Today in American History 09/26/1969: First Televised Presidential Debate - Nixon and Kennedy

Today in American History, 09/26/1960, John Kennedy and Richard Nixon engaged in the first televised presidential debate in history.  It can be said that television has changed the world, and can be seen as a window into an opiate view of American and world cultures.  Our language and day-to-day activities have been altered because of the technology as we have all been subject to periods of being "couch potatoes" and scheduling our time around what time shows such a "The Andy Griffith Show", the season premier of "The Sopranos" or the finales of shows like "M*A*S*H" or "Seinfeld".  We were all glued to our televisions during events such as the first space shuttle launch, news coverage of the Oklahoma City Bombing and 9/11 and scheduled events such as the Olympics.  And who can argue the impact of television on professional sporting events such as The Super Bowl (go ahead, NFL, sue me).  

Kennedy Nixon Debate, 09/26/1960

With all of those things combined, no one can say that television has not influenced and impacted the lives of everyone in the world in an irreversible and undeniable way.  An argument can be made that it is leading to the downfall of society (see MTV and it's introduction of reality TV as examples) or that it has helped to develop culture and learning (see Sesame Street and PBS as examples).  One of the biggest things that has been influenced (for better or worse) in American is our politics.  And, today in history in 1960, for the first time in history, Americans were able to see and hear their candidates debate on television.  While this was not the first time a President on television -- (President Theodore Roosevelt appeared on television in 1939 at the World's Fair and President Harry Truman gave the first Presidential address in 1947 on television) -- this was the first time two candidates debated and gave the public the opportunity to form an indelible impression of their candidates based on how they looked while they discussed the topics of the day.  The two major party candidates met in Chicago and the broadcast was carried on all the major stations.  This debate is still considered to be the highest rated debate in history based in Nielson's ratings, although it did not reach nearly the number of people the debates reach today.  

Click below to watch the debate:

The debate lasted for one hour and it delivered interesting results.  It was the prevailing opinion that to those who watched it on television, the younger and more charismatic John Kennedy won the debate easily.  While those who listened to the debate on the traditional medium, radio, would have thought that Richard Nixon won.  This alone is a fascinating commentary on the power of television.  Most folks said that in comparison to Kennedy, Nixon seemed nervous and unprepared.  And some said that Nixon's decision to wear make up impacted the public's perception of him.

There were two other televised debates, and Nixon scored much higher in those debates but was still slated as losing them in the eye of the public.  And in this case, it was truly the eye -- and not the ear that mattered -- because in November of 1960 John F. Kennedy won 49.7% of the popular vote and edged Richard Nixon for the Presidency of the United States of America.  While it is the closest popular vote in history (49.7 to 49.6), It is not an uncommon belief that Kennedy's visual power on television was the deciding factor in the election.  It is worth noting that because of the results, in 1964, 1968 and 1972 at least one of the candidates refused to debate on television and as a result, and as only carried on radio.  It was not until 1976 when Jimmy Carter debated Gerald Ford, did the debates return to television and have been televised every election since.

It is worth nothing that the format of the debates is very much in the public eye today, as only Republicans and Democrats are eligible to be included in the debates.  There is a strong movement afoot led by Gary Johnson who seeks to change the rules so that leading alternate party candidates would be allowed to debate on a national stage.

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Bruce holds a degree in Computer Science from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Biblical History from Liberty University and is working towards a Masters Degree in American History at American Public University.  He has worked in educational and technology for over 18 years, specializes in building infrastructures for schools that work to support the mission of technology in education in the classroom.  He also has served as a classroom teacher in Computer Science, History and English classes.  

Bruce is the author of five books: Sands of Time, Towering Pines Volume One:Room 509, The Star of Christmas, Philadelphia Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel and The Insider's Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel -- with a new book, Learn the Basics: Digital Forensics, due soon. 

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American History 101: Battle of Brandywine Creek 09/11/1777

Today September 11th has a specific and well-defined meaning to Americans, and even to many people around the world.  The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Flight 93 in Pennsylvania will go down in history as the horrific tragedy to ever occur on this date.  However, it is not the only tragedy that occurred on September 11th in American History.  In 1777 on September 11th in the beautiful Brandywine Valley of Southeaster Pennsylvania, not far from Delaware, General George Washington's army engaged with the British lead by General William Howe in a battle that -- if Howe and Cornwallis had any idea what as going on -- could have been the end of the American Revolution.  As it stood, Washington got luck and the American revolutionaries still lost control over the city of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Campaign of the war.

