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between 1978 and 1995, ted kaczynski, also known as the unabomber, used homemade bombs to attack universities and airlines. he targeted educational and technological institutions because he thought technological advancement would destroy the human race. his bombs killed three people and injured 23 others. the fbi spent more than $50 million trying to capture the 53-year-old harvard graduate. it was not until his brother contacted authorities that the fbi finally located him in a shack in western montana. kaczynski eventually confessed and pleaded guilty to all charges.

in june 1947, general george c. marshall, truman's secretary of state, proposed a huge war-recovery program of money, food, clothing, and machinery to help europe overcome "hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos." marshall invited all of europe to participate, but the soviet-bloc countries refused, calling it an american scheme to take over europe.

with 16 nations participating, the marshall plan was a great success. between 1948 and 1952, u.s. aid amounting to $13 billion helped to rebuild cities, factories, roads, and railroads throughout europe.

hitler's right-hand man. he was sentenced to death on trial at nuremberg. but he committed suicide on the night before his execution by swallowing a capsule of cyanide.

whatever hurts is true. belief that the truth must hurt to be the truth.

(see: #747)

anthropologist.

a student once asked anthropologist margaret mead, “what is the earliest sign of civilization?” the student expected her to say a clay pot, a grinding stone, or maybe a weapon.

margaret mead thought for a moment, then she said, “a healed femur.”

a femur is the longest bone in the body, linking hip to knee. in societies without the benefits of modern medicine, it takes about six weeks of rest for a fractured femur to heal. a healed femur shows that someone cared for the injured person, did their hunting and gathering, stayed with them, and offered physical protection and human companionship until the injury could mend.

mead explained that where the law of the jungle—the survival of the fittest—rules, no healed femurs are found. the first sign of civilization is compassion, seen in a healed femur.”

in 1925, a tennessee teacher named john t. scopes was arrested for teaching charles darwin's theory of evolution, which said that "higher" forms of life, such as humans, olved from "lower" life forms, such as apes. many rural americans felt this theory was at odds with the creationism they believed in and their traditional christian values.

william jennings bryan, the great populist hero, spoke for the prosecution. scopes was defended by famous defense attorney clarence darrow. in his questioning, darrow made bryan seem foolish and ignorant. the trial settled nothing, though. scopes was fined $100, and the ruling was later reversed on a technicality.

alvin york was one of the most famous american war heroes of world war 1. born in 1887 in tennessee, he was drafted into the army in 1918. he soon proved himself noteworthy among the 17 soldiers sent to infiltrate german lines and capture a machine gun position. after many on his team died in the confrontation, he singlehandedly captured the gun, killing several german soldiers. the german officer in charge of the gun surrendered, and york marched more than 130 german soldiers back to his camp as prisoners of war. he was lauded as a national hero and earned the medal of honor. after the war, some businessmen purchased a farm for york and his family in tennessee, where he lived until his death in 1964. his story was made into a film sergeant york in 1941.

in oregon, reformer william s. u'ren established the referendum, in which the people voted to decide some issues directly. in new york, governor charles evans hughes pushed through the first workmen's compensation act, providing benefits for injured workers.

the secret ballot was one of many reforms first proposed by the populists. in the past, each party had a brightly colored ballot; after marking it, the voter dropped it into a ballot box in full view of everyone in the room. the secret ballots looked the same and were marked in private, so people did not have to reveal how they had voted.

tecumseh, a powerful shawnee i chief, made a strong alliance of the tribes along the western american frontier in what is now michigan and indiana. in november 1811. the governor of the indiana territory, william henry harrison, launched an attack on warriors led by tecumseh's brother. the fierce battle of tippecanoe was a draw. however, it was discovered that some of tecumseh's warriors had used british weapons, adding to the demand for war. after war was declared, general harrison led a force into canada, where he defeated the british and indians at the battle of the thames. tecumseh was killed there. without his leadership, his confederacy quickly collapsed.

aaron burr was a brilliant, erratic man with great personal charm-and huge ambition. he served as vice president during jefferson's first term, but the president considered him a dangerous schemer and replaced him for the 1804 election. burr ran for governor of new york instead, but lost. he blamed the defeat on vicious newspaper attacks alexander hamilton had written. when hamilton refused to apologize, burr challenged him to a duel with pistols and fatally wounded him. with a warrant out for his arrest, burr, still vice president, fled west. he was arrested and put on trial for treason in 1807. he was acquitted due to lack of evidence, but he spent the rest of his life in obscurity.

burr and hamilton's duel image

buying the louisiana territory raised a constitutional issue for president jefferson, since the document said nothing about purchasing new lands. jefferson decided that keeping france from controlling the mississippi river was too important, though, to turn down the opportunity. so the purchase was judged necessary and the senate readily approved it in 1803. congress paid france about $15 million for the land.

the louisiana purchase doubled the land area of the nation, adding 800,000 square miles and more than 200,000 people-primarily american indians, spanish, and french.

even before the revolution daniel boone and other pioneers blazed trails and led pioneers into the western wilderness. in 1775, boone joined several indian trails together to create the wilderness road. thousands of pioneers used this road to cross the cumberland gap into what is now kentucky. boone eventually moved west to missouri, where he continued to hunt and explore the wilds well into his eighties.

about 60,000 loyalists fought on the side of the british during the war, and a total of 100,000 left the country as a result. in virginia and new england, loyalists made up less than 10 percent of the population. but an estimated 40 percent of new yorkers were loyalists, and they may have been a majority in georgia and north carolina.

the primary author of the declaration of independence was one of the most brilliant and versatile of the nation's founders. while best known as a political leader and writer, jefferson's curiosity carried him into many different roles: farmer, lawyer, scientist, inventor, architect, linguist, amateur musician, and founder of the library of congress.

his career in government was also varied diplomat, delegate to congress, and governor of virginia. after the government of the united states was established, he served as secretary of state, vice president, and served two terms as president, from 1801-1809. in spite of his achievements, jefferson was tormented throughout his life by his failure to find a solution to the contradiction of slavery existing in a free society. fearing financial ruin he freed only a few of his own slaves.

jefferson and his old friend—and former adversary-john adams both died on july 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the declaration of independence!