Stories of America’s Past

Welcome to America Comes Alive!, a site I created to share little-known stories of regular people who made a difference and changed the course of history. Look around and see what inspires you! — Kate Kelly

Kate Kelly
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Tombs Angel: A One-Woman Social Service Agency

Rebecca Foster Salome was a middle-class woman who earned the apt name the “Tombs Angel” for her daily visits to the Manhattan courts and detention center in the 1880s-1890s.  Known as the Tombs, The New York City Halls of Justice and House of Detention, was a surprising place for an upper middle-class wife to find herself. But there were no social service agencies to help the poor and newly incarcerated, and Rebecca Foster learned how…
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Bid Whist and Sleeping Car Porters

Sleeping car porters are a well-known part of history. The card game of Bid Whist is not. Yet the story of the men and the story of the card game are very much intertwined. As the Pullman porters traveled the country, they spread information, music and card games like Bid Whist. (Bid Whist is a trick-taking strategic card game compared to spades and bridge.) Why haven’t more people heard of it? Here’s the story: How…
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formal portrait of Charles Drew

Dr. Charles Drew, Medical Pioneer in Blood Work

Dr. Charles Drew was a pioneer in medicine who achieved recognition in a racially divided America for his work with blood collection and storage during World War II. But those who knew him said that his greatest pride was in having mentored many Black surgeons who might never have moved forward in the field of medicine if it hadn’t been for Dr. Drew. Dr. Drew was one of several scientists working on ways to get…
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Red Ball Express truck stuck in mud WWII

Red Ball Express: Transport System Helped Win WWII

The Red Ball Express was a desperately needed World War II truck transport system that came about six weeks after D-Day. By late July of 1944, the Allies were progressing farther and faster than expected after the June 6 surprise landing on the beaches of Normandy. The military was struggling to keep the front lines supplied.  The creation of a truck convoy system would provide a way to get ammunition, gas, and supplies to the…
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On
This
Day

On April 24, 1800, President John Adams approved legislation for $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress,” thus establishing the Library of Congress. When the British torched the Capitol during the War of 1812, all books were lost. Former president Thomas Jefferson was known for his fine personal library, so he sold his collection to Congress to get the library started again. Professional librarian George Watterston was hired to be in charge.

Women Leaders

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Luisa Moreno, (1907-1992), Labor Organizer

Activist in the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement (which preceded Chicano activism) Organized first National Congress of Spanish-Speaking People (1938) Luisa Moreno was born in Guatemala in an upper-class family.  She […]
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Helen Gahagan Douglas (1900-1980) Actress Turned Congressperson

  • blankElected as Democratic National Committeewoman from California
  • Elected to the House of Representatives in 1944, becoming only one of nine women to serve in the House at that time.
Helen Gahagan Douglas was born in 1900 and was raised in a well-to-do family in Brooklyn, New York. She was not a serious student but loved acting, and by the age of 22 she had been cast in a lead role on Broadway. She never returned to Barnard College where she had been a student.

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Welcome to America Comes Alive!, a site I created to share little-known stories of regular people who made a difference and changed the course of history. Look around and see what inspires you! — Kate Kelly

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Part of the inspiration for this site comes from this remark: “People do not want to hear about simple things. They want to hear about great things – simply told.”

Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams (1860-1935)
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