Union Square Street Scene – 1901
This 1901 street scene is looking north from 14th Street towards Union Square. Continue reading
Old New York In Photos #129 – Union Square
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Tag Archives: George Washington
What Happened To Celebrating George Washington’s Birthday?
The United States Used To Celebrate George Washington’s Birthday
Now It Is Ignored
How We Stopped Honoring One Of The Greatest Americans
The Life of George Washington Harper’s Weekly February 27, 1864
Growing up in the seventies, we didn’t get a “winter break” at school in mid-February for a full week. School in February was closed on two days: February 12 for celebrating Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday and February 22 for George Washington’s Birthday. That is if one of the days didn’t fall on a weekend!
Grammar school teachers made a big deal out of our two great presidents. We learned all about Washington and Lincoln leading up to the holidays. Washington secured our liberty and Lincoln preserved it. The two were somewhat distant historical figures, yet their importance was still to be held in some amount of reverence.
From the time he came to prominence during the Revolution, George Washington, The Father of our Country was practically worshiped by its citizens. This was true for nearly two hundred years, Washington was thought of and remembered as a great American. He was honored with place namings and later his own holiday.
That is until the late twentieth century when George Washington’s Birthday became the victim of bureaucrats.
How Washington’s Birthday Became A Holiday
George Washington’s Final Birthday 1799 Harper’s Weekly Feb. 25, 1899
George Washington’s Birthday was the first federal holiday to single out an individual’s birth date. Continue reading
5 Things You Didn’t Know About New York History
Things You Didn’t Know About Divorce, Statues and Rapid Transit In New York City
Washington statue Union Square unveiled in 1856, an 80 year gap between public statues in New York City
Under English rule there was never a divorce in New York until 1787
When the Dutch founded New Amsterdam they allowed divorce but it was a rare occurrence. The English captured New Amsterdam in 1664 and after a brief retaking of the city by the Dutch in 1673, the English took permanent possession of the colony of New York until the Revolution. Over the next 100 years there was no divorce in New York.
Isaac Governeur became the first New Yorker granted a divorce in 1787. Up until then there had been no legal way of separating from your spouse. Alexander Hamilton created the law that allowed divorce in New York. The sole basis for being granted a divorce was adultery. Those who were desperate enough, went to another state that did allow divorce for other reasons. Incredibly, until 1966, adultery remained the only grounds for getting a divorce in New York.
The first successful manned flight in New York took place in 1819
A Frenchman, Charles Guillé who had made many successful balloon ascensions in France arrived in the United States in the summer of 1819. Continue reading