Let’s start with history is fun! This week on our show we explored major events in the US and followed them to museums that tell the story. Here they are:
The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. On April 15, 1865 the president was shot in the back of the head while at the Ford Theatre. You can find the full life story of Abraham Lincoln at his museum in Springfield, IL
- Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum in Springfield, IL. This museum is the epitome of “history is fun”. There are holographic images, audio that depict the feeling of the people during campaigning and a modern day take with modern day journalist and media covering the campaign.
- Visit www.alplm.org for the official site and www.lincolnlibraryandmuseum.com for a more visitor-friendly site.
The Civil War: Fought between the Northern and Southern states between 1861 – 1865. The War Between The States, as it was called was due to 11 Southern States succeeding from the union in 1860 and 1861 in an effort to hold on to slavery and forming their own country The Confederate States of America. The Confederate States of America lost the war in 1865 and slavery was abolished.
- Museums
- The Civil War Museum in Kenosha, WI, Visit www.kenosha.org/wp-civilwar
- Rosehill Cemetary and Civil War Museum in Chicago, www.civilwar.org
- Missouri Civil War Museum in St. Louis, MO, www.mcwm.org
- DuSable Museum in Chicago, IL, www.dusablemuseum.org
- Confederate Memorial Hall Museum in New Orleans, LA, www.confederatemuseum.com
- African American Civil War Museum in Washington, DC, www.afroamcivilwar.org
Civil Rights Movement: After the Supreme Courts 1954 decision to strike down the “separate but equal” doctrine and state-sanctioned discrimination African Americans began a non-violent movement for equality on several fronts that would continue for more than a decade.
- Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN, www.civilrightsmuseum.org
- Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, AL, www.alabama360.com/rosaparks/tw_rosaparks
- www.visitmontgomery.com for other Civil Rights locations, museums and memorials
Apollo 11: July 20, 1969 America landed on the moon with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin becoming the first humans to land on the moon.
- Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, www.airandspace.si.edu, you can not only see and get the history of Apollo 11 but all of air and space history. Again, history is fun!
9/11: On September 11, 2001 U.S. commercial airlines planes were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Centers in New York city and the Pentagon in Washington, DC as a terrorist act against America.
- 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York, NY www.911memorial.org/museum
The Alamo: For more than 300 years the Alamo was fought over and instrumental in the formation of Texas and American History, from the French, to the Spaniards, the Mexicans who gained their independence from Spain and the Americans, who finally won the battle and thereby winning the Alamo.
- The Alamo Museum in San Antonio, TX, www.thealamo.org
Ellis Island: The place where a great deal of Americans can trace their heritage to their first family member who came to America. In 1982 President Ronald Regan together with Lee Iacocca started a restoration project to reestablish the Ellis Island Museum. The efforts were more than successful raising more than $600 million dollars, opening ahead of schedule and not needing or getting financial aid from the US Government.
- Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York, NY, www.libertyellisfoundation.org
Another fantastic museum that allows you to experience major events that occurred around the world through the eyes of media is the Newseum located in Washington, DC. www.newseum.org
History is Fun!
Ja’Vonne