Sunday, April 16 — Children have worked throughout history, especially on family farms and in trades. But their employment in industrialized settings raised many popular objections. On this date in 1836, Massachusetts became the first state to prohibit children under age […]
Monday, March 6 — Seemingly out of nowhere, the issue of mandatory vaccinations has been in the news in recent years. But governmental involvement in vaccination traces back to this date in 1810. That’s when Massachusetts enacted a law to “diffuse the […]
Friday, March 3 — Children have worked for family enterprises like farms and small shops for countless generations. But child labor in mines and the often-dangerous factories arising from the Industrial Revolution was quickly regarded as a social ill. In response, […]
Monday, December 26 — The millions of Americans who for a century and a half have enjoyed well-brewed coffee can direct their gratitude to James H. Nason of Franklin, Massachusetts. He received the nation’s first patent for a coffee percolator on […]
Sunday, November 6 — This week in 1966, Edward Brooke, a Republican, became the nation’s first African-American to win election to the U.S. Senate by popular vote, and only the third to serve in that chamber. During Reconstruction in the […]
The nation’s first water filtration system began operating on this date in 1893 in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
On this date in 1836, Massachusetts became the first state to prohibit children under 15 from working in factories.
VOTER REGISTRATION The right to vote began to receive some supervision more than two centuries ago, when Massachusetts acted this month in 1801 to register voters. At that time, the franchise was limited to men — usually those of local repute […]
CHILD LABOR Profile America — Children have worked for family enterprises like farms and small shops for countless generations. But child labor in mines and the often-dangerous factories arising from the Industrial Revolution was quickly regarded as a social ill. […]
VALENTINES AND WEDDINGS Profile America — Sunday, February 14 — While today may not be an official holiday, Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular in the year’s calendar. Its origins are a mix of legends involving two […]
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