The RoseWood Journal

The United States Supreme Court case entitled Gibbons vs. Ogden is yet another vitally important case, it is also a complicated one. In 1808 the Legislature of New York granter Robert Livingston and Robert Fulton exclusive rights over all waters within the jurisdiction of the state. They started a ferry company that was successful for thirty years and had grown to have a similar contract with the Orleans Territory, essentially creating a monopoly.  A man by the name of Aaron Ogden, a former New Jersey Governor, attempted to start his own ferry business, but was crushed by the existing monopoly. He ultimately decided to purchase a licence from Livingston and Fulton in 1815 and entered into business with a partner, Thomas Gibbons. Their partnership was unable to last three years, collapsing after Gibbons licensed and operated a steamboat on Ogden's rout between Elisabethtown, New Jersey and New York City (fun fact: Cornelius Vanderbilt was one of the ferry captain's). Althou

History is not an easy subject, and it never will be. Yet, history is vitally important for the survival of the human race. If we do not study and learn from the lessons our ancestors were forced through, than we are doomed to repeat them. That is why history is important. Saying that... do not simply pick up a thick and boring textbook because the mysterious Northern Rose says to. Instead, learn in the way that works for you. I read heavy textbooks because I find them utterly fascinating. You can look in a newspaper, (yes, those still exist) or browse through Wikipedia randomly, or watch a historical drama. Just remember to keep an open mind and question EVERYTHING. That is how we learn from the past. Questions. Questions. Questions.

Most fans of the Hamilton play know that it was Alexander Hamilton that helped establish the National Bank. What most people do not know is that Hamilton's supposed defeat of Jefferson on the issue was not a long lasting victory. In fact, one could say that it was not a victory at all. The debate did not end with the creation of the First National Bank. Many years after the death of Hamilton the debate still lived on. In 1816 the Second National Bank was created to help the federal government in the wake of the War of 1812. The began to call in the loans they had made to states, which of course was met with great displeasure. In Maryland, the state government attempted to retaliate in the form of a tax. The levied a fifteen thousand dollar annual tax on any bank operating in Maryland that was not chartered by the state of Maryland. Of course, there was only one bank fitting that description, the Baltimore branch of the Second National Bank. James McCulloch was the head of this

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." ~Thomas Jefferson

Marbury vs Madison is one of the most important Supreme Court cases in American history. This is because it is the case that established judicial review. The idea of judicial review had been introduced in the Federalist Papers, but had not been officially in American law until John Marshall declared it to be so in his decision regarding this case. Marbury vs Madison was tried in 1803 but revolves around actions taken in 1801. This case had to do with what is now referred to as the midnight appointments. On the final few days of his Presidency John Adams made a few last minute appointments. Adams was a Federalist trying to make sure that Federalists still had power after he had left office. You see his successor, Thomas Jefferson, was a Democratic-Republican. Both parties had vastly different beliefs and Adams knew his party was at risk. He specifically filled these positions with peoples that were known to be very anti-Jeffersonian. After the transition of power was

General Ulysses S. Grant was two things, a war General and a President of the United States. He, like many, are well known by the people yet not truly known. This is a strange sentence but a valid one. Most figures remembered by history only have a small section of their life that is known. We know Grant as the great General of the Civil War, the man that finally defeated Robert E. Lee. Yet, that was a very small part of his life and career. There is so much more to the story… Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant on April 27, 1822. At this point in time the last founding father to hold the office of the President of the United States, James Monroe, was still in office. Grant was born in Ohio to abolitionist parents. He was named Ulysses because it was the name his father pulled out of a hat. The future General's grandfather had suggested Hiram, thusly it was there but no one ever used that name. At sixteen years old a young Grant was nominated for the United States Military Aca