Sunday, May 07, 2017

Victorian Era: 1837 to 1901

Queen Victoria
Much has been written about the Victorian Era, a period of history named after Queen Victoria that lasted from 1837 to 1901 in England. It's culture, architecture and fashion extended to America as well. Indeed, it had become an international culture for a time.
It was a part of the Industrial Revolution that jump started Western civilization into the modern world with technology and innovation. Britain and the United States as well as other places in Europe were a part of the beginning of the industrial age. It brought good things and also brought bad things, like child labor. The world was changing and it was occurring quickly in terms of historical events. Science was unraveling mysteries and new discoveries and techniques were part of it in many areas of science that included medicine, archaeology, astronomy, et cetera. It also ushered in a period where people were interested in the paranormal, sometimes fascinated with not just death, but researching life after death.

Tuesday, April 04, 2017

Second Amendment and False Jefferson Quote

Laws that forbid the carrying of arms … disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes … Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. Cesare Beccaria
Note:  the quote comes from a translation of an essay by Beccaria entitled "Essay on Crimes and Punishment" - sometimes falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson.