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But first, coffee: The drink that energized the American Revolution

But first, coffee: The drink that energized the American Revolution

A consequential act of defiance secured tea's place as perhaps the most iconic beverage of America's colonial era. The Boston Tea Party became an essential ingredient in the recipe for revolution in the following years. But tea wasn't the only hot beverage with a prominent role in America's fight for independence. Coffee was an important part of American culture from the start. And coffeehouses...

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Recent Articles

Graham Platner’s Disqualifying Behavior

The Washington Post put it this way: Platner, before the latest allegation, faced scrutiny for old social media posts dismissive of sexual assault, a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol that he has since covered up, sexually explicit text messages he sent to other women...

But first, coffee: The drink that energized the American Revolution

A consequential act of defiance secured tea's place as perhaps the most iconic beverage of America's colonial era. The Boston Tea Party became an essential ingredient in the recipe for revolution in the following years. But tea wasn't the only hot beverage with a...

The Fall of Vicksburg

When I was 19, I knew a much older man who'd grown up in 1930s Alabama. "We didn't celebrate the Fourth of July," he told me. "For us, it was the day Vicksburg fell." Vicksburg, Mississippi, fell to Union troops on July 4, 1863. The Confederates surrendered, as was...

News From Around the South, 6/29 to 7/6

SOUTH CAROLINA: SC militias fought for America’s freedom – who fights for their battlegrounds? As a boy, Rick Wise was hooked on military history from the beginning. But he was never told he lived mere miles from the pivotal spot where the backcountry’s “Swamp Fox,”...

July 4, 2026

"Which is better — to be ruled by one tyrant 3,000 miles away or by 3,000 tyrants one mile away?" — Rev. Mather Byles (1706-1788) Does it really matter if the instrument curtailing liberty is a monarch or a popularly elected legislature? This conundrum, along with the...

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