US History – Sharing History

Remembering the Great American Jackalope

November 10, 2024November 10, 202420th CenturyLeave a Comment

In the summer of 1978, my parents were eager to test out their gigantic, new RV with their five children (they would eventually add one more child to the family in 1980).

Our trip stretched between Texas and Canada with stops to see relatives and national parks in New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The first leg of the trip culminated at an uncle’s house near Raymond, Alberta, Canada and included a trip to Waterton Lakes National Park.

Along the way, we entertained ourselves by playing endless rounds of Old Maid and Go Fish and collecting souvenirs at gas stations and the gift shops in parks. My mother collected spoons from her travels which she placed in a brown, wood spoon display rack in her kitchen. I am pretty sure the spoons are still there today.

My sister collected patches that my mom then sewed onto a jacket, which she also likely still has. I believe I may have also collected patches, but my sister assures me that I was not cool enough for that.

Additionally, we collected mini A&W root beer mugs and postcards. Back in those days, it was common to mail your friends postcards on your travels, updating them in much the same way people update social media today, and there was one postcard– an actual photograph of an American jackalope– that was available in about every gas station and gift shop along our route.

This creature both thrilled and terrified me and had I actually been in grade school at the time, I might have realized that the photo was a trick of taxidermy. But rabbits can be very still animals, so it was not completely out of the realm of possibilities that this could be real, photographic evidence of the existence of jackalopes. Reality TV shows have been created from less.

I never forgot the jackalope, and I am pretty sure my family was entertained enough to not set me straight about them. That job was left for the internet to handle years later.

In truth, the jackalope is a mythical creature that was made popular in the 1930s when Wyoming resident, Douglas Herrick (1920-2003) and his brother– who had studied taxidermy by mail–began fusing deer antlers onto rabbit carcasses to make and sell the mysterious jackalopes. According to Wickipedia, the first jackalope the Herricks sold garnered $10 and was displayed at the Douglas’ La Bonte Hotel. That jackalope was later stolen in 1977 (not by me).

The idea of horned rabbits has apparently been around for centuries and was later explained to be a symptom of rabbits afflicted with Shope papilloma virus which causes horn-like tumors to grow on their bodies.

Bob Petley (1912-2006) of Arizona, also known as the “King of Postcards,” actually created the famous jackalope postcard that I purchased on my trip west. He produced it by photographing a taxidermied jackalope he had obtained in a Phoenix novelty store against the Papago Buttes.

Years later, I would be taken on my first snipe hunt and would find out about other mythical creatures like Bigfoot through a book I purchased at a Scholastic book fair, but the jackalope really had the cool vibes that neither snipes nor Bigfoot could muster.

It was likely the setting in which I found the jackalope that contributed to its coolness factor. The jackalope was introduced to me in the midst of the first great adventure of my life in the gorgeous deserts and mountains of the American west.

Also its name, a portmanteau of jackrabbit and antelope, is just too funny to forget. Walk up to anyone born before 1980 and say “jackelope” and see if you don’t also get a laugh.

I have made many, many road trips through the west since then with my own children and we have purchased enough western-themed merch memorializing every amazing aspect of this stretch of land to clothe and entertain us for eternity, and I hope to travel there many more times and buy even more unnecessary paraphernalia for future grandchildren.

Because a childhood exposed to the grandeur of nature alongside the thrill of obtaining small mementos and accented with a few, scary monsters that might pop around the corner is the best childhood of all.

The Madoff Scheme

July 3, 2024July 6, 2024UncategorizedLeave a Comment

On June 29, 2009, Federal Judge Denny Chin sentenced Bernard (Bernie) L. Madoff to 150 years in prison for the orchestration of history’s largest Ponzi scheme. Over about 20 years, Madoff had swindled approximately $65 billion from almost 41,000 people.

After working on Wall Street and serving for three years as the NASDAQ director, Bernie Madoff began working hard to secure investments to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. As in a classic Ponzi scheme, Madoff set up a group of initial investors and promised them huge returns on their money. He then recruited a second group of investors and used their money to pay the first group. This went on and on to the tune of $65 billion of investments. A Ponzi scheme usually collapses when the number of investors is depleted or, as in the case of Madoff’s scheme, the economy takes a turn and many investors try to pull their money at once.

