Archive for the ‘History’ Category

Dear Theodosia

So last night I read a few of the letters Aaron Burr wrote to his adult daughter Theodosia in the summer of 1804, just after he had murdered Alexander Hamilton. He is still bitter, and of course is also in hiding/exile. He seems to believe that history will eventually vindicate him, and that the tales […]

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Where We Lived

“Where We Lived” by Jack Larkin I borrowed this book from the library a few months ago, in an effort to learn more about everyday life in 18th century America. It’s a incredibly fascinating coffee-table style book, with lots of photos from the Historic American Buildings Survey of the Library of Congress. The architecture of […]

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Today shall be the last dry and freezing day for a while, I see from the forecast, which promises a week ahead of rain and much warmer temperatures. Right now it’s 26 degrees and I am looking ahead at a day of meal-planning, shopping, and also reading. I have lately picked up “John Adams” to […]

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The Musical and its Aftermath

Good morning. About six months ago, I finally satisfied a curiosity about the musical “Hamilton” which had been brewing for a little while, at last succumbing to the hype by purchasing the original soundtrack (I will probably never see it performed live in any Broadway-scale capacity, or if I do it will be a decade […]

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Captain of the New York Artillery

This is one of my favorite Alexander Hamilton portraits, perhaps because he is so young and his hair isn’t powdered, and maybe it’s not an accurate likeness but at least it’s not a Charles Peale, who was very bad at art and yet somehow did lots of shitty portraits. This is actually a detail view […]

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You will oblige me singularly

I’m still re-acclimating to this format, but I am determined. As a kind of test, and a taste of what is to come, my friends, observe the above letter, which I shall transcribe here: Sir, I am extremely anxious to get across to Head Quarters this night, and it seems hardly possible to cross the […]

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