Francis Scott Key: One of the anti-slavery movement's great villains
A painting depicting Francis Scott Key aboard the British ship HMS Tonnant viewing Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on Sept. 14, 1814. Ed Vebell/Getty ImagesThe history wars – the battle over how we teach our country’s past – are raging. The United States is confronting the legacies of slavery as never before. This national reconsideration has been prompted by police killings of unarmed Black men and The New York Times’ “1619 Project,” which reexamines the history of slavery in the U.
news.yahoo.comNonpartisan group says reconciliation bill could increase federal deficits by $200 billion
The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says the Democrats' reconciliation bill could increase federal deficits by around $200 billion over ten years. Jennifer Shutt, congressional reporter for CQ Roll Call, joined CBSN to discuss the latest on the legislation.
news.yahoo.comSupreme Court justices hear oral arguments over restrictive Texas abortion law
A Texas law banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy — the most restrictive in the nation — was at the center of Supreme Court oral arguments Monday. Jan Crawford reports on the landmark legal battle and what it could mean for states nationwide.
news.yahoo.comManchin wavers on Biden's big domestic package
Sen. Joe Manchin is wavering over supporting President Joe Biden's $1.75 trillion package, a sweeping social services and climate change bill. Instead he said it’s “time to vote” on a bipartisan infrastructure bill and quit holding it hostage. (Nov. 1)
news.yahoo.comGun rights at the Supreme Court: justices will consider if the fundamental right to keep a gun at home applies to carrying weapons in public
Dozens of people attended an open carry rally led by Joey Gibson, leader of the Patriot Prayer group, on May 20, 2018, in Seattle. Karen Ducey/Getty ImagesThe Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Nov. 3, 2021, on a clear question: Does the constitutional right to possess a gun extend outside the home? The answer may alter gun regulations in many states. The crux of the issue before the court is captured by a debate that Thomas Jefferson had with himself at the time of the founding. When Jeffer
news.yahoo.comCharlottesville mayor’s poem about city, racism ‘hits nerve’
Charlottesville, she wrote, “lynched you, hung the noose at city hall and pressed the souvenir that was once your finger against its lips.”AdIt ends by stating that the city of 47,000 “is anchored in white supremacy and rooted in racism. “This is a new era of Black electeds,” said Wes Bellamy, a friend of Walker’s, a former Charlottesville vice mayor and interim chair of Virginia State University’s political science department. "You all said you were open to being challenged.”Bellamy, who lives in Charlottesville, told the AP that the city has made a lot of improvements in recent years. Ad“And so in this way, Mayor Walker is 100% in line with Black women elected officials, not just mayors but those who are serving in Congress,” Brown said. Among them is Peter Snyder, an entrepreneur and former Fox News contributor who lives in Charlottesville.
Peoria schools named after Thomas Jefferson, Calvin Coolidge and Charles Lindbergh to be renamed
Board Vice President Gregory Wilson advocated for Thomas Jefferson to be removed because his character made the change necessary. While Wilson didn’t discuss what he discovered in his research on Jefferson, he said he would lay out his case when the renaming decision occurs.
chicagotribune.comHistoric Lynchburg tavern dating back to 1815 is up for sale
LYNCHBURG, Va. – A historic tavern in Lynchburg is up for sale. The Joseph Nichols Tavern dates back to 1815, and it’s believed Thomas Jefferson was a frequent patron. William Holt is a preservationist and said he bought the building in 2015 because he’s a fan of America’s third president. Holt had plans to restore and reopen the historic landmark last year, but lost the business due to declining health and COVID-19 restrictions.
Unity has long been a theme, and anxiety, for new presidents
(AP Photo, File)NEW YORK – When Joe Biden addresses the country for the first time as president, his inaugural speech is likely to echo calls for unity that predecessors have invoked since the first time George Washington was sworn in. Unity has since been a theme, and an anxiety, for many incoming presidents, who have faced economic and social crises and moments when the very future of the U.S. was in doubt. “Unity has always been an aspiration," says presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. But when we have domestic turmoil we use the word unity.”The United States was forged through compromise among factions that disagreed profoundly on slavery, regional influence and the relative powers of state and federal government. “A president often claims the country is ‘united’ behind a belief when it’s more wishful thinking than reality,” Widmer says.
UVA scientists create app to determine your chances of catching COVID-19
A statue of Thomas Jefferson stands in front of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia on graduation weekend at the school Saturday May 16, 2020, in Charlottesville, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)VIRGINIA – A group of scientists at UVA is launching a new app that shows you the likelihood that someone at an event is unknowingly contagious with COVID-19. The data shows your likelihood based off of location and the number of people. “We put this app together with the idea that you select of a location, a county in this case, and then there’s a display that shows the likelihood that someone at that event is likely contagious, based on the number of people at that event,” said Michael Porter, a UVA data scientist. Researchers behind the app say it is not foolproof, but the numbers show a best guess. It also does not reflect the people who have been vaccinated or may have immunity.