On September 11th, 1777 the British sailed into Elk Head (now Elkton, MD).  The British initially handled the little resistance they encountered on their march north from Elk Head to Philadelphia, and handled the ragtag Americans with ease.  General Washington had foritified his army just south of Chadds Ford, and the rest behind the Brandywine Creek near Kennet Square.  Washington expected the British to march headlong into the soldiers at Chadds Ford and would then use the soldiers at Brandywine as a second punch into the gut of Howe and his redcoats.  Unfortunately, Howe split his army.  He sent a portion of his army straight into Chadds Ford, just as Washington expected.  But he also sent a portion of the army north, having them cross the Brandywine and circle back towards the Americans on their left flank.  

Washington never saw them coming.

Washington, being a solid field general if not a great tactician at the time, reacted quickly and pushed three divisions to meet Howe's men at what is not the Old Kennett Meeting House and put up a nasty fight.  But even with intense resolve, after several hours Howe's men pushed through the American line and pushed Washington back on his heels.  At the same time the Hessian General Knyphausen sent his troops into Chadds Ford and overwhelmed the Americans who were already exhausted and fighting at a reduced force from successfully defending against Cornwallis' first charge.  As Knyphausen overran the Americans, Howe retreated and circled back to help Knyphausen and Cornwallis.  This would prove to be a fortuitous moment in American history.

This combination caused the main portion of the American Army to retreat northeast towards Philadelphia, leaving General Nathaneal Greene to stand fast and put up enough resistance to allow Washington's army to retreat out of

the fight -- and live to fight another day.  Greene's fortitude and defense, combined with Howe's decision proved to be the factors that saved the American Revolution.  

In the Battle of Brandywine Creek, the Americans lost 300, had 600 wounded and 400 captured.  These numbers were a significant blow to the American cause.  It reduced the efficacy of Washington's army to the point that it could not put up any defense of Philadelphia as the British marched north.  Washington sent couriers north ahead of his army to alert the city that the British were en route and he could not stop them.  At the time, Philadelphia was the capital of the United States -- but it was moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a short time and then to York, Pennsylvania.  

Historians agree that there is little question that had General Howe continued to push, and not circled back, that he could have defeated Washington and the Americans at Brandywine once and for all.  But Howe thought there were another 10,000 men at Brandywine and took his victory and marched north without trying to deliver a death blow.  And if General's Greene and Stirling did not put up a strong defense as Washington retreated, the capital itself might have been captured at this time.  The British took Philadelphia on September 26, 1777.


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Bruce holds a degree in Computer Science from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Biblical History from Liberty University and is working towards a Masters Degree in American History at American Public University.  He has worked in educational and technology for over 18 years, specializes in building infrastructures for schools that work to support the mission of technology in education in the classroom.  He also has served as a classroom teacher in Computer Science, History and English classes.  

Bruce is the author of five books: Sands of Time, Towering Pines Volume One:Room 509, The Star of Christmas, Philadelphia Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel and The Insider's Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel -- with a new book, Learn the Basics: Digital Forensics, due soon. 

Follow Bruce's Novel releases by subscribing to his FREE newsletter!

Be sure to check out Bruce's Allentown Education Examiner Page, his Twitter and his Facebook! 

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American History 101: The Dred Scott Case

When Dred Scott filed his original law suit in 1846, he was not only suing for his own freedom, but he was reaching out to grasp at the right of freedom for his wife, his children and the for that of black Americans for generations to come.  And at the time, the decision stung as much as any whip that was wielded by any slave owner.

