Tag Archives: war

“A Boy of 1812″

Things were never really what you might call cordial between the New World and Britain during the early 1800s. There was the whole mess between the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France in 1803. And European countries were focused on keeping control of the native people as well as the America settlers as the expansion in the United States was underway. Treaties and Acts and Decrees were issued one after another between Britain and the U.S., while Britain was during these years distracted by the whirlwind of hostility France was dishing out. In fact, between 1803 and 1812, political relations never really felt settled or peaceful between the U.S., Britain, and France to the people living in these countries....

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Tamarack Archive , , , , Updated: March 4, 2016

The Pastry War

History has a way of smoothing the bumpy timeline that leads from “then” to now, and only bringing to the surface those events which made the biggest impact on the course of human development. Pity. A lot of interesting stuff gets covered over in the process of this. Take the Pastry War, for example. This was a minor footnote in the vast spreadsheet of historic events in the early years of this country’s development. Although it was seemingly inconsequential, news of this confectionery conflict ended up mentioned in an editorial in the February 2, 1839, issue of the Colored American newspaper, a weekly New York publication (1836-1842)....

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Black Abolitionist Archive , , , , Updated: January 21, 2016

1917

Shortly after the declaration of World War I, University of Detroit students began marching drills in the playing field next to the Jefferson Street campus. These would later become more serious as an officer from the Thirty-First Michigan National Guard was obtained to guide these drills. Without really realizing it, students, who had previously held hopes for careers in business, finance, and engineering were being groomed for war....

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University History Collection , , , , Updated: August 26, 2015

The Great War

No one is really sure what motivated the hand that fired the gun that started the first world war in 1914. The bullets, for sure, found their targets in June of that year in Sarajevo when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, along with his wife, Sophie, were assassinated. The events leading up to this action, however, began years before around 1871 (according to a timeline found on the PBS web site). Changes in the ruling centers of countries like Germany, Russia, and Great Britain seemed to trip a line of political dominoes that started falling into place from this point in the late 1800s to the firing of that gun in 1914. Europe seemed unsettled; the relationships between dominant countries seemed tenuous. Surely the atmosphere that hinted of the war to come was felt everywhere as the world entered its new century....

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Tamarack Archive , , , , , , , Updated: July 30, 2015

The Future of Warfare

When the 1918 edition of the Tamarack was published in June of that year, the first few pages held more advertising than content.  Slowly over time, ads had gone from simple product mentions at the end of each issues to full page graphics at the beginning.  It was obvious the Tamarack’s days were numbered.  Even the tone of the content had changed.  The early literary volumes filled with poetry and prose were now offering a more somber tone, concentrating more...

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Tamarack Archive , , , , , , , , Updated: June 18, 2015

1914

One hundred years ago in December, 1914, the University of Detroit celebrated the upcoming holidays with a special “Xmas Number” edition of the Tamarack. The look of this issue is slightly different, but the material included is just as creative and interesting as all the others. Reading through some of the stories and poetry included in each Tamarack publication allows the reader to time travel a bit, but the December, 1914 issue offers a glimpse into Detroit’s place in a unique period in U.S. history....

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Tamarack Archive , , , Updated: November 20, 2014

1917

The 1917 Tamarack, published in June of that year, presents a portrait of a university deeply committed to the war effort. What begins as 14 pages of interesting advertisements (which capture the readers’ attentions right away), leads subtly into the strongly patriotic support of the country’s entry into World War I. Reading through the pages of this issue offers visitors a glimpse into a time of war before this country really knew how horrible a world war could be. There was no precedence for this type of combat as country after country got involved. This young generation in this country had never known bloody warfare, especially the type that awaited them. There was no way of knowing how terrible this would be....

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Tamarack Archive , , , Updated: October 9, 2014

The Last Light-Hearted Year

On June 28, 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary’s throne, and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated while they were visiting Bosnia. By July of that year, Austria-Hungary and Serbia were at war; and by the end of August Germany, Russia, France, Great Britain, and Belgium were all involved in what would become the first World War. While President Woodrow Wilson worked to keep the U.S. out of the hostilities, the entire world shook with rage and horror over...

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Tamarack Archive , , , , Updated: June 5, 2014

ROTC at U of D

In 1963, a lot of colleges and universities (as well as some high schools) were offering Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). As part of the Morrill Act of 1862, federal land granted to states for the establishment of institutions of higher learning required that military training be provided as part of their curriculum. Protests that took place during the 1960s over the Vietnam War and the violence associated with all wars, however, influenced the decision to drop ROTC from many...

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Digital Special Collections Process, University of Detroit Tower Yearbook Collection , , , , , , , Updated: June 3, 2013