The Goodspeed Update

The unfortunate collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota last week has put attention on the country’s bridges. Many of the Washington, D.C. bridges are quite old, and well documented in the Library of Congress’ Historic American Engineering Record, available online through the American Memory website. The images here and more are all available […]

Which U.S. city has spent over $400 million to begin construction of an approved transit system of over 50 miles of rail lines? What other city recently kicked off a $6 billion project to build over 100 miles of new commuter and light rail, nearly quadrupling the size of the existing system?
Charlotte, North Carolina and […]

Under Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, the federal government is ordered to protect the states from invasion, and upon request from state governors or legislature, protect them from “domestic violence.” Article 1, Section 8 requires Congress to call forth troops to “execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.”
Subsequent […]

In the summer of 1967, violence broke out in African American neighborhoods in 164 American cities, including major events in Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Newark, Plainfield (N.J.), and Tampa. In April 1968, after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., violence was recorded in over 100 cities, including major events […]