What has since become known as "The Dred Scott Case" began in 1846 as Scott v. Emerson.  Dred Scott had

attempted to purchase his freedom from his owner, Irene Emerson.  When she refused Scott filed a lawsuit to attempt to win his freedom in court.  In previous years, Scott had traveled with Dr. Emerson around the country which included several years in free states and free territories.  During that time he met and married his wife in a civil ceremony before a Justice of the Peace in the free territory of Wisconsin.  This was unusual for a slave, as slave marriages were generally not recognized.  And then while still in a free state, his wife gave birth to two daughters.  In total, Scott and his wife lived in a free state or territory for over two years consecutively.  Scott's lawsuit in 1846 was based on the Missouri legal precedent that held that slaves could be freed under an extended residence in a free state or territory.  And in that situation, when they returned to Missouri (a slave state), they would remain free.  The original case in 1846 was decided against Scott, but was retried because it was found that Mrs. Emerson's testimony regarding the events that occurred during Dr. Scott's travels was here-say.  Dred Scott won the re-trial.  

In 1852, Mrs. Emerson appealed the decision and the higher court threw out the lower courts decision, and the Scott family remained Emerson slaves.  This decision was a landmark case in Missouri because, in essence, the court threw out twenty eight years of legal precedent when it held that because of growing anti-slavery sentiment in free states, Missouri no longer had to defer to the laws of any free state.

Justice Roger B. Taney

And then in 1853, Mrs. Emerson moved to Massachusetts and transferred ownership of the Scott's to her brother, John Sanford.  At the time Sanford was a resident of New York, so when Scott files suit again for his freedom he did so in Federal Court under the diversity of citizenship rules.  Scott lost in federal district court, but appealed to the United States Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court heard and ruled on the case in 1857.  In what was, at the time, a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled against Scott 7-2.  The court found that no one of African ancestry could ever be a citizen of the United States, and as such had no standing to bring a law suit in Federal Court under the diversity of citizenship rules.  But the court did not stop there by just throwing the case out of court.  The court also ruled that the idea that Scott was free because he resided in free states or territories was invalid because the law that allowed this, the Missouri Compromise, was unconstitutional.  And then, after striking down the Missouri Compromise of 1820, it went on to rule that the Ordinance of 1787 (which conferred citizenship to slaves) could not confer citizenship to non-whites in the Northwest territories.  And in addition to that, the court ruled that Scott was considered the private property of Dr. and Mrs. Emerson, and now John Sanford.  And because of this he was considered private property and as such was protected by the Fifth Amendment which held that not property can be taken from its owner without due process.

When Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote the majority opinion one can only imagine that he felt he was striking a blow to the anti-slavery movement and the abolition cause.  Instead he incited public outrage and fueled the fire of the abolitionists.  The chasm between the north and south had never been deeper then it was in 1857, just four years before the agitation between states rights, individual rights and the basic differences between the north and south would ignite into one of the greatest tragedies in American history: The Civil War.  One could easily point and claim that the Dred Scott Case was one of the single biggest flames in the fire of the upcoming war.


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Bruce holds a degree in Computer Science from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Biblical History from Liberty University and is working towards a Masters Degree in American History at American Public University.  He has worked in educational and technology for over 18 years, specializes in building infrastructures for schools that work to support the mission of technology in education in the classroom.  He also has served as a classroom teacher in Computer Science, History and English classes.  

Bruce is the author of five books: Sands of Time, Towering Pines Volume One:Room 509, The Star of Christmas, Philadelphia Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel and The Insider's Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel -- with a new book, Learn the Basics: Digital Forensics, due soon. 

Follow Bruce's Novel releases by subscribing to his FREE newsletter!

Be sure to check out Bruce's Allentown Education Examiner Page, his Twitter and his Facebook! 

Today in American History: Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans 08/29/2005

 Today in American History, August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina officially makes landfall in New Orleans.  This is the 10th Anniversary.  What would follow over the next few days would go down in history as one of the worst natural disasters and one of the most questioned series of events in American history.  Did the government react appropriately?  Was FEMA prepared for a disaster of this magnitude?  Questions such of these will be asked and ruminated over for a very long time.

Hurricane Katrina just before landfall in New Orleans

Katrina originated over the Bahamas on August 23rd and quickly intensified from a tropical depression into a tropical storm.  It made landfall in the east coast of Florida by August 25th and tore a gash into the state, moving quickily into the Gulf of Mexico by August 26th and towards its fate in New Orleans.  Over the next two days, what had been a category 3 hurricane intensified to a category 5 hurricane over the Gulf.  Although it seems ironic to say it, thankfully, Hurricane Katrina weakened back to a category 3 hurricane before it made landfall -- striking the city of New Orleans with the full force of its power on at 7:10am on August 29th, 2005.

