Making History Blog
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The Steel Woman of the Steel City: Catherine Baker Knoll
Four seemingly dissimilar objects actually tell the rich and complex story of an iconic Pennsylvania woman. A blue overcoat, a green inaugural gown, a black and gold Pittsburgh Steelers…
Lord Dunmore’s War
What is Lord Dunmore’s War? It’s the war everyone would know if there had not been an American Revolution. Occurring at the same time as the Intolerable Acts and…
Congressman James Fulton: Strong on Space
President Kennedy signs National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Authorizations, July 21, 1961. Congressman Fulton shakes the President’s hand after he signed the funding bill for NASA. Courtesy of…
Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Birthday Pittsburgh!
Anonymous Portrait of John Forbes, c. 1751. Courtesy of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum. On Nov. 25, 1758, the British and provincial army led by Gen. John Forbes…
The Delaware Treaty of 1778
In the summer of 1778, a crisis loomed over the hills and valleys surrounding Fort Pitt. Years of broken promises and willful transgressions had weakened the bonds between American…
Relax, Pittsburgh – It’s National Relaxation Day
Ah summer, when everyone seeks to break their routine and relax. Today might be a better day than usual to do that, since it is officially “National Relaxation Day.”…
Prohibition’s Legacy in Pennsylvania
This post has been adapted from an article featured in the Spring 2018 issue of Western Pennsylvania History. The Keystone State is known for having some of the strictest alcohol…
Of Beer and Taxes: Prohibition’s Connection to the National Income Tax
Income Tax Day, c. 1920. Citizens line up at an unidentified Revenue Office to pay their federal income taxes. Photo: National Photo Company. Courtesy of the Library of Congress,…
At the Shirtwaist Ball
This notice advertising the ball as “the Most Democratic Fete ever attempted in Pittsburgh” was quoted often in the event’s press coverage. Winifred Meek Morris Papers and Photographs, Detre…
Will You Sign the Pledge?: Francis Murphy and Pittsburgh’s Great Temperance Movement
It’s a January evening in Pittsburgh in 1877. Thirty churches across the city and surrounding suburbs are bursting with people. In some places, the crowds spill onto the streets…