Taft was a well-educated, hard-working, intelligent, admired, talented, ethical, moderate public service from a family of successful politicians, and he had an accomplished career as a judge, foreign administrator, and President. But what makes him unique among Presidents was that 100 years ago he also became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. As he had in other jobs, he instituted important and intelligent reforms and improvements, such as focusing on only cases of national and constitutional importance and getting Congress to build the Supreme Court building. In particular, Taft tried to convince the other justices to join in unanimous or near unanimous decisions, to avoid having the Court lose popular respect by issuing sharply divided opinions. Imagine that!
Someone in Hollywood needs to tell this story, because I don’t think enough Americans know about the older brother of William Clark (of the Lewis & Clark Expedition) or how 150 men took the territory that became Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. It’s one of my favorites.
The Revolutionary War in this area between the northern Mississippi and Ohio rivers was sort of a rematch of the French & Indian War. The French wanted revenge against the British, so they sided with the American colonists. The British were paying Native American mercenaries to fight for them, even though the natives were on the French side before. And the American colonists had antagonized the natives by taking their lands.
Clark was 19 when he started surveying the territory west of Virginia and joined the militia just before the war started in Concord, Massachusetts. Although young, he knew the area, the tribes, the conflicts and he showed initiative. He negotiated a territorial dispute with Governor Patrick Henry, representing settlers like Daniel Boone. He led Kentucky militia to defend settlements against British-funded native raids. So when the fighting broke out, he presented a bold plan to seize three British outposts in what’s now southern Illinois. Governor Henry approved the plan, gave him a promotion, but little else.
For the rest of the story, you have to watch the park film, or read a book or wait for the Hollywood blockbuster. But let me just say it involves many French settlers who help Clark, an Italian merchant who tells Clark when the British are vulnerable, Native Americans who decide to stay out of the conflict, a brutal winter march through floods, Kentucky sharpshooters, much military deception, and a desperate pre-emptive strike against a superior defensive force.
Whatever Clark did in the rest of his life to die an impoverished alcoholic, should not take away from what he accomplished at age 26: an incredible underdog victory by 150 men, whom Clark convinced to fight and trained, resulting in five states ceded by Britain to the US. (I had neither graduated from college nor gotten my drivers license by age 26.)
This park is the lynchpin of the nation. If it were removed, the whole country would fall apart.
OK, maybe not, but it is an important spot. The domed courthouse above heard the infamous Dred Scott case, which was used by the Supreme Court to take the country backwards, deny people their basic rights and help spark the Civil War. (How times change). The arch represents a gateway to western expansion, facilitated by Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and subsequently explored by Lewis & Clark from here.
Many factors came together for the territory to wind up as ~12 US states. France traded with the Native Americans who lived there, and all along the rivers there were French communities, from Pittsburgh to St Louis and from Quebec to New Orleans. Shortly before we became independent, Britain declared war on France, used their ships to take Quebec and blockaded Spain from their colonies, and in exchange for peace, they took Canada and Florida, while France kept Haiti and Spain wound up with the Louisiana territory.
That peace treaty didn’t last long. The British heavily taxed the colonists to pay for that war (bad idea), the US declared independence (and won), the slaves in Haiti revolted (and won), Spain secretly gave Louisiana back to France, and France & Spain were preparing to invade England (and lose). Amidst this chaos, Napoleon wanted cash more than colonies that he couldn’t control, and Jefferson wanted to secure the Mississippi and expand our new country. Both sides approached each other to make a deal.
This diorama is one of the best I’ve seen, and it showcases all the major finds discovered here to date. The first fossil was found by James Cook on his ranch here at the headwaters of the Niobrara, but his collection of Native American art & artifacts rivals the attraction of the fossils. He was a great friend of Chief Red Cloud, and, unlike many of the original fossils which have gone on for display and study elsewhere, Cook insisted his gifts remain here. If that weren’t enough, there’s a lovely creek with wildlife on the trail up to where most of the fossils were found. This is one of my favorite fossil sites, although Dinosaur is better.
Like many folks, I grew up watching Westerns, so when I think of wagon trains of pioneers, I think of circling the wagons to defend against native attacks. But that’s another myth. More pioneers were killed by gun accidents than native raids. Pioneers traded peacefully with Native Americans as a rule. There was another school shooting recently, and the myth that guns make us safer is still being repeated today.
Of course, the main cause of death for the pioneers was cholera, so what actually protected them was coffee. Folks who drank “cowboy coffee” (strong enough to float a horseshoe) were saved by boiling water. I knew there was a reason I love espresso.
The park is beautiful, and many of our ancestors in the west walked (“prairie schooners” or wagons were for supplies) through the pass above. The rangers are both informative and engaging, and as always I learned more in a brief conversation than from any other source. Since I arrived early, I hiked up the Saddle Rock trail, but you can also drive up. The bluffs aren’t the highest or most brightly colored in the whole country, but they offer pleasant views of the historic trail.
