InnerBrenner

“North to the Future”

January 2, 2024January 1, 2024Uncategorized, US HistoryLeave a Comment

On January 3, 1959, Alaska was officially made the 49^th state in the United States of America. This declaration came almost 100 years after the U.S.’s original acquisition of the area from Russia and after decades of campaigning by its residents. Though the purchase was originally seen as senseless, Alaska has enriched the U.S. with its abundance of natural resources.

1843 was the first time anyone in the United States government inquired about the purchase of the Alaska territory. It was a colony of Russia at the time, and the Russian government was not interested in the overtures made by the U.S. Secretary of State. However, after the Crimean War, Russia found itself in a precarious financial situation. In 1867, Russia approached Secretary of State William Seward about selling the Alaskan territory. On March 30, 1867, the U.S. purchased the land from Russia for $7.2 million, equating to about 2¢ per acre. At the time, Americans found the purchase silly. They called it “Seward’s Folly,” “Seward’s Icebox,” and President Johnson’s “polar bear garden.”

Upon the acquisition of the land, Alaska was called the Department of Alaska, and control of the territory was passed around among federal departments, including the U.S. Army and Treasury Department. It was not until 1884 that the District of Alaska was created, and a local government was installed. Meanwhile, Alaska experienced a boom in population thanks to the discovery of several large veins of gold. By 1906, Alaskan residents were looking toward statehood. Congress allowed them to elect a representative, but he had no official vote in the House. In 1946, Alaskans began campaigning in earnest. Congress agreed to hear a bill on the matter, but the topic was deferred due to the beginning of the Korean War. After the war’s end, in 1958, Congress passed the Alaska Statehood Bill, and on January 3, 1959, Alaska officially became part of the United States.

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Texas Becomes a State

December 29, 2023December 28, 2023Uncategorized, US HistoryLeave a Comment

On December 29, 1845, Texas was officially annexed by the United States of America. The annexation followed nine years of lobbying by the citizens of Texas to join the union. Texas was the 28^th state to join the Union.

In April 1836, the Republic of Texas won its independence from Mexico in the Battle of San Jacinto. The citizens of Texas voted in Sam Houston as their president and immediately began looking to join the United States. However, disputes about Texas joining the U.S. as a state that legalized slavery caused disputes in Congress. Additionally, Mexico had threatened to wage war against the U.S. if they annexed Texas. When President James Polk took office, one of his main objectives was to accomplish “Manifest Destiny,” which is the idea that the U.S. was destined to stretch from coast to coast. Shortly after his election, Congress agreed to annex the state of Texas.

When Texas joined the Union, about 30,000 of its 125,000 residents were enslaved people. Only 16 years after becoming a state, Texas voted to secede from the United States and joined the Confederacy over the cause of slavery.

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What is Boxing Day?

December 26, 2023December 25, 2023UncategorizedLeave a Comment

On December 26, countries around the world, including the UK, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, celebrate Boxing Day. While the origins of the name Boxing Day are not absolutely known, it is widely believed that beginning in the early 19th century, employers who expected their servants to work in their home on Christmas Day (think of Mr. Carson and Mrs. Patmore serving Christmas dinner to the Granthams) would give them the following day off to celebrate with their own families. They would often send the employees home with a box of gifts or money, leading to the term Boxing Day.

These days, Boxing Day is celebrated as an extension of the Christmas holidays. In the UK, the Boxing Day sales are the equivalent to America’s Black Friday, with sales reaching over £3 billion. Some Americans have suggested the US adopt Boxing Day as a sort of holiday from the holidays—a chance to relax after the hustle and bustle of Christmas and enjoy time together with family and friends.

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Wynne’s Crossword

December 22, 2023December 21, 2023Uncategorized, US HistoryLeave a Comment

On December 21, 1913, the New York World newspaper printed the first published crossword puzzle. The puzzle was created by Arthur Wynne, a journalist who hailed from Liverpool, England. Though the word puzzle was not an entirely original idea, Wynne’s version was the first to be published and made available to a large audience. Though the puzzle was an instant phenomenon, it was not until the publishing group Simon & Schuster published a book of crossword puzzles in 1924 that the game became popular throughout the country.

