THIS WEEK IN HISTORY:  June 2-6, 2008

Ok, readers this is a big week.

June 2, 1692: Bridget Bishop is the first person to go to trial in the Salem Witch Trials in Salem Massachusetts.  She is found guilty and was then hanged on June 10.

Atrocities on Trial, by Patricia Heberer and Jurgen Matthaus  is a great new book taking a sharp look at criminal trials throughout history, including the infamous Nuremberg trials. Any person with an interest in the history of law and what constitutes a war crime should check it out.

June 3, 2008: Presidential candidate Barack Obama announces that he will officially accept the nomination for the Democratic Party on August 28, 2008. This makes him the first African American to do so.

For another book on progressive movements in the political arena, please check out Mayor Helen Boosalis, by Beth Boosalis Davis. This inspiring story is about the first woman to become Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska.

June 4, 1919: Congress approves the 19th amendment which guarantees suffrage to women everywhere.

Women may have been granted suffrage, but the plight of young girls is still in the works.
To see how this is playing out in some native communities and what is being done first hand; check out Empowerment of North American Indian Girlsby Carol A. Markstrom.

June 5, 1851: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s classic Uncle Toms Cabin, starts its 10 month run in the National Era, an abolitionist newspaper.

For a first hand look at how this amazing struggle would continue, please read Marvin V. Arnett's book,  Pieces from Life’s Crazy Quilt, about growing up in Detroit during the heart  of the civil rights movement.

June 6, 1986: A 52 year old man in Auburn Washington dies after taking an Excedrin laced with cyanide.

Speaking of poison…..A Strange and Formidable Weapon, by Marion Girard, is about the advent of poison gas during World War I. The use of this gas would have affects on all aspects of British society, those foreseen and unforeseen.

Well, readers thanks for joining us for another installment of TWIH, see you again Tuesday for a little trivia!