Louisiana's hurricane evacuation plan calls for local governments in areas along and near the coast to evacuate in three phases, starting with the immediate coat 50 hours before the start of a tropical storm and then moving inland in 10 hour increments.  When Katrina started making its way across Florida, nothing happened in New Orleans.  Many people criticize the local authorities because the private care facilities relied on private companies to move people -- as did many other areas in the city.  And because the evacuation wasn't signaled on this schedule, it was too late by the time heavy winds and rain hit the city.  As early as August 26th, the city was considering the potential for a major event to hit the city -- but they waited.  It was not until 10AM on August 28th, less than 24 hours before Katrina would hit the city with its full force, did New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin order an evacuation of the city's almost 500,000 people.  When you consider the surrounding area of New Orleans, that number of people to be

Superdome Refuge Center

evacuated in less than 24 hours climbs to 1.3 million.  An impossible task.  The city recognized that there simply was no practical way to evacuate everyone, so in an effort to combat their error a number of refuge sites were set up within the city.  As great as this "best effort" was, the city made little to no effort to help people get to these refugee sites.  As an example, the Superdome is estimated to have sheltered 26,000 people, giving them food and water at the same time.  The Superdome seating capacity in 2005 was just under 70,000 people for a football game.  And since there was no power or water pressure during the storm, there were no working bathroom facilities.  It is also worth mentioning that the Superdome itself sustained substantial damage from Katrina, with sections of the roof pulling off and exposing the field area to the elements -- and 10% of the roof structure was considered unstable.

By 7:40am the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans had every window blown out.  The major issue in New Orleans stemmed from the fact that the city actually sits below sea level.  The federal government had constructed a series of levees that were built to protect the city from storms just like Katrina.  These were built to move water quickly around the city to locations in the surrounding wetlands to absorb water, and reduce the impact of flooding.  However, because of the decimation of the wetlands surrounding New Orleans by the federal government, and the rerouting of the levee system -- the system was woefully inadequate for a storm of this magnitude.  Katrina's storm surge cause 53 levees to breach in the system surrounding New Orleans.  And ultimately, the 40 Arpent Canal

40 Arpent Canal in 2010

levee which led to the flooding in the Saint Bernard Parish and swept through some of the worst devastation in New Orleans.  By the time all was said and done, nearly every levee in the metro New Orleans area was either breached or ultimately failed.  One of the worst was the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet levee system which breached in 20 different places, allowing the water to flow directly from the gulf into the city.  Most of the major roads were quickly not navigable, and seriously damaged including portions of the I-10 heading east completely collapsing.  Within hours only the westbound Crescent City Connection and Huey P Long Bridge were the only ways in and out of New Orleans.  

Deaths began to be reported before landfall, just after midnight on August 28th.  Nursing home patients died during transit in an attempted evacuation to Baton Rouge, most likely from dehydration.  While hundred thousands of others struggled to find safe haven or evacuate, there were large reports of death at the Superdome.  However, officially only six people died at the Superdome -- one of which was confirmed as a drug overdose and another a suicide.  Four other deaths were reported at the Convention Center -- one of which was a homicide.  Among those who are not counted were prisoners in the prison.  There is compelling evidence that prisoners were simply abandoned in their cells as guards ran for safety.  Almost one thousand prisoners are listed as "unaccounted for" -- but not listed as dead.  None of what I've detailed speaks to those who never got out of their homes.  Those who were left to die by the local governments because of their bad decisions, and poor planning.  It is estimated that up to 40% of dog owners refused to leave their canine companions behind when the city said that their pets could not

I don't think I need to caption this...

be evacuated.  However, many more dogs were left by their owners.  It is estimated that thousands of dogs were abandoned and ultimately died.  By 2010, the city was overrun with wild dogs because of the storm.  Here is a great article by Modern Dog Magazine about the Dogs of Katrina.  I could go on about the misery of the residents of the area... this part of the story never ends.  But search the web for it, many others have done a much better job then i could ever do on the subject.

