By Jeffrey Stone :: This week we look back on a tragic and controversial event in Oregon history: the 1948 flood that washed away Vanport, Oregon. During World War II, the United States industrial sector was working overtime to keep up with military demand. Kaiser shipyards was in desperate need of employees, but a housingContinue Reading Vanport | Tragedy and Conspiracy in Postwar Oregon
By Will Schneider :: Arbor day, the national tree planting celebration, is not often associated with outer space. Trees grow on earth and scientists to date have not found any alien life in the galaxy, let alone extraterrestrial trees. But on April 30th, 1976, as part of Arbor day and in observance ofContinue Reading Salem Moon Tree
By Jeannette Butts :: On April 4, 1906, a conference about women’s suffrage was held in Portland with speakers from around the state which featured suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway. Duniway is considered the “Mother of Equal Suffrage” and “the pioneer Woman Suffragist of the great Northwest.” In 1850, an act passed in Oregon which allowedContinue Reading Marching to Victory! The Briefest History of Women’s Suffrage in Oregon
By Will Schneider :: The city of Portland, Oregon was incorporated on February 8th, 1851. While the date is significant and signaled a new point in the history of settlements along the Willamette River, hard dates can also be misleading. Beginning a history of Portland at its incorporation obscures all that came before, covering overContinue Reading Portland Incorporated as a City
By Tanya Monthey :: The first female senator to be elected into the US Senate was Hattie Wyatt Caraway from Arkansas in 1932. Twenty-eight years later, Oregon elected Maurine Neuberger to become the third woman ever to be elected for the US Senate. Though many women before Neuberger had served as US Senators, they didContinue Reading Oregon Trailblazer | Maurine Neuberger
By Evan Smiley :: In 1972, Oregon became the fourth state to decriminalize homosexuality in the U.S. after revised Sodomy Laws went into effect on January 1st. Sodomy laws exist across the United States and their purpose is to legally define what constitutes normal and abnormal sexual behavior punishable by law. Today, Oregon law clearlyContinue Reading A Blow to Bigotry | Oregon Decriminalizes Homosexuality
By Lyndsay Smith :: Extensive legislation in the United States restricts and/or regulates the labor, voting, and reproductive rights of women. In this episode, we discuss the history of women’s health legislation with an emphasis on abortion legislation. Oregon holds a unique place in this history. Today, I interview second-year history graduate student Tanya Monthey. Tanya is studying modern American legal historyContinue Reading Tanya Monthey | Women’s Health & The Law