Postcard Thursday; PS 13 in Queens and Antonin Scalia

courtesy of the Supreme Court / New York Magazine

This class picture from May 1947 shows students at PS 13 in Queens. The boy whose face is circled in red is Antonin Scalia, who passed away this past weekend just a month shy of his 80th birthday. Scalia would, of course, grow up to be a conservative member of the Supreme Court and his death in an election year has caused great speculation as to what President Obama and the Senate will now do.

James moonlights as a political commentator at The Guardian, where he comments on the intersection of history and politics. Yesterday, he compared the current situation to two instances in the 19th century when justices had died during election years. You can read the story at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/17/republicans-block-supreme-court-nominations-history-backfires.

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Read more about NYC history in

 

Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers

Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City