A promised utopia for ex-slaves, this remarkable small town has also, like my last stop, preserved its cultural heritage. Named for both Nicodemus who asked Jesus the price of rebirth and for the old spiritual ”Wake Nicodemus” who asked to be awakened for the Jubilee, perhaps the best preserved and restored building is the AME Church above. But in the visitor center I met the living exhibits: the 5th, 6th and 7th generation descendants of those resilient settlers who survived in the remote prairie. They explained to me that while the town is extremely small today, every year in the last full week of July, many more descendants return for a reunion and keep the unbroken traditions thriving.
Beautiful new park with many buildings dating back to 1785, and an active community of French cultural preservationists. There even seems to be a bit of friendly rivalry between the park service and the French living history museum folks. As the economy moved elsewhere, the town avoided development and kept their unique culture intact. There are three tours: a tavern, a French Don American (long story) governor’s house and a former slave’s house. Together they weave a fascinating story of a French settlement halfway between Quebec City and New Orleans.
Grant was a quiet, thoughtful man who was sometimes taken advantage of by others, developed strong moral convictions and enjoyed travel. He was also the leader who saved the Union in battle and in his Presidency. This is one of my favorite presidential homes, next to Sagamore Hill.
While he served in the war with Mexico, he correctly deduced that it was “a wicked war” waged to expand slavery by taking territory from a neighbor in the midst of internal conflicts. After leaving the military to be with wife and kids, he somehow wound up owning a slave, most likely received from his father-in-law, and Grant freed him. His father-in-law kept his other slaves, until they escaped during the Civil War. Unlike some Union generals, Grant advanced African American units as key to victory.
I have now visited a number of his battlefields, but here at his (and his in-laws’) home his views are made clear. Grant clearly attributed the cause of the Civil War to slavery, and as President he fought hard for African American rights, establishing the precedent of sending in troops to protect African Americans being terrorized by racists including the KKK. Grant was often underestimated, even by historians, but in life he counter-attacked aggressively, and in history his core views have proven to be right.
I love this statue. Carver was born at the end of the Civil War and was kidnapped and orphaned by the Klan. His mother’s owners retrieved him and raised him here, where he studied the plants near the creek as a child. He was educated mainly in Kansas, despite racial barriers, and eventually became the first African American to graduate from his school. His manner was mild, but he demonstrated great determination in the face of poverty, adversity and prejudice.
Recognized for his extensive scientific knowledge of botany and for being a groundbreaking African American scientist, he was hired to teach at Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee University. His goal was to help the least in society, so he worked on modernizing agricultural techniques used by African American farmers, even bringing a cart from the university out to the fields to teach, a technique copied by the US Department of Agriculture. He published many books and pamphlets, developed patented techniques and is best remembered for developing the lowly peanut into a highly profitable series of products. He testified to Congress about the peanut and scientific agricultural techniques and was widely recognized for his many accomplishments.
I know Carver is an inspirational figure admired for overcoming obstacles, but I can’t help but wonder how many others were denied even the limited opportunities he had. Slavery existed here for 244 years, with 10 million sent across the Atlantic and maybe another 10 million born into slavery here. None of them were properly educated. None had the freedom to pursue their dreams. And all died without being able to fully contribute their talents and ideas to improve the world. How many young, inquisitive minds were destroyed by slavery? How much human enlightenment was snuffed out to pick cotton? Carver was one of the first born after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, and he spent his life making the world a better place for all of us. But I can’t help but mourn the incalculable loss of all the other people during those 244 years and after who could have contributed as well or even more.
Here’s the creek. It’s quite pretty, and there used to be a mill here. I saw a bald eagle nearby.
Alright. An important Civil War battle was fought here. To appreciate the story, you need to understand that Missouri was an important strategic state, with a neutral populace and a pro-slavery governor, which President Lincoln very much wanted on the Union side. Lincoln asked Missouri for troops, and the governor refused and plotted to seize the arsenal in St. Louis to help the confederates.
The arsenal’s Captain, Nathaniel Lyon, however, had already secretly moved the weapons to Illinois. After being promoted, Lyon took the state capital and forced the governor to retreat to southwest Missouri, where Wilson’s Creek is. In the summer of 1861, General Lyon marched his forces here, attempting a surprise attack. But the confederates had assembled a larger force. On August 10th, here on Bloody Hill, the forces engaged brutally for five hours. Lyon fought aggressively, was wounded twice in action and was killed leading a countercharge that morning, becoming the first Union general killed. The Union army retreated, but Missouri remained in Union control, despite many guerrilla battles to retake it.
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