What's Past is Prologue
@wpip.bsky.social
[Dave Woodbury] — Exploring history & historic sites (mainly American Civil War, & the West—Woodbury Historical Tours: whtours.org). Host of the Central Coast Conference, Monterey, CA (https://tinyurl.com/bdd6h6w2). Happily ensconced on the Left Coast.
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What's Past is Prologue
@wpip.bsky.social
· Sep 28
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
3rd Central Coast Conference
SELDOM HEARD HISTORY of the CIVIL WAR ERA
Stanton Center, Monterey, California, May 1-3, 2026
Enjoy a full weekend of presentations by a stellar lineup of historians, exploring fresh perspectives on the American Civil War. tinyurl.com/3k5t6tfx
3rd Central Coast Conference
SELDOM HEARD HISTORY of the CIVIL WAR ERA
Stanton Center, Monterey, California, May 1-3, 2026
Enjoy a full weekend of presentations by a stellar lineup of historians, exploring fresh perspectives on the American Civil War. tinyurl.com/3k5t6tfx
Reposted by What's Past is Prologue
Socialism is what they called public power.
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
—Harry Truman, 1952
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
—Harry Truman, 1952
November 21, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Socialism is what they called public power.
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
—Harry Truman, 1952
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
—Harry Truman, 1952
Little Round Top rehabilitated
Little Round Top Restored
Recent rehabilitation of this important site at the Gettysburg battlefield provides a much improved experience for visitors.
www.americanheritage.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Little Round Top rehabilitated
OTD 56 years ago
The official crew insignia for Apollo 12, the United States’ second lunar landing mission. The clipper ship signifies that the crew is all Navy and symbolically relates the era of the clipper ship to the era of space flight [NASA] tinyurl.com/2zxr8kxj
The official crew insignia for Apollo 12, the United States’ second lunar landing mission. The clipper ship signifies that the crew is all Navy and symbolically relates the era of the clipper ship to the era of space flight [NASA] tinyurl.com/2zxr8kxj
November 19, 2025 at 7:48 PM
OTD 56 years ago
The official crew insignia for Apollo 12, the United States’ second lunar landing mission. The clipper ship signifies that the crew is all Navy and symbolically relates the era of the clipper ship to the era of space flight [NASA] tinyurl.com/2zxr8kxj
The official crew insignia for Apollo 12, the United States’ second lunar landing mission. The clipper ship signifies that the crew is all Navy and symbolically relates the era of the clipper ship to the era of space flight [NASA] tinyurl.com/2zxr8kxj
OTD in 1863, 162 years ago, Honest Abe delivered the #GettysburgAddress. The American experiment survived a great civil war, and it seemed there could be no greater test, until now.
[photo: detail from the copy Lincoln gave to his secretary, John Hay, one of two copies in the Library of Congress]
[photo: detail from the copy Lincoln gave to his secretary, John Hay, one of two copies in the Library of Congress]
November 19, 2025 at 6:52 PM
OTD in 1863, 162 years ago, Honest Abe delivered the #GettysburgAddress. The American experiment survived a great civil war, and it seemed there could be no greater test, until now.
[photo: detail from the copy Lincoln gave to his secretary, John Hay, one of two copies in the Library of Congress]
[photo: detail from the copy Lincoln gave to his secretary, John Hay, one of two copies in the Library of Congress]
O, it sets my hart a-clickin’ like the tickin’ of a clock,
When the [squirrel] is [in] the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock!
When the [squirrel] is [in] the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock!
November 19, 2025 at 3:46 AM
O, it sets my hart a-clickin’ like the tickin’ of a clock,
When the [squirrel] is [in] the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock!
When the [squirrel] is [in] the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock!
—how history unfolds: "People weave a web of meaning, believe in it with all their heart, but sooner or later the web unravels, and when we look back we cannot understand how anybody could have taken it seriously" —Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow [Kepler's, 2017] #BookSky💙📚
November 17, 2025 at 7:52 PM
—how history unfolds: "People weave a web of meaning, believe in it with all their heart, but sooner or later the web unravels, and when we look back we cannot understand how anybody could have taken it seriously" —Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow [Kepler's, 2017] #BookSky💙📚
“Whatever you're meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.” ― Doris Lessing (1919-2013)
Doris Lessing
by Leonard William McComb
oil on canvas, 1999
© National Portrait Gallery, London
www.npg.org.uk/collections/...