Interestingly enough, a private fraud investigator, Harry Markopolos had tried for years to convince the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate Madoff’s fund. However, they, and many of the banks and accounting firms working for Madoff reported no fraud. In 2008, with the U.S. in an economic recession, investors began pulling their money from the fund faster than Madoff could replace it. In December of that year, Madoff was arrested by federal agents and placed on house arrest. In March 2009, Madoff was charged with several counts of fraud, money laundering, and theft. He pled guilty on all charges. Several of Madoff’s victims spoke at his trial of the tens of thousands who lost retirement accounts, college funds, and charitable donations. At its conclusion, Judge Chin stated that Madoff’s acts were “extraordinarily evil,” and sentenced him to the 150-year maximum imprisonment. With Madoff aged 71 at his trial, this sentence was largely symbolic.

To date, the Justice Department has recovered and distributed about $4 billion to those affected by Madoff’s scheme. This accounts for about 6% of the total funds lost. In 2021, Madoff died of natural causes while still incarcerated.

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The Stonewall Uprising

June 27, 2024June 29, 20241960sLeave a Comment

The year is 1969. In Greenwich Village, on Christopher Street, sits a dingy, Mafia-owned bar serving bootlegged liquor in dirty glasses. Though the Stonewall Inn may not have looked like a haven, it was, in fact, a safe place for a large group of marginalized New Yorkers.

In the 60s, homosexual relationships were illegal in New York. LGBTQ+ persons could be arrested for holding hands, dancing, or kissing. The only places they could be themselves were the gay bars in the city. Gay bars were raided almost constantly, including the Stonewall Inn. Normally, the police would arrest employees serving liquor without a license and patrons dancing together or wearing “gender-inappropriate clothing,” after which the crowd would disperse. However, on June 28, 1969, the crowd did not disperse. Patrons and neighbors banded together and began a five-day protest against the discrimination and violence faced by gay Americans.

While the Stonewall Uprising was by no means the beginning of the gay rights movement, it was and is considered a significant turning point. The uprising inspired LGBTQ+ people the world over to rise up and become activists on behalf of their community. The uprising also led to the creation of several civil rights groups, including GLAAD and PFLAG. This spike in activism led to the passing of non-discrimination laws in states around the country. Of course, it is important to mention that while things have improved dramatically in the U.S. for LGBTQ+ individuals, much is yet to be done, especially in regards to transgender rights and safety for Black LGBTQ+ individuals.

On June 28, 1970, one year after the Stonewall Inn raid, thousands of LGBTQ+ people and allies marched from Stonewall Inn to Central Park in a parade that is replicated every June the country over in honor of Pride Month. In 2016, President Obama designated Stonewall Inn a national monument.

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WNBA: The Beginnings

June 21, 2024June 22, 2024UncategorizedLeave a Comment

On June 21, 1997, two WNBA teams took the court at the Forum in Los Angeles. That day, the L.A. Sparks and the New York Liberty would face off in the inaugural game of the WNBA, launching a league that has provided entertainment, encouraged young girls to participate in sports, and taken a stand against a number of social issues.

In 1997, the NBA created the WNBA, the women’s counterpart to the NBA league. Eight teams were created, all owned by the NBA, in cities that already hosted NBA teams. These eight teams included the Charlotte Sting, the Cleveland Rockers, the Houston Comets, the New York Liberty, the Los Angeles Sparks, the Phoenix Mercury, the Sacramento Monarchs, and the Utah Starzz. The first game of the league brought together the teams from the two largest cities: New York and L.A. Approximately 15,000 people gathered at the Forum on June 21, 1997 to see the two teams face off.

By 2002, the NBA allowed for the franchising of team ownership. Today, the WNBA has 12 teams in two conferences across the country. Today, the average WNBA game draws about 1.2 million viewers. However, despite the continually rising popularity of women’s basketball, it is estimated that women’s sports overall only receives about 15% of airtime on major networks. As recently as last year, ESPN did not place the NCAA Women’s Championship in a primetime slot. The WNBA also receives just a tiny sliver of the marketing power given to the NBA. The WNBA has also highlighted the gender pay gap. In 2024, the WNBA’s number one draft pick, Caitlin Clark, who plays for Indiana Fever, was given a contract for approximately $338,000 over four years. The NBA number one draft pick was given a contract for $55.2 million over four years.

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American Spies

June 14, 2024June 15, 202419th CenturyLeave a Comment

In the 40s and 50s, the United States was embroiled in the tension of the Cold War. Anti-communist sentiment was high, and Senator Joseph McCarthy and his lackeys were on the hunt for communist sympathizers. The U.S. government felt pressured to make a strong stand against communism, and it was, perhaps, this need that led to the dramatic execution of two American-born spies in 1953.

Julius Rosenberg met Ethel Greenglass in the late 1930s. They were married in 1939 and became members of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). After Julius graduated with his engineering degree, he got a job with the U.S. Army Signal Corps. It is believed that it was at this time that the two began sending military secrets to the Soviet Union. In following years, Julius would head a ring of spies, including Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass. Greenglass was a machinist on the Manhattan Project, and thus in a great position to trade in information about U.S. nuclear weapons and research. This worked well for them for several years, until 1945, when Julius was discharged from the U.S. Army because of his membership in the Communist party.

