in a climate of growing desperation.This quiz will explore key moments, people, and places involved in the 1877 strike. Don’t worry if you’re not a historian—each question is designed to deepen your understanding while testing what you already know. Think of it as a whistle-stop tour through one of the most pivotal labor movements in American history.Here’s a quick summary of how it affected states in our 981 Project.The strike’s legacy in Kentucky is worth a note. In Louisville, where white railroad workers decided not to strike, these workers ended up avoiding pay cuts by siding with the Louisville and Nashville (L&N) Railroad against a general strike by Black workers. Some white workers even formed their own militia to protect railroad property,” says Shannon M. Smith, a history professor at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University who has written about the 1877 strike in Louisville. “So rather than siding with other workers, they sided with the company.”Note to my fantastic new subscribers:Monthly trivia is for sport. It’s not a test of intelligence or character. I had to do a significant amount of research before writing this. Do your best and enjoy learning something new.Would you share this quiz with someone else? Please?QUESTIONSAnswers in the footnotes. Good luck.* How did the Panic of 1873 contribute to the conditions that sparked the Great Railroad Strike of 1877? (Select all that apply) A) It led to widespread railroad bankruptcies and aggressive cost-cuttingB) It triggered a long economic depression, increasing unemployment and worker desperationC) It caused major public investment in rail infrastructure, raising expectations for worker benefitsD) Railroad companies responded with repeated wage cuts and layoffsE) It hardened public opinion against organized labor and fueled anti-union sentiment* Why didn’t the hardships caused by the Panic of 1873 lead to meaningful protections for railroad workers before the 1877 strike? (Select all that apply)A) The federal government had no established system of unemployment relief or labor regulationB) The Supreme Court prioritized contract rights and property over collective labor actionC) Business leaders promoted the idea that free-market forces—not laws—should determine wages and conditionsD) Most state governments remained neutral, refusing to intervene in labor disputesE) The idea of federal intervention in the economy or social welfare was still politically unpopular* What specific events in Martinsburg, West Virginia, triggered the beginning of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877? (Select all that apply)A) The B&O Railroad announced another round of wage cuts during an ongoing economic depressionB) Workers were outraged by the hiring of Chinese immigrant labor to replace striking crewsC) Freight trains were made longer, increasing workload and danger without additional payD) Local militia forces refused to use violence against the strikers, prompting calls for federal troopsE) Strike leaders issued a coordinated call for national labor action from Martinsburg* Why were railroad companies able to maintain poor working conditions with little pushback before 1877? (Select all that apply)A) There were few or no labor laws regulating work conditionsB) Railroads had powerful allies in government and mediaC) Workers feared arrest or blacklisting if they organizedD) Most legal decisions favored company ...
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    37 分
  • June Trivia: Fire on the Water

    June Trivia: Fire on the Water
    2025/06/19
    Hello friends, My personal update is short and sweet: I am now a mother-in-law. My eldest son tied the knot on June 6 in a lovely garden ceremony. Arizona-based family joined us in North Carolina and we played cards, had a cookout, and sorted through a big box of family photos. Oh, the memories—remembered and made!Life is short, my friends. Give love the room it needs to overcome your fears.June has always been a month of thresholds—marriages, migrations, and moments that ripple outward. One such moment happened fifty-six years ago, when a river caught fire and Americans could no longer look away. On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught fire for at least the thirteenth time. That blaze gained national attention—especially after Time magazine published dramatic photos (actually from the 1952 fire) and highlighted it as a symbol of unchecked industrial pollution.What does this have to do with the Ohio River? The Cuyahoga fire became a tipping point for public awareness. It wasn’t the largest fire, or the most destructive—but it was the one America saw. And it helped spark a movement that culminated in the Clean Water Act of 1972.The Ohio River, running through the heart of the country’s manufacturing corridor, never made headlines for catching fire, but it was every bit as polluted. Its legacy was slow violence: toxic water, chronic illness, ecological collapse—and a long path toward repair.This month’s quiz explores the murky legacy of Ohio River pollution. But first, let’s go down Memory Lane with this SNL skit for Swill Water, with pitchman Bill Murray. (Swill is reputedly sourced from Lake Erie). Note to my fantastic new subscribers:Monthly trivia is for sport. It’s not a test of intelligence or character. I couldn’t answer these questions without a significant amount of research, either! Do your best and enjoy learning something new.Would you share this quiz with someone else? Please?QUESTIONSAnswers in the footnotes. Have fun (despite the subject matter)!* True or false? Matchbox once sold a Swill Water delivery truck toy. * How did the environmental crises of the Cuyahoga and Ohio rivers differ in terms of public impact and perception? More than one applies.* The Cuyahoga River caught fire multiple times, becoming a national symbol of pollution.* The Ohio River was less polluted than the Cuyahoga and received little attention.* The Ohio River suffered chronic industrial and sewage pollution but lacked a dramatic event to trigger public outrage.* Both rivers experienced visible and dangerous pollution, but only the Cuyahoga catalyzed federal environmental reform.* Which of the following factors help explain why the Cuyahoga River caught fire while the Ohio River did not, despite both suffering significant industrial pollution? More than one may apply.* The Cuyahoga's lower stretch is slow-moving and canal-like, allowing flammable substances to accumulate.* The Ohio River's faster current and larger volume dispersed pollutants more effectively.* The Cuyahoga passed directly through dense clusters of oil refineries and steel mills.* The Ohio River was better regulated and kept cleaner during the industrial era.* Which of the following statements accurately describe historical and current restrictions on swimming in the Ohio River? Choose more than one answer.* In many industrial-era cities, swimming in the Ohio River was banned or strongly discouraged due to health risks.* The Clean Water Act immediately made all sections of the Ohio River safe for recreational use.* Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) still lead to modern-day swimming advisories after heavy rain. * ORSANCO (The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission) and local agencies have continued to monitor bacteria levels and advise against swimming in certain areas.* What were typical forms of industrial waste discharged into the Ohio River before the 1970s? Choose as many as apply.* Heavy metals* Oil and grease* Plastic pellets* Slaughterhouse refuse* How can pollution from a small industrial spill—like one near Union Carbide’s Institute, West Virginia plant in 1985—ultimately affect the Ohio River, even if toxins aren’t dumped directly into it? More than one applies.* The chemicals can travel through connected creeks and tributaries that feed the river* Rainfall and groundwater flow can carry pollutants downstream over time* Some pollutants may settle in soil or sediment but later remobilize during storms or floods* The Ohio River watershed includes many smaller waterways that drain into it* You may have missed the 2019 film, Dark Waters. Based on a true story, the film follows Rob Bilott, a corporate defense attorney (played by Mark Ruffalo) who takes on an environmental lawsuit against DuPont. The case centers on decades of PFAS pollution in Parkersburg, West Virginia, where DuPont knowingly released toxic chemicals, evaded regulation, and spread PFAS globally—into drinking water, ...
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