Before the revolution in America, the UK had been transporting convicts to the colonies for many years. As a result, there was a significant number of prisoners in colonial America. It is believed that the state of Georgia was established as a penal colony. After the revolution, the UK began sending convicts to Australia instead.
history of USA
The American Revolution the…
The American Revolution the -ville suffix became popular in the names of new US settlements due to an increase of pro-French sentiments. After the Marque Lafayette visited the USA in 1824, many cities , towns and counties were name after him.
Spanish conquistadors went exploring…
Spanish conquistadors went exploring all the way up to Kansas in the 1500s.
The first native to greet the settlers…
The first native to greet the settlers at Plymouth colony not only spoke English, he boldly walked into their camp to say hello and ask if they had beer. His name was Samoset, and along with Squanto, he spent several years teaching the colonists to farm, hunt and survive in the New World.
In 1867, Van Zandt County, located in northeast…
In 1867, Van Zandt County, located in northeast Texas, decided to secede from the United States, as well as Texas. While celebrating their newfound independence, many citizens became intoxicated, and the U.S. Army easily regained control.
Alarm clock production in…
Alarm clock production in the United States was stopped in 1942 to redirect resources to the war effort. Production was restarted in 1944, as too many workers missed their shifts when their alarm clock broke and they could not purchase a new one.
Slavery: Convict leasing and Peonage
In 1898, some 73% of Alabama’s entire annual state revenue came from convict leasing.
There were two types of slavery in the post-Civil War USA south:
1) Convict leasing, where the States generated much revenue and where business owners got very cheap labor (even cheaper than having slaves)
2) Peonage, which meant being in debt and paying off that debt.
Peonage was far more criminal than convict leasing. Law-abiding citizens were arrested on fake charges, then told they had to pay a ‘fine’. They could not afford to pay that fine.
Then someone would step in (this was all set up) and pay that fine. And in order to pay back that money, they had to work for free for a very long time … how long? Nobody said.
One of the first American…
One of the first American spies was a women during the Revolutionary War. To this day, her identity is not known and is referred to only as Agent 355. She was actually one of George Washington’s personal spies and completely vanished near the end of the war. No one knows if she died mysteriously or secretly retired. She collected crucial information from the British to win the war and, to this day, remains the only unidentified member of the Culper Spy Ring.
The micronation of the Conch Republic…
The micronation of the Conch Republic seceded from the United States in 1982. They declared war on April 23rd 1982 and surrendered 1 minute after the declaration so they could apply for foreign aid.
Over a hundred years ago, virtually…
Over a hundred years ago, virtually every American city had public streetcars that people took to work. That includes cities we don’t think of as hubs for mass transit today, like Atlanta, Raleigh, and Los Angeles. Today, just 5 percent of U.S. workers commute via via public transit.