PA Books: “Murder & Mayhem in Erie, PA” with Justin Dombrowski (2022)

From the French and Indian War to Oliver Hazard Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie, the city of Erie has a prideful place in the American story, but there also exists a seedy history of crime and murder. In 1905 Detective James “Jimmie” Higgins was mysteriously killed at Central High School and the drawn-out […]

PA Books: “Street Diplomacy” with Elliott Drago (2023)

As the most southern of northern cities in a state that bordered three slave states, antebellum Philadelphia maintained a long tradition of both abolitionism and fugitive slave activity. Although Philadelphia’s Black community lived in a free city in a free state, they faced constant threats to their personal safety and freedom. Enslavers, kidnappers, and slave […]

PA Books: “The Philadelphia Campaign, 1777” with Michael Harris

The British Army in North America conducted two campaigns in 1777. John Burgoyne led one army south from Canada to seize control of the Lake Champlain-Hudson River corridor resulting in the battle of Saratoga. Burgoyne’s defeat led to that army’s capture. Rather than assist Burgoyne’s campaign, William Howe led his army from New York City […]

PA Books: “Prisoners of Congress” with Norman Donoghue

In 1777, Congress labeled Quakers who would not take up arms in support of the War of Independence as “the most Dangerous Enemies America knows” and ordered Pennsylvania and Delaware to apprehend them. In response, Keystone State officials sent twenty men—seventeen of whom were Quakers—into exile, banishing them to Virginia, where they were held for […]

PA Books: “Digging in the City of Brotherly Love” (2nd Edition) with Rebecca Yamin

Historic Philadelphia has long yielded archaeological treasures from its past. Excavations required by the National Historic Preservation Act have recovered pottery shards, pots, plates, coins, bones, and other artifacts relating to early life in the city. This updated edition of Digging in the City of Brotherly Love continues to use archaeology to learn about and […]

PA Books: “Joe Louis vs. Billy Conn” with Ed Gruver (2023)

Sports fans had much to occupy themselves with during the memorable summer of ’41, including New York Yankees great Joe DiMaggio’s record-setting consecutive games hit streak and Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams’ dogged pursuit of batting .400. No sports story, however, loomed larger that summer than Joe Louis versus Billy Conn, the hard-hitting heavyweight […]

PA Books: “The Whiskey Rebellion” with Brady Crytzer (2023)

In March 1791 Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton shocked the western frontier when he proposed a domestic excise tax on whiskey to balance America’s national debt. The law, known colloquially as the “Whiskey Act,” disproportionately penalized farmers in the backcountry, while offering favorable tax incentives designed to protect larger distillers. Although Hamilton viewed the law as […]

PA Books: “A Most Gallant Resistance” with James McIntyre (2023)

Most histories of the American War of Independence discuss what are usually regarded as the two major campaigns in 1777. Either they describe the invasion from Canada led by General John Burgoyne which resulted in his subsequent defeat and the surrender of his force at Saratoga, New York, or they focus on William Howe’s Philadelphia […]