HBD, USA

ISSUE NO. 54 // HBD, USA 🇺🇸

It’s our birthday.
We made it.

See also: why am I posting this today? I love a strict schedule and try to send The POTUS Notice out on the first Saturday each month. But who the heck is going to read this with July 4th celebrations and reflections and whatnot?

Nevertheless — in honor of our birthday, here’s a British guy in his birthday suit. General William Howe became one of the Knights of Bath, which I thought was hilarious and I couldn’t wait to put him in a tub. Turns out “ritualised washing” was actually a part of it. Sooo… less hilarious and more squeaky clean, I guess?

Speaking of Howe, did you know not all Big Important British Guys were in favor of going to war with us? I didn’t. Until recently. Howe was among those who said he would decline any commands. But then went ahead because he “could not refuse”.

Today I’m sharing a few random Revolutionary War doodles that didn’t make it into my upcoming presentation,* along with some democracy doodles.

Presidential Doodler

*Can I just gush about it for a sec? I finally figured out the structure for my presentation and I’m having so much fun pulling it together. Originally, I planned to focus on ten lesser-known people but I struggled to pare the list down. I opted to go wide instead — I’ve got it down to twenty five people. Ten facts about each. That’s 250 facts — one for every year!

PS Hey, I have a few other events coming up. An Instagram Live with @historywithher and I’m being honored on Founding Father Robert Livingston’s lawn (what?!)… where I’m giving short remarks with no doodles to hide behind. I’m sure it will be fine. Here are the details, if you want to join me for anything!

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Democracy doodles, etc.

This made me giggle. It’s from 1776, by David McCullough — a fabulously interesting book, if you haven’t read it yet.

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George Washington’s stepson Jacky joined the war not long before Cornwallis’ surrender… but immediately got a fever and died at just 27 years old. Two weeks before the surrender.

Doodle inspired by Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation, by Cokie Roberts. (Find more doodles here.)

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Eeek! Thinking about this one too long will rip you right out of a celebratory mood! But also… yeah. Something to think about. Also, also I drew John Adams here by accident.

Inspired by the thought-provoking and incredibly insightful The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth, by Jermaine Fowler. (More doodles here.)  

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Yeah. What he said.

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, by Kamala Harris (More doodles here)

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FDR, as shared in When Harry Met Pablo: Truman, Picasso, and the Cold War Politics of Modern Art, by Matthew Algeo. Yeeeeeeessssss! (More doodles here.)

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LOL, this one isn’t applicable. I just like it.

Inspired by Becoming Queen Victoria: The Unexpected Rise of Britain’s Greatest Monarch, by Kate Williams … this quote is someone hoping that the very young Princess Victoria could actually save England from becoming a democracy.

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Get outta here with “book-burning, thought control, condemnation without trial.” Et cetera. Et cetera.

Black Americans, Civil Rights, and the Roosevelts, 1932-1962, by Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum (More doodles here)

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We’ll close with another Thurgood Marshall quote:

“Where you see wrong or inequity or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.”

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