As my readers well know, even though this blog centers primarily on how people think, every now and then I like to throw in a tidbit or two concerning key figures and events in American History. Not only is history my second biggest passion after psychology, but at the end of the day, both subjects are more entwined than most people realize. Historians aim to understand the rationale behind the decisions that Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr., and other figures have made, dissecting everything from their upbringing and social relationships to their innermost fears and aspirations. And while historians delve into these men and women's personalities, psychologists -- for their part -- cannot paint a full picture of the individuals without essential historical facts like when they were born, the places they lived throughout their lives, etc. The month of February has witnessed countless important events over the past 200 or so years, two of which occurred 37 years apa...

On this day in 1767, John Quincy Adams, son of the second U.S. president, John Adams, is born in Braintree, Massachusetts. John Quincy Adams not only shared the elder Adams' passion for politics, but seemed to have inherited his father's cantankerous personality as well. At 14, he was already joining his dad on diplomatic missions; he entered the legal arena upon completing his schooling. As a young man, he served as minister to several countries, including the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Prussia, and England. In 1803, he commenced his first term as a Republican in the Senate and helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent that ended the War of 1812. From 1817 to 1824, he served as secretary of state to President James Monroe. While it is Monroe who gets most of the credit for his eponymous Doctrine, historians assert that Adams was the true mastermind behind it. In the heavily contested presidential election of 1824, a tie between Quincy Adams and Democrat Andrew Jackson p...

If you were a collector of any item -- be it coins, paintings, or china -- how much would you be willing to fork over for one at auction? What about if you were a very wealthy collector? Dozens of rare documents from periods spanning 200 years of American history just went up for auction, with historical artifacts and original manuscripts fetching millions of dollars each. Among them were original copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment -- marking the first time the pair have been sold at the same time. The Emancipation Proclamation sold for a whopping $2.17 million and the 13th Amendment sold for a massive  $2.41 million . They are each among a handful of original copies that still exist and are being held in private hands. What's more, they each bear the original signatures of Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of State William Seward, and other prominent men of the day. Lincoln originally issued the order abolishing slavery in 1863, but the copy just...

I just finished reading "The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness." I remember spotting the book at a local Barnes & Noble bookstore a few months ago and wondering why Monroe never seems to get as much attention as other Founding Fathers like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Interested in learning more about the last of the quartet of presidents who made up the so-called Virginia dynasty (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe), I purchased the book. I learned a great deal about Monroe. For example, did you know he's the only person ever to have held the positions of Secretary of State and Secretary of War at the same time? Or that Monrovia, the first permanent Black American settlement in Africa, is named after said president? Or that Monroe nearly dueled with Alexander Hamilton had it not been for Aaron Burr, who himself would go on to kill Hamilton in a duel. Monroe fought valiantly in the Revolutionary War and ...