William Jackson was a slave in the home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis during the Civil War. It turns out he was also a spy for the Union Army, providing key secrets to the North about the Confederacy. Jackson was Davis’ house servant and personal coachman.
Tag Archives: america
So, just how bad is the economy?
The stock market crashed. Wall Street panicked. People stashed silver and gold under mattresses while businesses shut doors across America
After the Stimulus, Can Obama Tame the Deficit?
Barack Obama calls them the Propeller-Heads, the cheerful band of financial nerds he has charged with saving America’s economy. And on the Friday before Presidents’ Day weekend, they were ready to show him the latest piece of their rescue plan: the 2010 federal budget. Having just squeezed through Congress what may be the largest spending bill in history, the President now needed to do something that would make the stimulus fight look easy: show the country and the world that he was as serious about preventing waste as he was about promoting growth
Why March Will Be the Recession’s Tipping Point
Does the economy get worse from here or do the government programs recently signed into law increase confidence and start to put capital to work to create jobs and build businesses?
The Case for a Truth Commission
More than 30 years ago, a special Senate investigation peered into abuses that included spying on the American people by their own government. The findings by Senator Frank Church’s committee, drawn from testimony spanning 800 witnesses and thousands of pages of government documents, revealed how powerful government surveillance tools were misused against the American people
India says it will oppose U.S. ‘protectionism’
India Friday vowed to oppose any protectionism moves by the United States as part of Washington’s efforts to deal with the economic crisis. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been highly critical of Wall Street firms in general and Merrill Lynch in particular for the way they have conducted themselves in the midst of a financial crisis.
Bank of America’s CEO is subpoenaed
Bank of America CEO and Chairman Kenneth Lewis has been issued a subpoena by the New York State Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating whether the bank violated state law by withholding information from investors, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been highly critical of Wall Street firms in general and Merrill Lynch in particular for the way they have conducted themselves in the midst of a financial crisis.
Stakes are high for U.S., China during Clinton visit
When Hillary Clinton visits Beijing this week, her Chinese hosts will closely watch her body movement and parse her every word. Her first trip here as the U.S. secretary of state comes in the shadow of the global financial crisis, the pressing North Korea nuclear issue and a warming planet
The Trouble With Repeat Cesareans
For many pregnant women in America, it is easier today to walk into a hospital and request major abdominal surgery than it is to give birth as nature intended. Jessica Barton knows this all too well. At 33, the curriculum developer in Santa Barbara, Calif., is expecting her second child in June
How Stressed Is Your Bank?
For months, customers and investors have wondered if their banks will survive. The government may soon give its opinion