Search Results: Titles starting with V from The Raab Collection

14/04/1814. Henry Clay The U.S. was unprepared for the War of 1812, and the fortunes of war proved vacillating. There were successes, such as William Henry Harrison’s victory in the northwest in the Battle of the Thames, in which Tecumseh was killed, and Oliver H. Perry’s victory on Lake Erie. But there were also failures, such as Gen. James Wilkinson's expedition against Montreal; also, Fort Niagara was lost, Black Rock and Buffalo were burned, and great quantities of provisions and stores destroyed. The American hope of conquering Canada began to look like a dream, and the threat remained that the British and their Indian allies might yet gain a hold over territory in the American west in order to create an Indian buffer state between the U.S. and the Mississippi River. The British blockade of the U.S. eastern seaboard was constantly growing more rigid; not a single American man-of-war was on the open sea. Meanwhile the discontent with the war prevailing in New England, which was destined to… Read More

04/02/1783. A bookend to the war for American independence: Thus ended successfully a war in which the French had been instrumental in gaining American independence “The ratifications [of the Treaty of Paris] having been exchanged, all dispatch must be made for the return of the troops, supplies and vessels of the army of M. the Comte d'Estaing. It is the intention of the War Department to bring to Provence all the troops who have departed…”Despite discussions of a full alliance, French assistance to the fledgling United States was limited in the early years of the American Revolution. French Foreign Minister the Comte de Vergennes finally decided in favor of an alliance when news of the British surrender at the Battle of Saratoga reached him in December 1777. Vergennes, having heard rumors of secret British peace feelers to the United States, wanted to put a stop to that and offered the U.S. an official French alliance. On February 6, 1778, Benjamin Franklin and other two Americans… Read More

01/04/1847. Daniel Webster After two terms in the House of Representatives, Webster became a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and served until 1841. He became nationally famous in 1830 for his thundering defense of the Union in his replies to South Carolina Sen. Robert Hayne during the first states’ rights controversy, and was the acknowledged leader of the North during the Nullification Crisis that followed. He returned to the U.S. Senate from 1845 to 1850.Webster served as Secretary of State to Presidents William Henry Harrison and John Tyler. In this post, his major task was to resolve a number of longstanding disputes with Great Britain that might have flared up into war. He helped achieve the landmark Anglo-American Webster-Ashburton Treaty in 1842 that settled the Maine boundary, increased U.S. involvement in suppressing the African slave trade, and included an extradition clause that would become a model for future treaties. The agreement also ushered in an era of rapprochement between the… Read More

10/08/1802. Joseph Story Autograph Letter Signed, Salem, Mass., August 10, 1802 to Judge Holten. “You were pleased to say on the last court that you would interest yourself in the case of Pendar so far as to effect a compromise if possible. Actions of Bastardy are peculiarly unpleasant & I cheerfully complied with an offer so kind & so judicious. Mr. Pendar, however, has never come near me, and the Town of Marblehead have directed me to obtain a warrant against Pendar. In the meantime I have deferred the business to give you notice of the necessity that compels me. Will you do me the favor to wrote a line informing me whether Pendar is willing to do anything. The Town of Marblehead will be reasonable, but is determined to pursue it if a compromise fails.”Story was a native of Marblehead and the town apparently chose him as their lawyer, even though he was only 23 years old and just out of Harvard Law School, to fight a case where someone named Pendar was accused of fathering a bastard… Read More

1950. Eva Perón Also included is a signed photograph of her husband, Juan Peron, President of Argentina Eva Duarte de Peron was one of the greatest woman politicians of the 20th century. She arose from poverty to became the virtual ruler of Argentina and the world’s most powerful woman of her day.Eva was a popular actress in Argentine films, and basically clawed and scratched her way to the attention of rising military leader Juan Peron. Her brilliant political strategy and speeches made her immensely popular and a true heroine to the poor (her ""descamisados,"" or ""shirtless ones”). In 1945, their cries in the streets for “Peron” (orchestrated by Eva) led to him becoming President. She was only 26 when thus assuming power. Though she nominally ran the Ministry of Labor, she was the real source of power, not he. Her concern for the poor and efforts to aid them were real if somewhat unorthodox - those who came to her asking for money usually came away with cash. This in fact was the… Read More

