Sparks Commentary

The Napoleonic Wars sparked some  serious wars of independence  throughout  Latin America . One portion of  Spanish America  after another ...

“From the day of exchanging the ratification of the present treaties, there shall be perfect peace and amity between his majesty the empero...

“A Declaration introducing into international relations certain uniform rules with reference to future occupations on the coast of the Afric...

“ We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly ; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God...

A portrait of capitalism (and some other things) in late nineteenth-century America This film is a portrait of capitalism (and some other th...

“My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union , and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union wi...

The California Gold Rush is one of those events that tends to have been heard of by the public, but is often overlooked by popular histori...

"No person held to service or labour [a. k. a. "slavery"] in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, sha...

" ... the American continents , by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be ...

"No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave , And the star-spangled banner in...

"[The Congress shall have the power] To establish post-offices and post-roads ..." - The United States Constitution, Article 1, S...

"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continu...

"The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounti...

"The occupation, separation, and annexation [of Texas] were, from the inception of the movement to its final consummation, a conspira...

" Glory is fleeting , but obscurity is forever." - Napoleon Bonaparte He was the ruler of  France , but learned French as a...

I just finished watching "Crucible of Empire: The Spanish-American War," PBS's two-hour documentary about this time. I wa...

" A spectre is haunting Europe - the spectre of communism . All the Powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcis...

I have seen a lot of great Westerns, but my favorite in the genre is not a  Hollywood film  at all, but a four-hour  Ken Burns  documentar...