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

  • The Automat: Restaurant Built With Nickels

    For decades, Horn & Hardart’s Automats served as a singular social crossroads within the urban fabric of New York and Philadelphia. It was a regional restaurant business beloved by the locals who frequented it, yet mythologized by a national media that saw the restaurants as unique and powerful social equalizers. Any customer who had a nickel could come in and enjoy a cup of coffee or a piece of pie.  After a humble start with…
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  • Why is Election Day on Tuesday after the first Monday in November?

    Why is Election Day always on a Tuesday? This is a question I am often asked when I address groups about our election day history.  In 1845, Congress chose the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November because it was the most convenient day for 19th-century farmers. They traveled on horseback or with wagons, so a Tuesday gave them travel time without interfering with Sunday church services or Wednesday market days. That’s the simple…
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  • Women in Medicine: Little Known Crusaders

    In the early 19th century, the American medical field was almost exclusively a men’s club. However, a few resilient women refused to accept the status quo, stepping forward as pioneers to carve out a new path. Today, that landscape is shifting dramatically. While men currently account for 61% of active physicians in the U.S., women now make up the majority of medical students and residents. We are standing on the brink of a major demographic…
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  • The Triple Nickles: Army’s First Black Paratroopers

    The Triple Nickles, as the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion was known, were a remarkable, highly-disciplined company of African American paratroopers who paved the way for integration in the military. They also overcame military skepticism by proving that African Americans could excel at jobs that required intricate training. How The Triple Nickles Got Started At the beginning of World War II, African Americans were taken into the military at a rapid rate, but they were not…
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On
This
Day

On May 1, 1931, New York’s Empire State Building was dedicated. The building was the idea of John J. Raskob of General Motors who wanted to build a taller building than Walter Chrysler had underway. Remarkably, Raskob’s building was completed under budget (at $40 million) and ahead of schedule. In 1931, the building was the world’s tallest skyscraper. The stature of the building and the fact that it employed people during the Depression brought pride to New Yorkers.

Only in the USA

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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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