<p><span class="deck"> A lonely, gallant battle fought by the designer of our flag set the stage for Andrew Jackson's victory at New Orleans.</span> </p>
<p><span class="deck"> A TALE OF RECONSTRUCTION<br /><span class="typestyle"> Of the turbulent career of Pinckney B. S. Pinchback, adventurer, operator, and first black governor of Louisiana. He reminds one powerfully, says the author, of the late Adam Clay ton Powell, Jr.</span> </span></p>
<p><span class="deck"> “It is astonishing that the murderous practice of duelling should continue so long in vogue,” said Benjamin Franklin. Yet continue it did, often with peculiarly American variations</span> </p>
<p>In the snarled disputes in 1790 over the Yazoo land claims (now large parts of Alabama and Mississippi), George Washington and an educated Creek chieftain turned out to be the diplomatic kingpins</p>
<p>The Revolution might have ended much differently for the Americans if it weren’t for their ally, the Spanish governor of Louisiana, who helped them wrestle the Mississippi valley from the British. </p>
<p><span class="deck"> The first settlers marked the borders of their lives with simple fences that grew ever more elaborate over the centuries</span> </p>
<p><span class="deck">The modern city plays host to conventions and tourists, but it still retains the slightly racy charm that has always made it dear to its natives.</span></p>
<p><span class="deck">30 years ago, John Howard Griffin, a white Texan, became an itinerant Southern black for four weeks. His account of the experience, "Black like Me," galvanized the nation.</span></p>
