US History – Page 8 – Sharing History

On This Day: 44

August 4, 2023August 29, 2023UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Hawaii. He would go on to become a Columbia University graduate, a community organizer, president of the Harvard Law Review, an Illinois Senator, and the 44^th President of the United States.

Barack Obama was raised in Indonesia and Hawaii, where he graduated from high school. He attended Occidental College and Columbia University, earning a degree in political science. After graduating, Obama moved to Chicago to work as a community organizer on the city’s South Side. He later attended Harvard Law School where he became the first African American to be president of the Harvard Law Review. It was while he was working as an associate during law school that he met Michelle Robinson, a fellow lawyer, who he would marry in 1992. They have two daughters.

In 1996, Obama became a member of the state senate of Illinois. Four years later, he put in a bid for a seat in the US House of Representatives, which he lost. In 2004, he succeeded in securing a seat in the US Senate representing the state of Illinois. In 2007, Barack Obama announced that he would run for President of the United States. The first African-American president, he was elected to two terms.

Perhaps his most lasting success as president came with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, which provided health coverage for millions of uninsured and lowered costs for others. The act also prohibited insurance companies from denying care due to preexisting conditions. Obama also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

Learn more here:

Buy President Obama’s most recent memoir from an independent bookstore here: https://bookshop.org/search?keywords=barack+obama

On This Day: Of the Lost Generation

July 21, 2023July 31, 202320th CenturyLeave a Comment

On July 21, 1899, Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A world-famous writer who championed a minimalistic writing style, he created a body of work that continues to inspire generations of readers.

Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

After Hemingway graduated from high school, he longed for adventure. He took a position as a reporter in Kansas City as he repeatedly tried to enlist in the US Army. Eventually, he became an ambulance driver in World War I. This experience greatly affected his world view and his writing. It was also the inspiration for his famous novel, The Sun Also Rises.

After being discharged from the Army, Hemingway took a job as a foreign correspondent in France. There, he met a group of American expatriates often referred to as the Lost Generation. This group included Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Lost Generation, or those who were young adults at the end of WWI, were considered lost because they found themselves in a post-war society in which the values and teaching of their parents no longer made sense for their own situations. They struggled to advance in life, felt the weight of materialism, and were emotionally beaten down by their experiences. This life and attitude greatly influenced Hemingway’s works. He explored themes of war, masculinity, love, and the meaning of life. He wrote novels such as A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea. He also penned short stories like “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and “Hills Like White Elephants.” He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

While his personal life was not without its struggles, including bouts of depression, his art with its pursuit of meaning and frank exploration of the human experience has resonated strongly with readers for the last 100 years. It’s possible that his work is even more relevant now among Millennials, a group who identify strongly with the Lost Generation. Are Millennials the new Lost Generation? What would Hemingway have to say about their sense of disenfranchisement? Pick up a Farewell to Arms and find out.

Learn more here:

Order Hemingway’s works from an independent bookstore, like this one: https://www.strandbooks.com/search-results?page=1&ernest%20hemingway&searchVal=ernest%20hemingway&type=product

On This Day: The Presidential Succession Act

July 18, 2023July 31, 202319th CenturyLeave a Comment

On July 18, 1947, President Harry Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act, which determined the line of succession if the president dies in office or is otherwise unable to perform the duties of president. Almost two decades later, this act became the 25^th Amendment. Since that time, the 25^th Amendment has been invoked six times and is an essential part of the operation of the United States government.

Prior to the Presidential Succession Act, there were two different plans for succession. Under the Congress of 1792, the President pro tempore of the Senate and then the Speaker of the House would become acting president until a new president was elected. The Presidential Succession Act of 1886 then changed the succession to allow the Secretary of State to become acting president in case the president was removed. In 1947, President Truman needed to appoint a new Secretary of State. Members of Congress became concerned that under the current rules of succession, Truman would be in a position to choose his own successor. They felt that was not true to the democratic process that the framers intended. It was this circumstance that caused Congress to draft a new succession act.

Under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, if the President of the United States dies, resigns, or for whatever reason is unable to perform the offices of president, the duties become those of the Vice President, then the Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and then Secretary of State. It also indicates that if the vice president leaves office, the president can nominate a new vice president who will need to be confirmed by Congress. The act also allows the president, in cases where he is temporarily unable to perform his duties, to submit written notice to Congress, and the vice president can take their place. This portion of the act has been used in cases of medical procedures during which the president was under anesthesia.