When Wynne’s first puzzle was published, the New York Times published an opinion article that referred to crossword puzzles as “a primitive sort of mental exercise” and a “sinful waste” of time. They suggested its popularity was of a fleeting sort. Ironically, the Times’ crossword is now the most famous crossword in the country. It was actually the bombing of Pearl Harbor that led to the New York Times changing its tune. After Pearl Harbor, the Sunday Times editor wrote to the publisher: “We ought to proceed with the puzzle, especially in view of the fact it is possible there will now be bleak blackout hours—or if not that then certainly a need for relaxation of some kind or other.” On February 15, 1942, the New York Times published their first crossword puzzle. Now, over 500,000 people subscribe to the Times crossword and crossword books are sold in their thousands each year in every bookstore around.

Though today’s puzzles might look different than the first one published in 1913, can you solve Wynne’s famous diamond game?

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Poor Richard’s Almanack

December 19, 2023December 12, 2023Uncategorized, US HistoryLeave a Comment

On December 19, 1732, the first edition of Poor Richard’s Almanack was published. While the almanac was centuries old by this point, this version, written and printed by Benjamin Franklin, became one of the best-selling books in the American colonies. While primarily used as a calendar, Poor Richard’s Almanack introduced countless adages that have become common colloquialisms in American English.

After 1732, Poor Richard’s Almanack was published yearly by Benjamin Franklin for 25 years. Franklin wrote under a pseudonym, “Richard Saunders,” or “Poor Richard.” Historians suggest that Franklin did so to better appeal to the common man. The almanac included the times of sunrises and sunsets, weather predictions, astrological charts, jokes, and aphorisms. Many of these aphorisms are commonly used today, including:

“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

“Fish and visitors stink in three days.”

“God helps them that help themselves.”

“To err is human, to repent divine, to persist devilish.”

“No gains without pains.”

The publishing of the almanacs was one of Franklin’s greatest business successes. However, it was also an incredible vehicle for Franklin to spread his political beliefs and encourage revolutionary sentiments. He wrote, “The King’s Cheese is half wasted in pairings; but no matter, ‘tis made of the people’s milk.”

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A Common Currency

December 15, 2023December 11, 2023UncategorizedLeave a Comment

On December 15 and 16, 1995 members of the European Council met together to discuss their plans for introducing a standardized currency to their countries. A decision that started with the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1951 after the Second World War, the European Council agreed to roll out the new currency between the years of 1999 and 2002.

In the aftermath of WWII, European nations were eager to ensure that the economic devastation that affected Germany after WWI would not repeat itself after WWII. They felt that the best course of action was to act together, getting rid of trade customs between their countries and uniting the production of common materials such as coal and steel. In the 70s, it was suggested that a common currency would provide further economic stability. In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty was signed, which officially formed the European Union and outlined plans for the introduction of a common currency.

When the European Council met in 1995, they wrote that during their meetings the council “adopted the scenario for the changeover to the single currency, confirming unequivocally that this stage will commence on 1 January 1999.” They also chose a name for the currency. Their criteria were that “the name of the currency must be the same in all the official languages of the European Union, taking into account the existence of different alphabets; it must be simple and symbolize Europe.” The name “Euro” was suggested by Belgian professor, Germain Pirlot and was adopted by the council. The European Council made plans to introduce the currency in stages. On January 1, 1999, the Euro began to be used for electronic banking and transfers. In 2002, they began circulating the paper bills and coins. Today, 20 European Union countries use the Euro.

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The Voice

December 12, 2023December 7, 2023Uncategorized, US HistoryLeave a Comment

On December 12, 1915, singer and actor Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. A December birthday seems appropriate for this icon, whose Christmas songs remain some of his most streamed. Sinatra, crooner turned swinger, is perhaps the first of a legacy of singer/actors who captivated the hearts and minds of America. Early in his career, he was nicknamed “the Voice” because of his unmatched vocal ability, and it rang true. Sinatra certainly was “the Voice” of the mid-19^th century.

