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Battle House SmallThe Battle-Friedman House was constructed in 1835 by Alfred Battle, a wealthy North Carolina native. Located on Greensboro Avenue, known at the time as "Millionaire's Avenue," the Battle family was not as extravagant and flashy as their neighbors the Jemisons and Drishes. In fact, Alfred Battle's wife did not care for guests and especially hated Amelia Gayle Gorgas.

In 1875, the house was purchased by Bernard Friedman, a self-made immigrant from Hungary. He was much more hospitable than the Battles and opened up the pocket doors that separated the two parlor rooms from the entrance-way in order to allow for dancing and socializing.parlor 1Parlor 2

The house has many interesting features. Perhaps the most interesting is the height of most of the objects within the house. The members of the Battle family and Bernard Friedman were not particularly tall (none of them were taller than 5'5"), so the doorknobs, furniture, and stair rails are very low. This house is also home to one of the first 88-key (full keyboard) pianos in America.

The house remained in the Friedman family until 1965 (Hugo Friedman played a key role in the hiring of Coach Bryant). Upon Hugo's death, the house was willed to the Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society. The Society still owns and operates the house today. The tour guides are very knowledgable about the house as well as the community of Millionaire's Avenue, an often unkown, yet very interesting, community.

Murphy houseThe Murphy-Collins House, home to the Murphy African American Museum, was built by Will J. Murphy, Tuscaloosa's first African American mortician. It has since been repurposed as a museum focusing on the history and lifestyle of African Americans.

Upon entry, the living room features a portrait of Will J. Murphy and a beautiful fireplace, which was original to the house. Murphy fireplace

Perhaps the most intriguing exhibit is what is known as the Africa Room. This room contains many artifacts of early African American life including a scale model of a slave ship and native African necklaces. Africa room This room also serves as a dedication to the many African Americans who risked their lives for the abolishment of slavery and the Civil Rights movement.

I would highly recommend stopping by this museum as it is not only a beautiful home, but is also a great representation of the history of African American culture in Tuscaloosa.

The Tuscaloosa Museum of Art is a little-known gem of Tuscaloosa. Located off of Jack Warner Parkway, it is home to the Westervelt Collection of art. Jack Warner collected around one thousand works over the span of several decades. This collection is considered to be one of the greatest private collections of American Art.

At the entrance to the exhibit is the Colonial/American Revolution Gallery. President George Washington only personally posed for a few paintings in his lifetime and the Tuscaloosa MOA houses one of those paintings. This gallery also contained many portraits of Native American life during the Colonial era. Some of these paintings include depictions of standoffs between Native Americans and settlers. They also depicted games of lacrosse and wars between battling tribes.

Included in the Jack Warner's collection is a gallery of Civil War paintings. These paintings included a depiction of a Confederate camp that was hung in the Oval Office from 1976 to 1989. Oval Office Pic Another great painting was a depiction of Union soldiers at dawn awaiting the Battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg Pic This gallery also featured depictions of rural life at this time in history. One painting was of a young slave fishing while a young boy ate apples. Fishing small

This museum is a great peek into the culture and daily life of Americans in the early days of our country's life. I would highly recommend taking a tour of the museum as it features some of the greatest and works of American Art.

 

Rufus: Good afternoon, United States. I am Senator Rufus King. I have served our country for decades as a member of Congress and have now decided to run on the Federalist ticket for the Presidency. My beautiful wife, Mary Alsop King, great niece of Governor John Winthrop and daughter of wealthy     merchant John Alsop accompanies me today.

Mary: Hello citizens, as you may know, my loving husband Rufus has spent countless years working alongside Alexander Hamilton to maintain order in our government. I have always sat by Rufus’s side making sure he has a warm, orderly place to come home to every day. At home, I strive to instill a spirit of openness to debate in my children as well as my husband (p.116). In church, I proudly display symbols of our Federalist Party upon my bonnet (p.115).

Rufus: Federalists of our age must be content with the past. We staunchly did not support the War of 1812 and while the peace treaty may have been satisfactory to the American people, there were still countless casualties. However, we must not dwell on the past. We must press on and look to the       future. I believe that I am the right man to move our Party into the future. My home life is excellent. I have a loving, well-educated wife who comes from a great lineage as well as seven bright sons. We attend Church regularly so our hearts and minds are in the right place to lead the country. I was one of the          attendees of the Constitutional Convention and signed the United States Constitution. Having attended the Convention, I know how to correctly interpret the Constitution.

Mary: The Democratic-Republicans have recently resorted to dirty election tactics in order to mar my husband’s name and render him unfit for the Presidency.

Rufus: Yes, the Secretary of the Treasury has wrongfully accused me of owing money to the government – money that had been given to me in order to free General Gilbert Lafayette from prison while I was serving as the Minister to England. This money had been incorrectly marked as a loan.

Mary: This is just another disgusting tactic that the opposition uses in their campaign. Rufus is a man of honor and a man of God. He has always repaid each of his debts.

Rufus: Just recently, the Democratic Republicans have begun advocating a national bank and protective tariffs. These are two ideas that the Federalists have been supporting since the dawn of our party’s existence. Why vote for James Monroe, who has only just recently been in support of these Federalist ideas when you could vote for me? Since I began my work in politics, I have focused many of my efforts into creating a national bank and instituting protective tariffs. I have many more years of experience in these issues and I   am the right choice for any citizen who wants to see these ideas put in motion.

Mary: Vote Rufus King in 1816 for a better America.