All manner of theories exist as to why Pennsylvania, the Keystone State, birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, has produced only one president – James Buchanan.

Some attribute it to the undercutting of promising favorite sons by their own jealous colleagues and others to the dominant concern of governors and senators being to protect the state’s vital manufacturing interests.

Gov. Samuel Pennypacker wrote that his prospects for a presidential run at the turn of the 20th century fizzled when he enacted a newspaper libel or “muzzle law” and the newspapers of the state turned against him.  READ MORE »

No sorrier an army has trudged across the North American landscape than the Convention Army during the American Revolution.

These nearly 6,000 British and Hessian soldiers were the unfortunate progeny of British General “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne’s defeat at the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777.

An unusual agreement between Burgoyne and American General Horatio Gates led to the defeated army being treated under terms of a convention rather than a capitulation. READ MORE »

President Barack Obama has been invited to deliver the keynote address on the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address on Nov. 19 and there lies some history.

Pennsylvania Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey and Congressman Scott Perry extended the invitation for Obama to undertake what would be a daunting task for any president.

He may feel he has to come up with a few words that will be recited by schoolchildren generations from now. READ MORE »

E.J. Stackpole was sorry to see the end of one-boss rule in Pennsylvania in the 1920s and the emergence of the primary system to nominate party candidates.

He deplored the growing influence of money in political campaigns and longed for a return to the days when party conventions dominated by a Matthew S. Quay or Boies Penrose selected candidates.

Stackpole had a foot in two camps as a life-long journalist and Republican Party regular. We know about Stackpole’s views because of his engaging autobiography “Behind the Scenes With A Newspaper Man” published in January 1927. READ MORE »

Edwin A. Van Valkenburg brought gusto to the Progressive Movement in Pennsylvania a century ago, and he did it in a way that is almost inconceivable to us today.

For Valkenburg, known to everyone simply as “Van”, was a newspaper editor who was also heavily involved in politics and relished nothing more than an all-out partisan battle.

The blurring of these two roles was more common during a time when many more newspapers were published. They often served as a house organ for one political party or even a faction of a party. READ MORE »