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Devil Cats, Magic Mirrors, and Fortune-Telling Cabbage: 19th Century Love-Sick Hoosiers and Ancient Halloween Traditions – The Indiana History Blog
On the night of All Hallows Eve in 1868, two young Irish girls left a party to pick cabbage in a neighbor’s field. Their neighbor fired at them with a large navy revolver and killed young Bri…
“Shamerican” William Dudley Pelley: Self-Styled Fascist Leader & Noblesville Publisher – The Indiana History Blog
William Dudley Pelley tapped into a small, but growing contingent of Americans who admired Hitler’s fascist agenda, particularly his oppression of the Jewish population. With the formation of…
“Yes, the Road Has Been Long:” Dr. George Buckner’s Journey from Enslavement to Prominence – The Indiana History Blog
Lauana Creel approached the porch and rang the doorbell of a prominent Evansville citizen she had arranged to interview. The WPA’s Federal Writer’s Project had tasked her with interviewing formerly…
“Foully Shot Dead:” The Mysterious Death of John Seay and the Murder Trial of William Fodrea – The Indiana History Blog
It turns out that James P. Hornaday’s coverage of the Martinique and St. Vincent earthquakes was not the only big story in the Indianapolis News in the summer of 1902. A heavily-covered murder tria…
“The Saloon Must Go:” Fred Rohrer, the Berne Witness and the Fight for Temperance in Berne, Indiana – The Indiana History Blog
On December 24, 1903, an article from a Kentucky-based newspaper known as The Bee highlighted the following: “Not daunted by the fact that his house was blown up by dynamite, by being assaulted twi…
The World on Fire: James P. Hornaday and the Disasters of Martinique and St. Vincent – The Indiana History Blog
For all of human history, natural disasters have plagued the citizens of villages, towns, and nations. One such incident, the volcanic eruptions on Martinique and St. Vincent in 1902, displayed the…
Art and Controversy: Thomas Hart Benton, Herman B Wells, and the Indiana Murals – The Indiana History Blog
Content Note: This video reproduces a panel of art depicting the Ku Klux Klan. It appears at 10:55 in the video and continues to 11:55. Viewer discretion is advised. Thomas Hart Benton, one of Am…
“Oh Boy! She’s Coming to Richmond”: Mamie Smith Brings the “Crazy Blues,” 1921 – The Indiana History Blog
Historians of blues music and folk culture consider Mamie Smith to be the first African American woman to record blues vocals. In 1921, only a year after this historic recording, Smith performed t…
“America First:” The Ku Klux Klan Influence on Immigration Policy in the 1920s – The Indiana History Blog
This article was originally published, in revised form, on June 20, 2019 at the Hoosier State Chronicles blog. United States immigration laws reflect a long history of debate over who should be inc…
When Jimmy Hoffa Met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Growing Alliance of Labor and Civil Rights – The Indiana History Blog
Detroit, Michigan, March 30, 1965. Two men meet at a small press conference before the funeral of a slain civil rights activist. Their meeting seems like an unlikely pairing for us today—one a slic…
The Devil’s in the Details: How to Enhance Storytelling with Historical Newspapers – The Indiana History Blog
There’s no better place to learn about family stories than old newspapers. I learned this lesson as a child when I tagged along with my maternal grandmother, LeNore Hoard Enz. Four families in her …
“The Gentlest Memory of Our World”: Robert Ingersoll and the Memorialization of Abraham Lincoln – The Indiana History Blog
Abraham Lincoln is one of the most written-about subjects in all of human history; thousands of books, articles, and speeches have been published about his life and legacy. As such, there is an int…