Sinatra was born to Italian-American parents, Dolly and Martin Sinatra, who owned a tavern: Marty O’Brien’s. It was here that Frank got his start singing for crowds. He was inspired as a young man by Bing Crosby and his phrasing, something that Sinatra would come to be known for. Sinatra dropped out of high school to pursue his dream of becoming a singer. In 1939, at age 24, Sinatra was waiting tables and performing at a restaurant when he was discovered by famous trumpeter Harry James. James invited Sinatra to sing with his orchestra, and with that, Sinatra was catapulted into the limelight. His fans loved the way his particular phrasing made his singing seem intimate, as if he was in conversation with each of them individually.

Sinatra began acting in films in the mid-40s, appearing on screen and recording numbers for the soundtracks. He starred in such films as The Manchurian Candidate, From Here to Eternity, and On the Town. During these years, he continued recording, pioneering both the conceptual album and the “celebrity squad” by joining the Rat Pack. The Rat Pack was a group of singers, including Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin, who performed on stage and in movies together. The group starred in the original Ocean’s Eleven in 1960.

Sinatra remains one of the best-selling artists of all time. His influence on the development of pop and rock n’ roll music was enormous. As an icon who influenced generations of artists, the epitaph on his gravestone “The Best is Yet to Come” seems particularly poignant.

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Death of a Dreamer

December 8, 2023December 5, 2023Uncategorized, US HistoryLeave a Comment

On December 8, 1980, music legend John Lennon was shot and killed outside of his New York City apartment. His death, often referred to as “the day the music died,” devastated a generation of fans whose youth, filled with war and strife, had been brightened by the Beatles subversive rock culture. Despite Lennon’s tragic early death, his music and life, both as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist continue to be extremely influential even now, four decades after his death.

John Lennon was born in Liverpool, England in 1940. In 1964, at the age of 24, Lennon became a household name as a member of the unbelievably popular music group, the Beatles. In part, the Beatles were so popular because their music didn’t sound like anything the world had heard before. Between Lennon’s iconic rock and roll voice and Paul McCartney’s pop vibe, the band created music about love and pleasure. The group became so beloved that Lennon famously stated that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus now,” which led to religious fanatics burning Beatles albums. Lennon was also an outspoken political activist. He was so passionately opposed to the Vietnam War that the Nixon administration attempted to deport him. But no matter what they did or said, people loved the Beatles. In 1970, the Beatles broke up. John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono spent the next ten years working on music together, releasing albums like “Imagine” and “Double Fantasy,” which have become classics.

On December 8, 1980, Lennon spent the day working with his wife, including participating in a photoshoot with Rolling Stones photographer Annie Leibovitz that produced one of the most iconic photos of Lennon and Ono of all time. That night, Lennon returned home to his apartment in the Dakota in New York City. As he walked up on the building’s entrance, a deranged man emerged from the shadows and shot Lennon four times. Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. The man who shot Lennon, Mark Chapman, was believed to have done so for fame. He said, “I was nobody until I killed the biggest somebody on earth.” He remains in prison to this day. Forty years after his death, Lennon remains an icon. 2023 saw the Beatles hit 1 billion streams on Spotify, proving that even after all this time, Lennon’s words and music make the world feel something good.

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The Driest State in the Union Repeals Prohibition

December 5, 2023December 4, 2023Uncategorized, US HistoryLeave a Comment

On December 5, 1933, the Eighteenth Amendment was officially repealed, ending American prohibition. The repeal required committees from 36 states to vote unanimously to pass. The 36^th state to vote for the repeal and end prohibition was an unlikely one: Utah.

The temperance movement began in the early 19^th century and was largely championed by women. Early 19^th century men were drinking three times as much alcohol as they do today, and the drinking led to gambling and abuse. In an effort to protect their livelihoods, their children, and their physical safety, women encouraged Americans to vote to outlaw alcohol at a federal level. On January 6, 1919, the 18^th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed, outlawing the production and distribution of alcohol in the US. However, the beginning of prohibition did not mean the end of drinking. Instead, illegal activity ran amok. People were brewing in their basements and opening speakeasies. In fact, the explosion of organized crime is attributed to prohibition because it encouraged gangs to build nationwide networks to make and ship alcohol. The prohibition experiment had failed.

