Category «Work»

Beer and Patriotism Were Both Brewing During the American Revolution

Tavern and alehouse of colonial times.

Generations of scholars have written countless texts about the myriad origins of the American Revolution. Some are quite good. Some quite bad. Yet all are informative, except maybe one partisan publisher of ‘alternate facts’ that recently made the news. This article tosses another possible source of rebellion into the mix; it is a link to …

Early History of Veterinary Medicine & Colonial Animal Caregivers

By Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution. Veterinary medicine owes much to mankind’s infatuation with the horse that helped finance and advance its development from amateur status to scientific discovery. It also benefited from strides in human medicine, in sorts, becoming a sister that …

Life in the Continental Army Camp During the American Revolution

Contrary to general belief, the term ‘rebel’ was not used solely when referring to Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. It was first commonly applied to Americans who fought for independence from Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. The British often referred to the rebellious rabble that formed a new government and army …

Industry in the American Colonies was Non-existent. European Goods Preferred Over ‘Homespun’

The American colonies produced much of the raw material used to manufacture fine linen. Up to the time of the Revolution, the finest materials traditionally came from overseas; American-made was scorned as homespun and worn only during work or by those of lesser means. This reputation was altered drastically during the time of the Revolutionary …

History of Dentistry in the 18th Century

Throughout the eighteenth century, upper and lower classes both shared the same woes when it came to decaying teeth and the somewhat primitive, even barbaric means of dental care.  Diseases like smallpox, malaria, scurvy, and syphilis (to name a few) were rampant.  So too were the diets heavy on sugar, sweetened teas, fortified wines, and …