The failure of the New Orleans levee system resulted in over 80% of the land area in the New Orleans Metropolitan area being under water.  Hurricane Katrina left 1,245 people officially dead (not accounting for many others who likely died and were unknown), making it the deadliest hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane.  Katrina left an estimated $108 billion dollars in damage, roughly four times that of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.  It is considered the worst civil engineering disaster in American history and prompted a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who designed, built and maintained the system.  The storm that formed on August 23rd, 2005 and ultimately dissipated on August 31st -- lasted 8 days in real time, but impacted the lives of millions forever.

The Devastation of Katrina...

A look at the flooding...

Below this text are links to some sources on Katrina... I highly recommend these three to learn more about the storm, its impact on New Orleans (and Mississippi and Florida) and Dark Water Rising is a compelling documentary on the dogs of Katrina.

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Bruce holds a degree in Computer Science from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Biblical History from Liberty University and is working towards a Masters Degree in American History at American Public University.  He has worked in educational and technology for over 18 years, specializes in building infrastructures for schools that work to support the mission of technology in education in the classroom.  He also has served as a classroom teacher in Computer Science, History and English classes.  

Bruce is the author of five books: Sands of Time, Towering Pines Volume One:Room 509, The Star of Christmas, Philadelphia Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel and The Insider's Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel -- with a new book, Learn the Basics: Digital Forensics, due soon. 

Follow Bruce's Novel releases by subscribing to his FREE newsletter!

Be sure to check out Bruce's Allentown Education Examiner Page, his Twitter and his Facebook! 

History 101: A Brief History of The Crusades of the Holy Roman Empire

In 1095 Pope Urban called upon Christians to take up arms against the invading Turkish Muslims to free the lands that were overtaken, specifically Jerusalem.  His call was seen as a call to faith, a call to duty and a call to serve Jesus by the people.  People by the thousands picked up the banner of the Roman Catholic Church and rode off to the Holy Land which held no promise of return for them, but they did so to preserve their faith and the safety of Christians throughout the land.  One of the motivating factors behind Pope Urban’s call to service was that after the Turkish invasion force moved through Jerusalem, Byzantine Emperor Alexios Komnenos asked for a show of force in order to protect his lands from further incursion by the Muslims.  This can been be seen as the pope reaching out to increase the power of the Church and force the re-unification of the eastern and western factions of the Catholic Church.  By coming to the aid of the Byzantines the pope could be seen as the powerful one who came and bailed out the less powerful side of the Church.  If this angle had worked out, Pope Urban II would have had the momentum to fold the eastern and western factions back together into one church that spanned the majority of the European continent, and history would have seen him as the great uniter.  As history records it, Pope Urban II was the one who’s call to action started what was (at least) a two hundred year war that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Christians and Christians alike.  And each successive Crusade after the First Crusade became less about protecting Christianity and more about holding land and furthering power.

While the world may not know the name of the pope who started the Crusades, they certainly know that the Crusades happened.  What many in the world remain unaware of is the scandal that some say the Crusades served to cover up.  That scandal is the Investiture Controversy.  The Investiture Controversy was a major dispute between the church and the kingdoms about the role that the local authorities had in the appointment of bishops and abbots within the local churches.  In 1073, Pope Gregory VIII declared that that the church itself would be responsible for appointing and confirming those into the roles of bishop and abbot.  Before this, the local church lay people had the power to appoint local church leadership.  The kingdoms did not like this power grab by the pope and resisted it at every turn.  The resistance stemmed from the idea that those who were able to appoint church leaders would control those leaders.  And if you had some degree of control over the church leaders, you would have their favor.  Over the next two decades this fissure between church and state continued to grow until Pope Urban II felt that it had to be pushed aside and made less important.  Many scholars surmise that Pope Urban II’s rush to the First Crusade was partially to draw attention away from the Investiture Controversy.  However, it wasn’t until the Concordat of Worms in 1112 that this issue was laid to rest.  It was decided that all bishops would still be approved by the church, however the local authorities could select the candidates.

