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This Day in History

May 17, 2004
First Gay Marriage in U.S.

Last week President Barack Obama came out in favor of gay marriage so it is important to note that only eight years ago this week the first same-sex marriage in the United States took place in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

May 18, 1896
Ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson

In 1896 the Supreme Court struck a major blow against integration, ruling that the Louisiana law that provided “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” on railroad cars was constitutional. The ruling provided that long as equal accommodations were provided, segregation was not discrimination. The case was eventually used to justify segregating all public facilities, including railroad cars, restaurants, hospitals, and schools. Not until 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was Plessy v. Ferguson struck down.

 

Election Day: An American Holiday, An American History

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How a Dog Breeder, a Blind Man, and a German Shepherd Changed the World in 1929

In the early twentieth century, those without sight were marginalized members of society. They had no job options and no mobility, and had to rely on the kindness of someone who might lead them or help them with whatever needed to be done.

A series of circumstances on two continents was to change all that, and in the process, provide dignity and independence to those with visual impairment.

The Woman Who Led the Way
Dorothy Harrison Eustis (1886-1946) was born into a prominent family in Philadelphia and married Walter Abbott Wood, Jr., whose family had become wealthy farm machinery manufacturers. She moved to Wood’s hometown of Hoosick Falls, New York (near the border with Vermont) where she and Wood lived on a farm and ran an experimental cattle breeding program to increase milk production. In 1914 the couple traveled to Germany, and Dorothy, who loved dogs, brought home her first German shepherd.

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Assuring That Women’s Stories are Told

Gloria Steinem has been quoted as saying, “If we don’t see a history with women, we don’t know that we can create it.” My final post for the month of March, Women’s History Month, will be dedicated to two organizations — the Smith College Library system and Women’s eNews — both of which are assuring… continue reading ->

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