Following the assassination of President Kennedy, there was confusion about what the proper procedure was to swear in Vice President Johnson as president. This encouraged Congress to ratify the Presidential Succession Act as the 25^th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Learn more here:

On This Day: Old Man Eloquent

July 11, 2023July 11, 2023US RevolutionLeave a Comment

On July 11, 1767, John Quincy Adams was born. He was to become a senator, our nation’s sixth president, and a member of the House of Representatives. Though his ascension to the office of president was controversial, Adams is remembered for being well-spoken, intelligent, and independent.

Though there is much that is interesting about the life of John Quincy Adams, one of his most compelling stories is that of his path to the presidency. John Quincy Adams became president despite losing both the popular and electoral vote in the 1824 election. The 1824 election had four candidates: John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William Crawford, and Henry Clay. When none of the candidates received a majority of the electoral college votes, the fate of the election fell into the hands of the House of Representatives, as outlined in the Twelfth Amendment. Only the three candidates with the largest number of electoral votes could be considered, knocking Clay from the race. Clay, who was not a fan of Jackson, threw his weight behind Adams, ensuring his election to the office of president. When, a few days later, Adams offered Clay the position of Secretary of State, Jackson and his constituents called the affair a “corrupt bargain.”

It has been suggested that this election is what lead to the strict adherence to a two-party system in the US. No party wanted to risk splitting their electoral college votes and losing an election like this again. It was perhaps also for this reason that the 1828 election between Adams and Jackson is considered one of the meanest campaigns in history. In any case, Adams did not win reelection but shortly after became the first US president to become a member of the House of Representatives after his term as president. He remained there for 17 years, earning himself the nickname “Old Man Eloquent.” In 1848, he suffered a stroke on the House floor and quite literally died serving his country.

Learn more here:

On This Day: What We’ll Do for Sugar

July 7, 2023July 11, 2023UncategorizedLeave a Comment

On July 7, 1898, President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, which annexed the Hawaiian Islands to the United States. But what does the annexation of Hawaii have to do with sugar? As recently as 1980, 10% of the US’s sugar came from Hawaii. America’s need for sugar (and its desire for that sugar to be tariff-free) encouraged US businessmen and politicians to insert themselves into Hawaii’s native government so they could continue to grow on the island and ship sugar to the US, making themselves huge profits.

In 1885, David Kalākaua, King of Hawaii, signed a trade reciprocity agreement with the United States. This brought a wave of non-native sugar plantation owners to the island. They began to dominate the local politics of the day, forming a political party that opposed the king and many traditions of the Hawaiian culture. The group forced King Kalākaua to sign a new constitution that stripped him of his rights and gave a cabinet made up of US businessmen all the power.

When King Kalākaua’s sister, Queen Lili’uokalani succeeded him, she sought back the power that he had lost. In January 1893, as part of an illegal coup, a group of men with monetary interests in the sugar industry on the island overthrew the Queen’s government and imposed their own. The new government or “Committee of Safety,” as it was called, applied for annexation to the United States. President Grover Cleveland hired an investigator to look into the political happenings in Hawaii, who assured him all was above board. It was not.

It wasn’t until McKinley, who was pro-annexation, became president that the matter gained a majority vote in Congress and was signed into law. Of course, this annexation didn’t give Hawaii or Hawaiians the same rights of a state; it took 60 years of campaigning for them to earn the representation in the US government that they deserved. The lasting effects of the annexation are still seen today in the ongoing pursuit of the rights of indigenous people.

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Yellowstone/1923: Did Pres. Coolidge Really Have a Bear as a White House Pet?

July 5, 2023July 5, 202320th Century, World HistoryLeave a Comment

It’s official, we are all obsessed with Yellowstone and all of the spin-offs including 1923. One scene in particular caught my eye, it’s when young Jack Dutton (Darren Mann) is reading the newspaper and shares a news item with his uncle, Jake Dutton (Harrison Ford) about Calvin Coolidge having a bear as a pet in the White House.

I assumed it was true, but wanted to verify, so I searched this particular event on The New York Times “TimesMachine” and confirmed that indeed, President Coolidge had a brown bear as a pet.

On Tuesday, October 23rd, according to the article, R.B. Pearson drove up to the White House with two brown bears in a cage from Chihuahua, Mexico. Mr. Pearson told President Coolidge that the larger of the two bears had been captured while it was in the process of killing a horse.

