Quotation: Frederick Douglass on annihilation of the power of reason

To make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason.

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) Discuss

Today’s Birthday: CAROLINE OF BRUNSWICK (1768)

Caroline of Brunswick (1768)

Caroline wed her cousin, George IV, the future king of England, in 1795. The marriage was an unhappy one, and soon after Caroline bore George a daughter, they separated. The two were almost certainly involved in adulterous relationships thereafter—George had even been secretly, and illegally, married to another woman when he wed Caroline—yet it was Caroline whose infidelities sparked an investigation. George became king in 1820. What happened when Caroline tried to claim her rights as queen? More…Discuss

This Day in the Yesteryear: GEORGE BOLEYN, BROTHER OF ANNE, BEHEADED (1536)

George Boleyn, Brother of Anne, Beheaded (1536)

Henry VIII had two of his six wives beheaded, but the unpleasant consequences of his marriages did not apply only to his spouses. After Henry‘s first marriage was annulled, he took Anne Boleyn as his queen. Though she bore him the future Queen Elizabeth I, she produced no male heir, and he lost interest in her. In 1536, he had her imprisoned on questionable charges of adultery and incest—allegedly with her brother, George. Both were beheaded. What did George reportedly say before his execution? More… Discuss