1918. Americana Illustrated by Clarence F. Underwood and published by the YWCA, 1918, this poster shows a woman operating communications equipment inside a booth with soldiers marching in the background. It features the message ""Back our girls over there, United War Work Campaign"" in the lower right hand corner. During World War I, the U.S. army recruited women to serve as telephone operators. This is one of the few World War I posters showing a woman in uniform. Fine condition, backed on linen.

17/01/1834. Jefferson Davis Davis, 26 years old, also seeks an appointment in the U.S. Dragoons for a colleague “It would I hope be superfluous to assure you of my desire to be associated thus with you. Should this however not be the case and should Michigan pass into a state government, I will look with interest to the organization of the Territory of Wisconsin in which you must appear conspicuously.”At the start of his career, Jefferson Davis was assigned to the 1st U.S. Infantry and stationed at Fort Crawford, Wisconsin. In 1829 he was reassigned to Fort Winnebago, Wisconsin. In 1831 he contracted pneumonia and returned to Fort Crawford. His first combat assignment was during the Black Hawk War of 1832, after which he was assigned by Colonel (and future U.S. president) Zachary Taylor to escort Black Hawk himself to prison at Jefferson Barracks. In 1833, Davis was promoted to First Lieutenant of the 1st U.S. Dragoons and made a regimental adjutant. That year he was transferred to Fort… Read More

3/1/57. Richard Nixon On October 23, 1956, a student demonstration against the Soviet-dominated regime in Hungary became the first serious challenge to Communist authority since the Soviet Union drove the Nazis out and occupied Eastern Europe at the end of World War II.  The demonstrators marched to the Parliament building in Budapest, where Hungarian State Security Police detained a group of them who attempted to enter the radio building to broadcast the students_ demands.  The police then fired on a group of demonstrators who demanded their release and killed a student.  When demonstrators wrapped the body in a flag and paraded it in central Budapest, violence erupted, and news of the event provoked unrest throughout the country.  The pro-Soviet government collapsed, and a new government disbanded the State Security Police and announced its intention to withdraw from the Soviet-run Warsaw Pact and to hold free elections.The Hungarian Revolt was one of the crucial events of the Cold WarOn… Read More

08/12/1792. John Adams In 1789 George Washington was elected the first president of the United States, and Adams became the first vice president. One of the duties of the vice president is to preside as president of the U.S. Senate, and to cast tie-breaking votes. Adams did so on a variety of issues, supporting U.S. neutrality in the new war between France and Britain and the controversial financial measures proposed by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Washington, who had originally wanted to retire after his first presidential term, decided to run again at the last minute in order to try to halt the rise of political partisanship and parties. The Democratic-Republican opposition was aware of Washington’s obvious and undiminished popularity, and being at the time outnumbered by the Federalists, didn’t oppose his reelection. Adams, on the other hand, had alienated many of the Jeffersonians and there was a concerted behind-the-scenes campaign to replace him with George Clinton of New York. At… Read More

15/12/1868. Victor Hugo From 1830 into the 1860's, there were a series of massive political upheavals in Europe. Most were caused by the desire of the peoples of many nations to oust their royal elites and attain a fairer and more representative government. At the core of this was a struggle between the haves and have-nots. The elites fought back hard and there was fighting in the streets. There was a revolt in France in 1830, one in which Victor Hugo took part. but it led to the disappointing enthronement of King Louis Philippe. There was a widespread liberal revolution throughout much of the continent in 1848 which was crushed. In 1851 France was again in upheaval and Louis Napoleon seized power and proclaimed himself emperor. By 1860, forces in Italy and Germany sought to unify their respective people in national entities, and wars were in progress that would soon achieve those goals. Thus, there was both a significant reorientation of the political landscape, the frustration of populist… Read More