The description of Mr. Pearson is particularly entertaining, “(he)…wore his hair very long. He had on leather breeches tucked into top booths. His head was surmounted by a broad-brimmed sombrero.”

The bears were evidently a gift to Coolidge who agreed to accept only one (likely the smaller one), while the other bear was to be taken to the Bronx Zoo in New York. According to the article, Pearson captured the bears in the Mexican Sierras with his lariat (lasso) and had no regular home having “spent most of his life on the old Oregon Trail.”

I wish Jack Dutton would have read that portion of the article as he could have made a great comment about his grandparents also following the Oregon Trail (1883).

Coincidentally, Coolidge also had a famous pet raccoon named Rebecca. The Coolidge family received the raccoon to be cooked for Thanksgiving Dinner (yuck!) in 1926, but decided to keep it as a pet instead.

So, the bear story is true and we have added a raccoon, what other historical facts should we verify from the Yellowstone franchise?

https://www.nytimes.com/1923/10/23/archives/coolidge-has-bear-as-white-house-pet-old-plainsman-motors-3500.html?searchResultPosition=1

On This Day: July 4th Throughout History

July 4, 2023June 30, 2023UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Did you know that the 4^th of July has only been a paid federal holiday since 1938? Even so, Americans have celebrated Independence Day since the first anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. In 1777, John Adams wrote that the “anniversary of American Independence, was celebrated . . . with a festivity and ceremony becoming the occasion” (1). Though the 4^th of July has been earmarked to celebrate America’s independence, the 4^th of July has seen many other significant moments throughout US history.

On July 4, 1876, Susan B. Anthony stood at the 4^th of July ceremony in Philadelphia and read the “Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States.” The National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA) had requested the opportunity to speak at the ceremony and were swiftly denied. Despite this, several NWSA members, including Anthony, stormed the stage and read their declaration aloud, which outlined the injustice of women’s exclusion from rights such as voting and trial by a jury of one’s peers. The declaration ends by saying, “And now, at the close of a hundred years . . . we ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all the civil and political rights that belong to citizens of the United States, be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever” (3).

On July 4, 1884, France presented the United States with the Statue of Liberty. After the presentation of the gift to Levi P. Morton, the United States’ Minister to France, the statue was disassembled and shipped to the US for reconstruction. It took about two years to finish building the pedestal and assembling the statue.

On July 4, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act. This act gave American citizens the right to request to see records kept by federal agencies. Holding federal representatives accountable for their actions and increasing their transparency is an important part of our democracy.

On July 4, 1997, the NASA Pathfinder rover, Sojourner, landed on Mars. The rover spent its 83 days on Mars taking photos and other measurements that were sent back to Earth. The success of the mission paved the way for subsequent orbiters and rovers to visit Mars.

On This Day: “Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote”

June 30, 2023June 30, 2023UncategorizedLeave a Comment

On June 30, 1971, then-President Richard Nixon issued the following statement: “Tonight, Ohio’s Legislature ratified the 26^th Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment guarantees the right of 18-year-old persons to vote in state and local, as well as federal, elections. It appears that 38 states have now ratified the Amendment that will now become part of the law of the land. The ratification of this amendment has been accomplished in the shortest time of any amendment in American history” (1).

Signed just a few days later, the 26^th Amendment to the United States Constitution reads: “The right of citizens of the United States who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age” (2).

The push to lower the voting age began during WWII. In 1942, President Roosevelt lowered the draft age of young men from 21 to 18 years old. Americans pointed out that it seemed only right that a young man required to serve in his country’s army should also have the right to vote. The slogan “Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote” became their cry. At the time, the proposal did not gain enough traction in Congress for passage, but when the Vietnam War came around, the idea was renewed. Congress aimed to lower the voting age as part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but after its passage, President Nixon himself suggested that this new law would only be upheld if it was passed as a constitutional amendment. The amendment was quickly drafted and ratified.

On July 5, 1971, President Nixon signed the certified amendment with three 18-year-olds signing as witnesses (2). Upon its enactment, the US gained 11 million additional voters (3).