In the summer of 1950, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and David Greenglass were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit espionage. The Rosenbergs’ trials were widely publicized and hugely controversial. Part of the controversy lay in the fact that the U.S. case against the Rosenbergs was based solely on first-hand evidence presented by one witness: Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass. He agreed to turn against his sister and brother-in-law in exchange for leniency for himself and his wife. Critics argued that Greenglass’s motivation to trump up the charges against the Rosenbergs to save himself and the mother of his children was too personal for him to be a reliable witness. Others suggested that the judge was pressured to make a drastic decision on the case because of the U.S. need to appear tough on communism, especially in the case of Ethel Rosenberg, whose connection to the spy ring was tenuous at best. In any case, the Rosenbergs were sentenced to execution by electric shock. The two died together at Sing Sing Prison on June 19, 1953. Greenglass was given 15 years in prison, and his wife was not charged.

Years later, in an interview with a Times reporter, David Greenglass admitted that some of the allegations he hurled at his sister during her trial may not have been correct. He said, “My wife is more important to me than my sister. . . O.K.? And she was the mother of my children.”

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Miranda Rights

June 11, 2024June 15, 202420th CenturyLeave a Comment

On June 13, 1966, the United States Supreme Court issued its final ruling in the case Miranda v. Arizona. Setting precedent for a set of legal warnings we now refer to as “Miranda Rights,” the case ensured that when one is detained by a law enforcement officer, the officer is required to inform the detainee of the following rights: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.”

In March 1963, Arizona police arrested Ernesto Miranda on suspicion of rape and kidnapping. He was brought to a station and interrogated by police officers. After two hours, Miranda signed a confession. When Miranda was presented at court a few weeks later, he was not given an attorney to represent him.

Two years later, a lawyer files an appeal of Miranda’s case, claiming Miranda’s constitutional rights under the 5^th and 6^th Amendments, including protection from self-incrimination and the right to a state-issued attorney. The state of Arizona does not change their ruling. Miranda then appeals his case to the Supreme Court. In February 1966, the case is argued before the Supreme Court. In June of that year, the court rules 5-4 that Miranda’s confession is illegitimate under the 5^th and 6^th Amendments. In Chief Justice Earl Warren’s written ruling, he said that any statements made by a suspect in police custody are inadmissible unless four warnings, including their rights to stay silent and be assigned an attorney, are given to them by the arresting officer.

The next year, Miranda is retried without the confession. Even so, a jury finds him guilty and sentences him to 30 years in prison, of which he serves five. Several years after being released, Miranda is stabbed to death, and his killer receives his Miranda Rights.

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“O Captain! My Captain!”

June 4, 2024June 15, 202419th CenturyLeave a Comment

On May 31, 1819, in Long Island, New York, Walt Whitman was born to parents Louisa Van Velsor and Walter Whitman. Considered one of the great American poets, Whitman was famous for deviating from the traditional forms of poetry and writing with a cadence that was more accessible to the average person. His work, dealing largely with themes of nature, growth, and individuality, has been widely anthologized in the centuries since his death.

Walt Whitman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended public school before becoming a printer. He worked as a journalist and editor for The Brooklyn Daily Eagle until he was let go due to his political beliefs. Whitman was a member of the Free Soil Party, which, prior to the Civil War, opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories. Their slogan was, “free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men.” During these years, Whitman dabbled in poetry, publishing a few verses in magazines, with little recognition.

In 1855, Whitman had collected enough poems to publish his first book, Leaves of Grass. Due to lack of interest, Whitman was forced to fund the venture himself. Its first recognition came from famous author Ralph Waldo Emerson who said that Leaves of Grass was “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom” written thus far in America. Whitman declared in the preface of the first edition: “Here are the roughs and beards and space and reuggedness and nonchalance that the soul loves.”

During the Civil War, Whitman attempted to work for the government in the Department of the Interior, but he was let go because his poetry was seen as indecent. He continued to write, publishing a collection of poems inspired by the war: Drum-Taps. Whitman also composed a series of poems extolling President Abraham Lincoln. In fact, probably his most well-known poem (due to its being featured in a classic film), was inspired by the president. It reads:

“O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done,

The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won . . .”

Other of Whitman’s works, including “I Sing the Body Electric,” “I Hear America Singing,” and “Song of Myself,” were the inspiration for many an American poet throughout history.

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“What Hath God Wrought?”

