How ’bout a Nice Hawaiian Putsch?
For years, native Hawaiians had fought with a modest degree of success to maintain their autonomy. But in 1893, white businessmen—sugar magnates and the like—had taken control by tossing out […]
Author: rkcunningham
Posts by rkcunningham
Release Party: Table Talk
Etiquette books insist that we never discuss politics during a meal. In Table Talk: Building Democracy One Meal at a Time, Janet A. Flammang offers a polite rebuttal, presenting vivid […]
Fixed That For You
In 1921, with Independence Day festivities out of the way, jury selection began on the biggest scandal to hit the sports world in years: the Black Sox case, with a […]
Oh Knowledge Obscura
A small plate o’ University of Illinois trivia to help you pass that long Friday before the holiday break: 1. A fictional genius named Sivasubramanian Chandrasegarampillai created the HAL 9000 in […]
200 Years of Illinois: Black Hawk Eternal
Lorado Taft was at the height of his powers when he created The Eternal Indian, the towering concrete statue that watches over the Rock River in Lowden State Park near Oregon. […]
Throwbacklist Thursday: The Story of the Smiths
Often overlooked in the literature written about American families, the Smiths of Western New York nonetheless have a claim over the Rockefellers and Adamses and all the other subjects of […]
RIP James Green
Late last week the eminent labor historian James Green died at age 71. Known most recently for his The Devil Is Here in These Hills, a portrait of West Virginia coal miners that became part […]
200 Years of Illinois: Union Forever
In 1862, as the Civil War raged and a Confederate victory seemed quite possible, many of the tensions unleashed by the war found a stage in Pekin. There, on June 25, […]
RIP Ralph Stanley
The pride of Big Spraddle Creek, Virginia, or somewhere close to it, Ralph Stanley was performing at age eleven and still going strong at age 89. “His voice sounds like […]
Throwbacklist Thursday
The month of June brings countless pleasures to the Midwest. Few exceed the overwhelming presence of fresh produce at semi-affordable prices. At last, we can put aside the beyond-tired apples […]
Release Party: Slapstick Modernism
We live in an age when Iggy Pop adorns groovy travel bags and makes the scene at Cannes to support a Jim Jarmusch documentary about his iconic band the Stooges. Punk conquered the […]
Been Lizzie
Lizzie Andrew Borden stood trial in New Bedford, Massachusetts, for the ax murders of her father and stepmother. This first of many American trials of the century began on June 5, […]