Mirroring the sentiments of the “Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote” crowd, there is a contingent of Americans today who would like to see the voting age lowered again, this time to 16. Opponents of this proposal suggest that 16 and 17-year-olds are too young to make mature decisions regarding politics. Arguments in favor suggest that as this group is most affected by gun violence in schools, they should have a say in how that violence is addressed by lawmakers. They also point out that in countries where the voting age is at 16, that group’s turnout is much higher than among 18-21-year-olds (4). What do you think? Should the voting age in the United States be lowered to 16 years old?

1. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-about-ratification-the-26th-amendment-the-constitution

2. https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/news/26th-amendment#:~:text=Sentiment%20to%20lower%20the%20nation’s,21%20to%2018%20years%20old

3. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1971/07/06/issue.html

4. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/02/opinion/sunday/voting-age-school-shootings.html

Learn more here:

https://www.rockthevote.org/explainers/the-26th-amendment-and-the-youth-vote/

https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xxvi/interpretations/161

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4020373/

June History Hits: The Battle of Little Bighorn

June 23, 2023June 30, 2023UncategorizedLeave a Comment

On June 25, 1876, a legendary clash between the United States 7^th Calvary and Native American tribes led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse unfolded on the plains of Montana. Often romanticized and mythologized, the Battle of Little Bighorn, commonly known as Custer’s Last Stand, forever altered the course of relations between Native Americans and the US government.

The Battle of Little Bighorn occurred against the backdrop of rapid expansion of the United States into the western territories and the continued encroachment upon Native American lands. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills had ignited a gold rush, leading to a surge of settlers in the region who disregarded treaties made with the tribes already living there. This influx threatened the way of life for the tribes who relied on the buffalo herds that roamed the area.

Two iconic figures sit at the center of this conflict: General George Custer and Sitting Bull. Custer, an ambitious military leader, gained fame during the Civil War but sought to revive his tarnished reputation after a series of setbacks. Sitting Bull, a visionary Lakota leader, had earned the respect of his people for his resistance against settlers.

On June 25, Custer’s forces, about 700 men, encountered a gathering of Native American soldiers, about 2,500- 4,000 strong. Ignoring warnings and underestimating his adversaries, Custer divided his troops and attempted to surround the Native American encampment, but they were overwhelmed by the counterattack. Custer and all of his men were killed in what became known as Custer’s Last Stand. The exact sequence of events during the battle remain the subject of intense speculation and historical analysis.

News of Custer’s defeat sent shockwaves across the nation. Public opinion vilified the Native American tribes and demanded retribution. The US government responded with increased military campaigns, leading to the eventual confinement of the Plains Indians onto reservations. However, as time passed, the perception of Custer’s Last Stand began to change. Critics questioned Custer’s decision-making and his treatment of the tribes. The bravery displayed by the Native American warriors added a new perspective to the narrative, fostering a deeper understanding of their struggle against the relentless forces of “Manifest Destiny.”

The Battle of Little Bighorn serves as a reminder of the importance of understanding diverse perspectives, the consequences of unchecked expansion, and the necessity of honoring treaties and preserving cultural heritage.

Learn more here:

https://www.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/battle-story.htm

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-battle-of-little-bighorn-was-won-63880188/

On This Day: The Pennsylvania Evening Post

May 30, 2023May 29, 2023UncategorizedLeave a Comment

The Pennsylvania Evening Post was established in Philadelphia in May 1783 and became the first daily newspaper in America. Founded by Benjamin Towne, a prominent printer, the newspaper aimed to provide the burgeoning nation with a reliable source of news and opinion. Its initial focus centered around the local Philadelphia community, but it quickly gained a national reputation for its incisive reporting and insightful commentary.

During its early years, the Pennsylvania Evening Post became known for its steadfast support of the principles of liberty and independence. As the fledgling United States grappled with the challenges of nation-building, the newspaper played a pivotal role in disseminating ideas and encouraging civic engagement. It championed the values of individual rights and democratic governance.

Over the years, the Pennsylvania Evening Post bore witness to significant historical events that shaped the course of American history. It reported on the ratification of the Constitution and the election of George Washington. It published the first newspaper printing of the Declaration of Independence (1). The publication held a reputation for editorial integrity and thought-provoking content. Its op-eds, letters to the editor, and in-depth investigative reporting stimulated public discourse and influenced public opinion. Though the newspaper’s publication window was short, it showed the incredible influence a nation’s free press can have on its citizens.

https://www.amrevmuseum.org/collection/first-newspaper-printing-of-the-declaration-of-independence