May 23, 2024June 15, 2024UncategorizedLeave a Comment

On May 24, 1844, the United States took a major step forward in modernizing its system of communication. That day, the first electric telegraph was sent from Washington D.C. to Baltimore. It read, “What Hath God Wrought?” Within 15 years, telegraph cables not only traversed the entire United States but also crossed oceans.

In the 1830s, Samuel Morse was a professor of painting and sculpture at the University of the City of New York. He heard about the recent invention of the electromagnet, and the idea of using a cable to send a message intrigued him. Through his academic contacts in New York, Morse teamed up with Leonard Gale, professor of chemistry and Alfred Vail, a mechanic. The three studied recent advances in electromagnetic induction and refined the idea, figuring out how to pass the messages through wires across long distances. It was in this time that Morse developed Morse code, a series of dots and dashes to represent letters. Messages passed through the telegraph system were embossed in this code and interpreted by the receiver.

In 1837, Morse finally had a working model with which he conducted demonstrations. He applied for a government grant worth $30,000 (approximately $1.2 million today) in order to build a telegraph line between Washington D.C. and Baltimore. Unfortunately, due to an economic downturn in the U.S., it was not until 1843 that Morse received the funding for his project. Morse immediately hired engineer Ezra Cornell to lay the telegraph wire over the 40 miles between the two cities. On May 24, 1844, Morse sent the first electric telegraph from the Capitol Building to a railroad station in Baltimore where Alfred Vail was waiting to receive it. The telegraph was the main means of communication in the U.S. for almost 100 years until Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone replaced it.

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The Truman Doctrine

May 21, 2024June 15, 2024UncategorizedLeave a Comment

On May 22, 1947, the United States Congress approved a bill appropriating $400 million to the countries of Greece and Turkey. This massive show of financial support, called the Truman Doctrine, was a milestone in U.S. foreign relations. It set the precedent for the U.S. providing financial and military aid to democratic countries believed to be at risk of authoritarian takeover.

Truman speaks to Congress on March 12, 1947

The Truman Doctrine stemmed from an announcement made by the British government in February 1947. Since the end of WWII, the British had been providing economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey in their fight against communist factions. The Greek government was fighting a civil war against the Greek Communist Party, and the Soviet Union was actively trying to gain control of land and waterways in Turkey. Due to their own financial difficulties, the British government no longer felt able to provide support to these two countries.

In March 1947, President Harry Truman appeared before Congress to deliver an impassioned address beseeching them to approve aid for Greece and Turkey. He said:

“To ensure the peaceful development of nations, free from coercion, the United States has taken a leading part in establishing the United Nations. The United Nations is designed to make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its members. We shall not realize our objectives, however, unless we are willing to help free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national integrity against aggressive movements that seek to impose upon them totalitarian regimes. This is no more than a frank recognition that totalitarian regimes imposed on free peoples, by direct or indirect aggression, undermine the foundations of international peace and hence the security of the United States.”

He went on to declare, “I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” He asked Congress to approve $400 million for economic aid to the two countries as well as a contingent of military personnel to supervise the appropriation of those funds. Two months later, the Truman Doctrine was passed by Congress and aid provided to Greece and Turkey. The Truman Doctrine has since been used as precedent for economic and military involvement in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, among others.

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Run for the Roses

May 17, 2024June 15, 202419th CenturyLeave a Comment

On May 17, 1875, the first ever Kentucky Derby was held in Louisville, Kentucky. In the almost 150 years since, the race has been held annually on the first Saturday in May in the same spot. Each year, 20 three-year-old horses race 1.25 miles in hopes of having the coveted blanket of roses laid over their backs. About 150.000 people attend the Kentucky Derby in person each year, and in 2024, approximately 700,000 people viewed the derby online.

The history of the derby started with Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. Meriwether was the grandson of famed explorer William Clark and named after his expeditionary partner, Meriwether Lewis. By 1872, Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. was living in Louisville. That year, he decided to travel to Europe where he attended horse races and met track owners and jockeys. He decided to open a jockey club in Louisville and bring horse racing to Kentucky. In 1874, he borrowed land from his uncles, John and Henry Churchill (for whom the track is now named Churchill Downs), to build a track. The next year, on May 17, 1875, the first Kentucky Derby was held. Jockey Oliver Lewis won the first derby on his horse Aristides. By 1895, attendance at the event had become so great, Clark built the iconic double-spired grandstand.

Over the last century, the Kentucky Derby has become not only the most famous horse race in the United States but also a famed cultural event. There are traditional foods served, including the mint julep made from Kentucky bourbon, and over-the-top fashion statements made, including the wearing of elaborate fascinators.

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