Sparks Commentary

“Therefore no one in the armed forces is treated as familiarly as are spies , no one is given rewards as rich as those given to spies , and ...

By 1849, General Zachary Taylor had spent more than four decades in the United States Army . He had become one of the heroes of the Mexican-...

In the earliest decades of the United States , all successful political parties tried their best to sidestep the controversial issue of sla...

“An act to discontinue, in such manner, and for such time as are therein mentioned, the landing and discharging, shipping of goods, wares, a...

James K. Polk was one of the most expansionist presidents in American history . In 1845, he oversaw the annexation of the Republic of Texa...

“I heartily accept the motto,—‘That government is best which governs least;’ and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and system...

Living in Arizona, one doesn’t have to ask why the  “Mexican-American War”  is important. I live in a part of Arizona that was once part of...

“[The Congress shall have the power] To establish an uniform rule of naturalization … ” – Article 1, Section 8, Paragraph 4 of the United S...

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...

"[The Mexican Empire] solemnly declares by means of the Supreme Junta of the Empire that it is a Sovereign nation and independent of...

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

"My family is American , and has been for generations, in all its branches, direct and collateral." - Opening lines of "P...

"The war between the States was a very bloody and a very costly war. One side or the other had to yield principles they deemed dearer...