Doris Lessing
by Leonard William McComb
oil on canvas, 1999
© National Portrait Gallery, London
www.npg.org.uk/collections/...
November 17, 2025 at 7:35 PM
“Whatever you're meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.” ― Doris Lessing (1919-2013)
Doris Lessing
by Leonard William McComb
oil on canvas, 1999
© National Portrait Gallery, London
www.npg.org.uk/collections/...
Doris Lessing
by Leonard William McComb
oil on canvas, 1999
© National Portrait Gallery, London
www.npg.org.uk/collections/...
Reposted by What's Past is Prologue
Among the reasons Americans risked it all to get rid of a tyrannical king:
“He has obstructed the Admin of Justice…made Judges dependent on his Will…sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people…kept among us Standing Armies w/o legislatures’ Consent” www.americaamerica.news/p/what-we-sh...
“He has obstructed the Admin of Justice…made Judges dependent on his Will…sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people…kept among us Standing Armies w/o legislatures’ Consent” www.americaamerica.news/p/what-we-sh...
What We Should Demand, What We Should Oppose
Reflecting on a president's obligations and what history tells us about rejecting tyranny and injustice
www.americaamerica.news
October 13, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Among the reasons Americans risked it all to get rid of a tyrannical king:
“He has obstructed the Admin of Justice…made Judges dependent on his Will…sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people…kept among us Standing Armies w/o legislatures’ Consent” www.americaamerica.news/p/what-we-sh...
“He has obstructed the Admin of Justice…made Judges dependent on his Will…sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people…kept among us Standing Armies w/o legislatures’ Consent” www.americaamerica.news/p/what-we-sh...
— November 14 was Mamie's birthday — [Pictured: future First Lady Mamie Doud #Eisenhower, age 17. National Archives]
November 16, 2025 at 10:29 PM
— November 14 was Mamie's birthday — [Pictured: future First Lady Mamie Doud #Eisenhower, age 17. National Archives]
OTD in 1864, William Tecumseh Sherman left Atlanta in flames, and began his March to the Sea. He promised Grant: "I can make this march and make Georgia howl!" The march, and his subsequent Carolinas Campaign, helped hasten the end of the Great Slaveholders' Rebellion. [image: by F.O.C. Darley, LoC]
November 16, 2025 at 12:27 AM
OTD in 1864, William Tecumseh Sherman left Atlanta in flames, and began his March to the Sea. He promised Grant: "I can make this march and make Georgia howl!" The march, and his subsequent Carolinas Campaign, helped hasten the end of the Great Slaveholders' Rebellion. [image: by F.O.C. Darley, LoC]
Reposted by What's Past is Prologue
@dumbbeezie.bsky.social made me think of you
A good soul under all that anger
A good soul under all that anger
November 14, 2025 at 6:42 AM
@dumbbeezie.bsky.social made me think of you
A good soul under all that anger
A good soul under all that anger
Reposted by What's Past is Prologue
Book of the Day: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Click here to learn more about today’s book!
Click here to learn more about today’s book!
Book of the Day: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Click here to learn more about today’s book!
blackbirdsflight.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Book of the Day: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Click here to learn more about today’s book!
Click here to learn more about today’s book!
nothing to see here
November 8, 2025 at 7:03 AM
nothing to see here
The dawning of the MAGA era arms race . . . Things are about to get messy.
November 7, 2025 at 10:04 PM
The dawning of the MAGA era arms race . . . Things are about to get messy.
Remember
Remember, the Fifth of November
Remember, the Fifth of November
Remember (Remastered 2010)
YouTube video by John Lennon - Topic
youtu.be
November 6, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Remember
Remember, the Fifth of November
Remember, the Fifth of November
SLAVERY caused a fatal rift from the start of the nation. Madison wrote: "[It's] well understood that the real difference of interests lies not between the large and small but between the northern and southern states. The institution of slavery and its consequences form the line of discrimination."
Slavery, the Constitution, and a Lasting Legacy - Montpelier
Slavery, the Constitution, and a Lasting Legacy We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defenc...
www.montpelier.org
November 3, 2025 at 11:54 PM
SLAVERY caused a fatal rift from the start of the nation. Madison wrote: "[It's] well understood that the real difference of interests lies not between the large and small but between the northern and southern states. The institution of slavery and its consequences form the line of discrimination."
Happy Halloween!
November 1, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Happy Halloween!
