Honorable Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 20, 2014 will mark the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday. It is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15.

This milestone is a perfect chance for Americans to honor Dr. King’s legacy through service. The MLK Day of Service empowers persons, strengthens communities, bridges barriers, creates solutions to social problems, and moves us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community.

The MLK Day of Service is a way to convert Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and teachings into community action that helps resolve social problems. That service may meet a substantial need, or it may meet a want of the spirit. On this day, Americans of every age and background celebrate Dr. King through service projects that strengthen communities, empower individuals, bridge barriers, and create solutions.

Banjo Picturing Right Through American History

A display at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., focuses on the imagery of a central player in America's deeply conflicted racial history: the banjo.

Picturing the Banjo features paintings, lithographs and other visual media representations of the banjo from the era of slavery through contemporary times. The images track the arrival of an instrument that came from Africa with the slaves. As it was adopted by whites, the device fell out of favor with blacks, and became a tack of demeaning minstrel shows.

NPR newsman Paul Brown is also a banjo player. By the time I heard a banjo I was 5," Brown recalls "I ordered it through Sears Roebuck. Once I figured out how to tune it I was off and running."

Beyond simply playing banjo, Brown has studied its history since his teen years. As he takes Debbie Elliott on a melodious tour of the display, he reflects on what it's like to play an device with a troubled past.

Historious Columbus Day

The second Monday in October is selected in the United States as Columbus Day. This day commemorates Christopher Columbus' first voyage and sighting of the Americas on October 12, 1492. However, Columbus Day as a national holiday was not officially recognized until 1937.

Italian-Americans were key in the formation of Columbus Day. Beginning on October 12, 1866, New York City's Italian population organized a festivity of the 'discovery' of America. This yearly celebration spread to other cities and became known as Columbus Day in San Francisco in 1869.

Since Columbus Day is a designated national holiday, the post office, government offices, and many banks are closed. Many cities across America stage parades that day. Baltimore claims to have the Oldest Continuous Marching Parade in America celebrating Columbus Day. Denver is holding its 101st parade in 2008. New York City holds a Columbus Celebration that includes a parade down Fifth Avenue and a mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

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Electoral College – American History

When Americans vote for a President and Vice President, they are actually voting for presidential electors, recognized collectively as the Electoral College. It is these electors, elected by the people, who elect the chief senior manager.

The formation assigns each state a number of electors equal to the collective total of the state's Senate and House of Representatives delegations. Aside from Members of Congress, and persons holding offices of Trust or revenue under the Constitution, anyone may serve as a voter.

In each presidential election year, an assembly of candidates for elector is selected by political parties and other groupings in each state, usually at a state party meeting. The slate winning the most popular votes is elected; this is known as the winner-take-all, or common ticket, scheme.

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 considered several methods of electing the President, including selection by parliament, by the governors of the states, by the state legislatures, by a special group of Members of Congress chosen by lot, and by direct popular election. 

The Constitution gave each state a number of electors equivalent to the combined total of its membership in the Senate and its allocation in the House of Representatives. All the foregoing structural basics of the Electoral College system remain in effect currently. The unique method of electing the President and Vice President, however, proved unworkable, and was replaced by the 12th Amendment, ratified in 1804

The Victorious Battle of Gettysburg- Pennsylvania

The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the biggest events in American history, fought in Pennsylvania. It was one of the bloodiest battles where thousands of men were left either dead or injured.

Nowadays this battle is so important because it was a rotary spot for the United States in the civil war. The battle had a political significance as well and the Union gained control of the confederates because they were able to conquer them.

 The champion in the Battle of Gettysburg gained the power to rule the United States. The fight of Gettysburg was vital in that President Abraham Lincoln talked about it in his Gettysburg Address.

The blood Battle of Gettysburg lasted three days. It began July 1, 1863, and finished on 3^rd July, 1863. There were 93,921 soldiers on the Union side and concerning 72,000 on the side of the Confederates. Casualties were disturbing throughout the Battle of Gettysburg. The Confederates lost the life of 23,231 men, and the Union lost 23,051 men. The toughest day of the fight was on the last day when about 12,000 partner soldiers took on battle with the Union soldiers at the graveyard. The Union had an important amount of weaponry and attacked strong. As a result, the Confederates had lost so numerous soldiers that they had to give up and retreat.

The bereavement of soldiers reached a rate of 51,000 and all the soldiers who died during the battle were buried in the Soldier’s National Cemetery, which is at the present called the Gettysburg National Cemetery.