History Tag

Intro by Kemberlee Kaye: LI is currently without a podcast. My dear friend and children's authoress, Amelia Hamilton, produces a fabulous podcast for kids that covers all things colonial America. I interviewed Hamilton about her podcast, Growing Patriots. You can read that interview here.

Sunday was the 40th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre, an event that caused the deaths of about 900 people (about a third of them children) who were killed at the group's compound in Guyana. Note that I write "were killed" rather than "killed themselves." One of the many misconceptions about the Jonestown tragedy was that for most of its victims it represented an act of suicide. For some it did, but for many it did not. The children, of course, were not acting for themselves and were incapable of giving consent (some were infants and toddlers). And although the adults had all signed onto the Jim Jones enterprise of their own free will, many (perhaps even most?) had essentially been kept prisoner there against their will, long after the nature of the movement had changed. What's more, as I wrote previously in a lengthy post on the subject:

Meet Amelia Hamilton — dearest friend, gifted children’s authoress, and education advocate. Amelia Hamilton is a blogger and author of the Growing Patriots children’s books. A lifelong writer and patriot, she also loves hockey, old cars, old movies and apple juice. Amelia has a master’s degree in both English and 18th-century history from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Sunday, while binge watching Hallmark Christmas movies, I sat down Hamilton to discuss her latest endeavor, The Growing Patriots Podcast.