Biden and Harris to be sworn in at Capitol, but public urged to stay home
Washington — President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn into office at the U.S. Capitol next month, following a tradition dating back to Thomas Jefferson, who was the first president to be sworn in Washington in 1801. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCIC) said in a statement on Wednesday that the event will be scaled down. For the 59th Inaugural Ceremonies, invitations to Members of the 117th Congress will be limited to themselves and one guest," the statement said. JCIC Chair Roy Blunt said that the inauguration event would resemble a State of the Union address, rather than the typical large ceremony with thousands of attendees. Workers construct the stage for the presidential inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on December 1, 2020.
cbsnews.comFalls Church to removes Thomas Jefferson and George Mason school names
Va. – A school board in a northern Virginia city has voted unanimously to change the names of a high school and elementary school named for founding fathers George Mason and Thomas Jefferson. The vote Tuesday by the school board in Falls Church came despite a community survey that showed broad support for keeping the names of George Mason High School and Thomas Jefferson Elementary. In the survey, just 26% thought the George Mason name should be changed, while only 23% felt that the Thomas Jefferson name should be changed. It will cost more than $100,000 to change the names, according to estimates. Mason is the city’s only public high school.
Richmond Public Schools pull plug on winter sports season
Richmond, VA – WSLS-10 Sports has confirmed through sources that Richmond Public Schools have decided to forgo the upcoming winter sports season for 2020-2021. They will play a 14-game regular season beginning on December 21. Gymnastics, indoor track, swim and dive and wrestling all begin practice on Dec. 14, and will begin their regular seasons on Dec. 28. Gymnastics, indoor track and swim and dive will hold six meets each, while wrestling will have eight contests. Regionals begin for all four sports on Feb. 1.
Health district in Virginia to drop ‘Jefferson’ from name
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Concerns over Thomas Jefferson’s history of owning enslaved people has prompted a local health district in Virginia to drop the Founding Father’s name and call itself the Blue Ridge Health District. Director Denise Bonds told The Daily Progress in Charlottesville last week that the name change is an effort to be more inclusive. She said Jefferson was a really important historical figure. She said the district wants them to feel comfortable coming to the health department. The district serves Charlottesville as well as the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson.
Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest welcomes visitors for Fourth of July
FOREST, Va. – Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, one of Central Virginia’s strongest ties to the founding fathers, welcomed Independence Day visitors in a different way this year because of covid-19. Poplar Forest guests could still tour the Third President’s former home, but tours were limited to ten people at a time. Everyone at Poplar Forest had to wear a mask, and the museum organized several outdoor activities to keep people at a distance. “A couple of weeks ago, we were very worried that we wouldn’t be able to do anything,” Massie said. However, the house did not open to the public until Independence Day 1986.
Presidents have changed the office over time. Will Trump have a lasting impact too?
This is the big mystery in America, said Jon D. Michaels, an expert on presidential power at the UCLA School of Law. As the first African American president, Barack Obama transformed the office merely by being elected. By pioneering new forms of communication, harnessing new forms of presidential power, displaying new forms of presidential comportment, they have changed the office more than at any time since Franklin Roosevelt (1933-45), perhaps since Lincoln (1861-65). Hes a phenomenon.With his late-night tweets, vulgar locutions and personal attacks, Donald Trump has altered the personality of the presidency. And I think, sadly, that this will persist beyond his presidency.So may the political content of the Trump years.
latimes.comThomas Jefferson's enslaved grandson escaped
An Ebony Magazine article titled, "Thomas Jefferson's Negro Grandchildren" was published in either 1954 or 1958. She broke that silence for the magazine interview, appearing with a handful of other elderly black men and women beneath the bold, all-capital-letters headline: "THOMAS JEFFERSON'S NEGRO GRANDCHILDREN." Peter Fossett, who had actually been born into slavery at Jefferson's Virginia plantation, Monticello. The plantation's online Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia identifies Fossett as the grandson of slave Mary Hemings Bell (a relative of Sally Hemings) and an unknown white father possibly, it suggests, carpenter William Fosset. Bessie Curtis, when she spoke to Ebony Magazine, was listed as a caterer and an active member of First Baptist.
Charlottesville to no longer celebrate Thomas Jefferson's birthday
Rembrandt Peale, White House/Wikimedia CommonsCHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Charlottesville will no longer celebrate Thomas Jefferson's birthday as an official city holiday and instead will observe a day recognizing the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans. The city council voted Monday night to scrap the decades-old April 13 holiday honoring the slave-holding president and Founding Father. Charlottesville will now mark Liberation and Freedom Day on March 3, the day U.S. Army forces arrived in the city in 1865. Charlottesville has been grappling publicly for years with how to tell its history of race and discrimination. Those efforts intensified after white nationalists gathered in the city in 2017 for a rally that descended into deadly violence.