In 1933, the 21^st Amendment was drafted. It would overturn the 18^th Amendment and end prohibition. States were asked to create conventions of delegates to vote on the passage of the repeal. Utah created its own convention and began considering whether repeal was right. Utah was already considered a “dry” state before prohibition was passed as they had banned alcohol in 1917. The support for temperance among Utahns was not surprising given the fact that the state was made up mostly of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, whose religion famously calls for abstinence from alcohol. When the repeal came up for a vote, church leadership encouraged their members to vote to maintain prohibition. However, Utahns, like many other Americans felt that the illegal activity prompted by prohibition was worse than the effects of alcohol itself. Additionally, the effects of the Great Depression were hitting Americans hard and the money the country and states would earn in alcohol tax was too good to pass up. In a preliminary vote, approximately 60% of Utahns voted to repeal prohibition. On December 5, 1933, the convention of delegates voted the same, and Utah became the 36^th and deciding state to pass the 21^st Amendment.

The end of prohibition did not turn the country into a free-for-all binge fest. It simply allowed the states to decide how to regulate the manufacture and distribution of alcohol. Many states, including Utah, decided to very strictly regulate the sale of alcohol, making it, in many cases, more difficult to obtain alcohol after prohibition ended than while it was in effect. However, the day after the vote, newspaper headlines celebrated, reading, “Prohibition Is Dead! Mormons Killed It!”

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Alcott and Her Little Women

December 1, 2023December 3, 2023Uncategorized, US HistoryLeave a Comment

On November 29, 1832, famed author Louisa May Alcott was born in Philadelphia. She was born to two transcendentalist parents who filled her youth with idealism, books, and political activism. Alcott was taught by famed thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. With such an upbringing, it is hardly a surprise that Alcott grew into an intelligent woman with strong beliefs about women’s rights and abolition. Her fierce independence and wit is written into her female characters, providing inspiration for generations of girls and women, encouraging them to read, create, and be unfailingly themselves.

Lousia May Alcott’s father, Bronson Alcott, was a transcendentalist philosopher with a particular interest in education reform. During Alcott’s childhood, he started an experimental school in Boston and a utopian community in Harvard. Due to the nature of her father’s work, Alcott, her mother, and her three sisters lived in poverty, relying on charity and help from friends (including Emerson) to live. It was her family’s need that led Alcott to submit her writing to magazines. She wrote under a pseudonym, A.M. Barnard, which was not discovered to be Alcott until the 1950s. Under this name, Alcott wrote gothic thrillers and earned a small living to support her mother and sisters.

Alcott’s beliefs as an abolitionist led to her volunteering as a nurse during the Civil War. While working in a hospital, she contracted typhoid fever and was forced to return home. Her experiences as a nurse inspired Hospital Sketches, published in 1863. This work was immediately popular, and so, shortly after, Alcott was offered a job writing for a children’s magazine called Merry’s Museum. It was the editor of this magazine, Thomas Niles, who asked Alcott to write a novel for girls. While Alcott was not particularly interested in this project, her family needed the money, so she began in earnest.

Little Women is an autobiographical novel following Jo March (based on Alcott herself) and her three sisters: Meg, Beth, and Amy (based on Alcott’s sisters Anna, Lizzie, and Abby). The book follows these sisters and their long-suffering mother, Marmie, as they navigate life with their father gone at war, much as Alcott and her sisters would have done as their father was off philosophizing. The book was one of the first to feature educated, independent heroines and thus became an inspiration for many. Female writers in every generation since have acknowledged Alcott and her March sisters as guideposts for their own works. These writers include Simone de Beauvoir, Margaret Atwood, Susan Sontag, and Anne Tyler. The novel has been adapted into plays, movies, radio shows, and television series too many times to count. The novel has sold over 10 million copies. The grip Little Women has on us all has not diminished over the years. With any luck, it never will.

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Buy your copy of Little Women from an independent bookstore like this one: https://www.horizonbooks.com/search/site/louisa%20may%20alcott