Free Republic

The composers Richard Strauss and Dmitri Shostakovich had little in common musically, but each worked under one of the most brutal dictatorships of the mid 20th century. Many who regard Shostakovich as a tragic hero, for continuing to create his music while remaining in the Soviet Union, are far less generous to Strauss, who lived in Nazi Germany. When Hitler came to power, Strauss (1864–1949) was in his 70th year and universally regarded as a great composer. He outlived the Nazis by four years. Shostakovich (1906–75) was 11 years old at the time of the Russian Revolution, so he spent...

President Obama will not attend ceremonies at Gettysburg later this month marking the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's immortal address. Thank goodness! Mr. Obama has been getting few kudos of late. His Gallup approval rating has slipped into the thirties. But in this, we can applaud his action. It is entirely fitting and proper that he should do this. First of all, consider the expense. Mr. Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg in 1863 by rail. He took Ward Hill Lamon, a U.S. Marshal, with him. Mr. Obama would have to go by caravan with with hundreds of staffers. Just think of...

Just south of Gettysburg, a young soldier named John Nevin leads a Pennsylvania regiment across fields freshly scarred by a horrifically violent, three-day clash between two great armies. Trees are shattered and pocked with holes, crops and orchards mowed down by flying lead, fields trampled by tens of thousands of marching men, fences torn apart. A barn and a house, trapped between the two armies, have burned to the ground. Nevin sees human slaughter on a massive scale, with an estimated 8,000 killed, many as yet unburied. The dead, Nevin writes, are "strewn around in various forms of horror," the...

President Woodrow Wilson, a son of Virginia, summarized the spirit of this historic event with his July 4, 1913 Gettysburg Reunion Address by saying: quote "We have found one another again as brothers and comrades in arms, enemies no longer, generous friends rather, our battles long past, the quarrel forgotten—except that we shall not forget the splendid valor.” unquote

HISTORY® is partnering with the Gettysburg Foundation and the National Park Service to bring you Gettysburg: A New Birth of Freedom. Tune in live on Sunday, June 30 at 8pm ET [7pm CT, 6pm MT, 5pm PT] for music by the United States Military Academy Orchestra, a performance of the national anthem by country music artist Trace Adkins ...

The 150th Antietam-Sharpsburg Reenactment is pleased to announce we will be hosting a Remembrance Illumination scheduled for Saturday evening, September 15th at 7PM. The Antietam Illumination Committee in conjunction with Michael Wicklein will be placing 3654 (Union KIA 2108, Confederate KIA 1546) candles on the reenactment battlefield in remembrance of the number killed in action on September 17, 1862 at the Battle of Antietam. Lasting approximately one hour, the program will include an artillery salute.

CLASSICAL music institutions are usually quick to seize on major anniversaries of a composer’s birth or death as a convenient programming hook. Get ready for the Wagner and Verdi bicentennial celebrations next year. But what happened to Debussy, born 150 years ago on Wednesday in St.-Germain-en-Laye, west of Paris? His anniversary has drawn surprisingly little notice, at least from major New York institutions. Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center have scheduled no special events or festivals.

"For the past century-and-a-half, the Republican Party has proven to be the most effective political organization ever to champion equality and human rights in the United States and around the world."-- Michael Zak This weekend marks a proud milestone for Republicans, the 150th anniversary of the first Republican National Convention. Founded in 1854, the Republicans, distinct from Democrats, grounded their party on two noble convictions: that America was truly one nation, not a polyglot of regions, races, or classes, and that American identity was based not on blood or soil, but on its founding ideal -- the dignity, worth, and...

Following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (which would have greatly expanded the hated practice of slavery) citizens from across the Midwest came together "under the oaks" in Jackson, Michigan, to officially establish a new party which had been commonly conceived in towns like Ripon (WI), Exeter (NH), and Crawfordsville(IA). On JULY 6th, 1854 - The REPUBLICAN PARTY WAS BORN! It was in Jackson that the party name, "Republican," was formally adopted. A political platform (the soul of a party) was passed, and a slate of candidates was chosen for elected office. Though the Party's conception may have happened elsewhere,...