Articles by Steven Gilchrist

Newport, RI. - Located in Newport, Rhode Island, Fort Adams State Park is a National Historic Landmark.   Fort Adams was originally built on July 4, 1799 as a First System coastal fortification.   The original fort was designed by Major Louis de Tousard of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.   After the War of 1812, the federal government decided to replace the original Fort Adams.   The new Fort Adams was designed by French Brigadier General Simon Bernard.   The fort eventually became the most complex military fortification in the Western Hemisphere. Fort Adams remained an active military installation until 1950.   From 1841 until 1950, the fort was active in five major wars: Mexican-American War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. Entrance to Fort Adams -  Newport, Rhode Island

Leonardo’s Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies by Ben Shneiderman (2002) is a book that combines the evolution of technological advances with the artistic, mathematical, and scientific work of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).   Historians estimate that da Vinci filled 13,500 pages with his writings and artistry.   Today, 5,000 pages are still in existence. Here are some of the key points from Leonardo’s Laptop: Page 5: “Leonardo was the first person to accurately draw and recognize the role of curved spines in humans.” Page 5: “Leonardo had a distinctly inquisitive mind and capacity for independent thinking that led him to go further than his contemporaries on many topics.” Page 13: “Four universal states of man: Mirth, weeping, contention, and work.” Page 57: “We admire Leonardo da Vinci for his scientific spirit, his artistic skill, and his desire to produce something of value that also pleased his patrons.   He painte...

Boston, MA. - Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Curtis Guild, Jr. (1860-1915) was a diplomat, journalist, politician, and soldier.   Guild was educated at Harvard University.   As a student at Harvard he was classmates and friends with Theodore Roosevelt.   In 1891, Guild joined the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.   Later, he volunteered to serve in the Spanish-American War.   In 1909, Guild retired as a Major General from the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. Guild began his political career in 1881 serving as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.   Later, Guild was elected as the 39 th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (1903-1906) and the 43 rd Governor of Massachusetts (1906-1909).   After serving as Governor, Guild served as U.S. Ambassador to Russia for two years.   He also assisted with drafting a model income tax law for the National Tax Association. There is a monument dedicated to Curtis Guild, Jr. in the Mas...

Sharon, MA. - Deborah Sampson (1760 – 1827) is most well known for her participation in the American Revolution as a Continental Army soldier.   What makes Sampson’s story unique is that she was a woman who disguised herself as man in order to be eligible to serve in the Continental Army.    Deborah Sampson sculpture by Lu Stubbs, Sharon, MA. Sampson was one of a small contingent of women who had military experience during the American Revolution.   Sampson served 17 months in the Continental Army under the name “Robert Shirtliffe.”   After the war, Sampson worked as a teacher and a weaver.   She died in Sharon, Massachusetts.   In 1989, sculptor Lu Stubbs created a statue in Sampson’s honor.   The statue is located in front of the Sharon, Massachusetts public library.

The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods (2012) by John McKnight and Peter Block is a book that addresses economic and social problems that exist in modern-day American society.   The authors address topics such as: materialism, health care costs, employment, over-consumption, affordable child care, management practices, and living a “system life.”   McKnight and Block suggest that Americans have been led to believe that they can buy their way to happiness and the “good life.”   The authors suggest this belief is fraudulent.   On pages 16-17, they write: “This belief that the good life depends on consumption is a unique worldview that is less than a century old.   It gained momentum in the 1920s and became ‘the gospel of consumption’ – the notion that people could be convinced that however much they had, it wasn’t enough.” The authors contend that our current socioeconomic system is devised to make people into comp...

Boston, MA.- Built in 1798 the Massachusetts State House is one of the oldest State Capitol buildings in the United States.   The original building was designed by Charles Bulfinch – an American architect. The State House is the oldest building in the Beacon Hill section of Boston.   Charles Bulfinch also designed the original State House in Hartford, Connecticut and the State Capitol in Augusta, Maine. The building has numerous works of art, monuments, memorials, mosaic floors, stained glass work, and portraits of the past Governors of the state of Massachusetts.   The Governor of the Commonwealth, executive level government officials, and the state Representatives and state Senators have offices in the building.   The front lawn of the State House has statues of Anne Hutchinson, Daniel Webster, General Joseph Hooker, Henry Cabot Lodge, Mary Dyer, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Horace Mann.   The second floor of the building has five ceremonial halls and fun...

Most of the Amazon rainforest is in the South American country of Brazil.   The former Portuguese colony is the continent’s most influential country and is one of the world’s largest democracies.   Similarly to the United States there is a significant gap between the rich and poor in Brazil.   The nation’s population is quite diverse.   Brazil’s population includes native indigenous Americans and descendants of African slaves and European settlers. Recently, Brazil has experienced two historic events: the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.   More importantly, the former president of Brazil Dilma Rousseff was suspended in May 2016 by the Brazilian senate.   Rousseff was charged with using illegal budgetary maneuvers to shield the extent of Brazil’s financial woes.   In 2010, Rousseff (a member of the left-wing Workers’ Party) was elected as Brazil’s first woman president.   In 2014, Rousseff was re-elected.   Howev...