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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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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Who Thought of the Statue of Liberty?

The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor has come to be a welcoming beacon to immigrants. Officially called “Liberty Enlightening the World,” the statue was a gift from the French people to the citizens of the United States in 1886. Both countries believed in democracy, and the colossus was to celebrate a century of American independence from Britain that the French helped achieve. One Frenchman wrote: “Her presence above the port of New York…
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On
This
Day

On March 19, 19196, a U.S. Aero Squadron took off from Columbus, New Mexico, in the first combat air mission in U.S. history. The planes were part of a support mission for General Pershing who was on an expedition into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa, who had invaded the U.S. The squadron had mechanical and navigational challenges, but they flew hundreds of missions for Pershing. A great deal was learned about battlefield air  reconnaissance.

Women Leaders

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Myra Bradwell (1831-1894): Rejected by Bar Assoc. but Builds Legal Publishing Empire

• Refused admission to the bar and the practice of law by the Illinois Supreme Court because of her gender;Myra_Bradwell 1 • Established the Chicago Legal News, which became a vital information service for attorneys; • Helped Mary Lincoln fight an unjust commitment to an insane asylum; • Assisted in securing the passage of a bill that gave women the right to retain their own wages and protected the rights of widows; • Often cited as the first woman attorney in the United States; this is untrue. Arabella Mansfield in Iowa was the first woman in the country admitted to practice law (1869). Myra Colby Bradwell was born in Manchester, Vermont in 1831. Her family left Vermont when Myra was quite young and they lived in western New York state for a time, eventually pushing on to Cook County, Illinois. When a sister married and moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin where there was a school Myra could attend, Myra moved to Wisconsin until moving back to Elgin, Illinois after a female seminary opened.
Septima Clark

Septima Clark Founded Citizenship Schools

Septima Clark (1898-1987) was an educator and civil rights activist. She established Citizenship Schools that transformed the South by increasing the number of African Americans who could vote. Her acclaim […]
University of Arizona Special Collections; Ina Gittings on the pole vault

Trailblazer For Women in Sports: Ina Gittings

Title IX–the law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in any programs or activities in all federally funded educational institutions—was instrumental to bringing women into athletics.  But pioneers in women’s sports […]

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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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