The Second Crusade was launched by Pope Eugene III and was lead by the nobility of Europe.  Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany took up the cause and marched to reclaim County of Edessa from the Zengi.  After the first crusade, four crusader states had been established: Kingdom of Jerusalem, Antioch, County of Edessa and later the County of Tripoli.  The County of Edessa had been the northern most and least populated of them but represented a spread and power base for the church.  When Edessa fell, Pope Eugene responded to take the crusade state back because he did not want to lost any territory.  This crusade seemed to lack any real spiritual backbone and did not accomplish anything that moved in the direction of a Christ-centered goal.

The Third Crusade, also known as the King’s Crusade, was a direct response to Saladin’s rise in power.  The Muslims had been in-fighting for a long time, but Saladin came along and united them into a single power that began taking back the land lost to the Christians in the First Crusade.  After the Second Crusade failed to displace the Zengi, they continued to control the area of Syria and their forces were eventually assumed by the armies of Saladin.  In 1187, Saladin marched the same armies of the Zengi into Jerusalem and continued to take Christian held cities and states throughout the area.  These incursions were said to have caused Pope Urban III to have a heart attack and subsequently die.  The next pope, Pope Gregory VIII then called for a Third Crusade in 1187.  This Third Crusade would be lead by King Richard I of England, King Phillp II of France and Emperor Barbarossa of Germany.  While the armies looked strong at first, they were immediately beset with problems and political strife that ended up with only King Richard’s forces actually reaching the Holy Land to do any real fighting.  What is most interesting about the Third Crusade is that most scholars see it as successful because the Crusaders drove the Muslims from Acre and Jaffe, and Saladin failed to score a decisive win against King Richard, but at the end of it all Jerusalem remained under Saladin’s control with only a treaty that allowed Christians safe transit to Jerusalem.

When Pope Innocent III assumed papal power in 1198 he made it clear that he wasn’t pleased with the treaty that ended the Third Crusade when he launched the Fourth Crusade with its stated goal of recapturing the city of Jerusalem.  However, the execution instead was to invade and take the city of Constantinople, which is seen as the last great act of the Great Schism in the Catholic Church.  The Crusaders established the Latin Empire within the Byzantine states at that time.  This only lasted from 1204-1261 because the disparate sections of the Byzantine empire would not be ruled over and fought back eventually destabilizing the Latin Empire and eventually liberated their capital city.  The ramifications of this reverberated through Europe for some time.   For centuries experts have debated what the goal of the Fourth Crusade actually was.  Was it to conquer Constantinople?  Or was it to take back Jerusalem and things just shifted?  Constantinople was seen as a haven for Christians, and defended Christianity throughout the Crusades.  By sacking the city the Crusaders sent a message that they really weren’t out to defend Christianity and the cause of Christ, but instead to wield power and extend their reach.   It was nothing more than a stab in the back that has been felt for centuries and has stood as a bigger division within the Catholic church than the Great Schism itself.

Summing up the Crusades is a difficult task.  So many actions were taken, battles were fought and lives were lost that the root causes and goals become less clear as time goes on.  While the Catholic Church stated reasons and goals that were pure and sought to defend Christianity at its roots, there is still question about how much of it was true and how much was a power play.  However, as we continued to look over the reasons and actions that lead to the other major Crusades it become more and more clear that they became about no more than who controlled what land, when and how in order to facilitate trade and – in the end – create more wealth through real estate.  And in the end, the sacking of Constantinople can’t be seen as anything more than a back-handed action that sought to deal a death blow to the western church, but instead revealed the eastern church for what it truly was: an organization that had started out to spread the word of Christ, but got lost along the way and instead of using its power to spread the good news, they used it to control lands and people in the guise of evangelizing to the world.

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Bruce holds a degree in Computer Science from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Biblical History from Liberty University and is working towards a Masters Degree in American History at American Public University.  He has worked in educational and technology for over 18 years, specializes in building infrastructures for schools that work to support the mission of technology in education in the classroom.  He also has served as a classroom teacher in Computer Science, History and English classes.  

Bruce is the author of five books: Sands of Time, Towering Pines Volume One:Room 509, The Star of Christmas, Philadelphia Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel and The Insider's Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel -- with a new book, Learn the Basics: Digital Forensics, due soon. 

Follow Bruce's Novel releases by subscribing to his FREE newsletter!

Be sure to check out Bruce's Allentown Education Examiner Page, his Twitter and his Facebook!