The American nickel was first introduced in 1866, shortly after the Civil War, during a time when the U.S. needed durable, low denomination coins to replace fragile paper currency. Despite its name, the nickel has always been made mostly of copper, with only 25 percent nickel and 75 percent copper, a balance chosen for durability…
Tag: Thomas Jefferson
Fun Fact: Presidential Peanut Farmers
Two US presidents have been peanut farmers, Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.
Fun Fact: The President Who Made Voting Legal For All Free Men
While he didn’t technically do it himself, Thomas Jefferson didn’t agree with the idea of only letting white owners of property vote in elections. It was a common viewpoint in his Democratic-Republican Party and by 1824, only three states had it as a requirement.
Fun Fact: What’s Written on Thomas Jefferson’s Gravestone
When Thomas Jefferson passed away, he had left instructions for the epitaph on his gravestone. Despite many notable roles in our nation’s history (e.g. President, Vice President, Secretary of State), his final resting place makes no mention of it. Instead it mentions that he was the author of the Declaration of Independence, stood for religious…
Fun Fact: Jefferson Irony When Approving The Louisiana Purchase
For most of his political career, Thomas Jefferson believed in a strict philosophy that anything that wasn’t specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution could not be done without an amendment. That was until the Louisiana Purchase (which doubled the size of the United States of America) where mere congressional and presidential approval was just fine…