3rd Central Coast Conference
SELDOM HEARD HISTORY
of the CIVIL WAR ERA
Stanton Center, Monterey, CA
May 1-3, 2026
A weekend of presentations exploring fresh perspectives on the American Civil War.
EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT
until November 15 — tinyurl.com/3k5t6tfx
SELDOM HEARD HISTORY
of the CIVIL WAR ERA
Stanton Center, Monterey, CA
May 1-3, 2026
A weekend of presentations exploring fresh perspectives on the American Civil War.
EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT
until November 15 — tinyurl.com/3k5t6tfx
October 30, 2025 at 7:12 AM
3rd Central Coast Conference
SELDOM HEARD HISTORY
of the CIVIL WAR ERA
Stanton Center, Monterey, CA
May 1-3, 2026
A weekend of presentations exploring fresh perspectives on the American Civil War.
EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT
until November 15 — tinyurl.com/3k5t6tfx
SELDOM HEARD HISTORY
of the CIVIL WAR ERA
Stanton Center, Monterey, CA
May 1-3, 2026
A weekend of presentations exploring fresh perspectives on the American Civil War.
EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT
until November 15 — tinyurl.com/3k5t6tfx
"I always understood that we went to War on account of the thing we quarreled with the North about. I never heard of any other cause of quarrel than slavery."
— John S. Mosby, "The Gray Ghost"
encyclopediavirginia.org/166hpr-ab48b...
— John S. Mosby, "The Gray Ghost"
encyclopediavirginia.org/166hpr-ab48b...
October 27, 2025 at 9:54 PM
"I always understood that we went to War on account of the thing we quarreled with the North about. I never heard of any other cause of quarrel than slavery."
— John S. Mosby, "The Gray Ghost"
encyclopediavirginia.org/166hpr-ab48b...
— John S. Mosby, "The Gray Ghost"
encyclopediavirginia.org/166hpr-ab48b...
Revenge, Wild West style —
Made a quick stop at the Tucson railroad depot, at the approximate location where Wyatt Earp, accompanied by Doc Holliday, shot and killed Frank Stillwell on March 20, 1882. It was thought that Stillwell was involved in the murder of Morgan Earp two days earlier.
Made a quick stop at the Tucson railroad depot, at the approximate location where Wyatt Earp, accompanied by Doc Holliday, shot and killed Frank Stillwell on March 20, 1882. It was thought that Stillwell was involved in the murder of Morgan Earp two days earlier.
October 27, 2025 at 6:45 AM
Revenge, Wild West style —
Made a quick stop at the Tucson railroad depot, at the approximate location where Wyatt Earp, accompanied by Doc Holliday, shot and killed Frank Stillwell on March 20, 1882. It was thought that Stillwell was involved in the murder of Morgan Earp two days earlier.
Made a quick stop at the Tucson railroad depot, at the approximate location where Wyatt Earp, accompanied by Doc Holliday, shot and killed Frank Stillwell on March 20, 1882. It was thought that Stillwell was involved in the murder of Morgan Earp two days earlier.
Plains Indian Shield
Andy #Warhol, 1986
screenprint, based on an item he photographed at New York City’s National Museum of the American Indian.
Andy #Warhol, 1986
screenprint, based on an item he photographed at New York City’s National Museum of the American Indian.
October 27, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Plains Indian Shield
Andy #Warhol, 1986
screenprint, based on an item he photographed at New York City’s National Museum of the American Indian.
Andy #Warhol, 1986
screenprint, based on an item he photographed at New York City’s National Museum of the American Indian.
OTD 144 years ago . . .
What really happened at the gunfight at the O.K. Corral?
Movies and T.V. portray Wyatt Earp and his brothers as law-abiding heroes—but the real story of the most famous shoot out in U.S. history is more complicated than that.
www.nationalgeographic.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:57 AM
OTD 144 years ago . . .
Reposted by What's Past is Prologue
The grotesque metaphor of Trump tearing apart the figurative seat of American democracy ... marvelous piece open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
The grotesque metaphor of Trump tearing apart the figurative seat of American democracy
The horrifyingly haphazard manner in which he had the East Wing demolished, with no respect shown to history or the historic structure, is the poisonous icing on a rotting cake.
open.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:55 PM
The grotesque metaphor of Trump tearing apart the figurative seat of American democracy ... marvelous piece open.substack.com/pub/contrari...