|
January
6, 1919:
At his home,
“Sagamore Hill,” on Oyster Bay, Long Island, the 26th
President of the United States, Theodore
Roosevelt, passes into history.
He dies quietly in his sleep from a blood clot to
his heart. Roosevelt’s
son, Archie, sends his brothers the following telegram:
“The Old Lion is Dead.”
January
16, 1919: On
this date, the 18th Amendment to the United
States’ Constitution prohibiting the “manufacture,
sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for
beverage purposes” receives the required two-thirds
majority of state ratification, and thus becomes the law
of the land. During
the early years of the century, the movement for
“Prohibition” took shape, and on December 18, 1917,
Congress passes the Prohibition Amendment and sends it to
the states for ratification.
Following ratification, the Congress passes the
Volstead Act, which provides for enforcement of the 18th
Amendment by establishing a special unit within the
Treasury Department. However,
as good intentioned as Prohibition and the Volsted Act
might be, the government soon discovers that morality
cannot be legislated.
Despite the best efforts of law-enforcement, the
prevention of large-scale distribution of alcoholic
beverages fails. As
organized crime flourishes, names and events take their
place as part of American history and folklore – G-Men,
Al Capone, Eliot Ness, bootlegger, speakeasy, Tommy-gun,
and the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the
Constitution repeals prohibition.
January
17, 1706:
Born on this date was one of America’s foremost
citizens, Benjamin
Franklin – statesman, diplomat, inventor, author,
printer and philosopher – certainly a man for all
seasons. Benjamin
was the youngest of seventeen children, and his father,
who was a candlemaker, had difficulty providing for such a
large family. At
ten years of age, Benjamin dropped out of school to assist
his father in his trade.
But two years later, Ben was indentured into the
profession for which he has been forever identified:
printing. By
the time he was twenty-seven, Franklin was running a
successful publishing business.
His most widely known product was Poor
Richard’s Almanac, which sold some ten thousand
copies per year. In
1736 he served as clerk of the Pennsylvania General
Assembly, and from that time until his death in 1790 he
held numerous public positions and was a major influence
in the development of our infant nation.
Recognized as America’s elder statesman, an
estimated 20,000 people attended his funeral.
He was interred at Christ Church burial ground next
to his wife and toddler son.
Today his grave can be seen through a grate in the
cemetery wall. Seeking
good luck, tourists honoring Franklin toss pennies on his
grave. “A
penny saved is a penny earned” is one of
Franklin’s sayings from Poor Richard, but this
foolishness of throwing pennies away might lead ol’ Ben
to say, “A penny tossed is a penny lost.”
(I added my penny to the collection when I was
there.)
February
February
1, 1963:
On this date at age 75, Mr.
Fleetwood Lindley, passes away and is buried near
the tomb of Abraham
Lincoln in the Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield,
Illinois. Who,
you may ask, is Fleetwood Lindley?
When President Lincoln’s Tomb was reconstructed
in 1901, it was decided because of rumors that the remains
were not those of Abraham Lincoln, to open the casket.
As the casket was opened, an offensive smell arose,
and the 23 people in attendance individually walked slowly
up to the casket and viewed the corpse.
Fleetwood Lindley, who was only 13 years old at the
time, was one of those 23 people.
Later, Fleetwood recalled that it took months for
him to recover from the experience.
He said, “…his (Lincoln’s) face was chalky
white. His
clothes were mildewed.”
But, the corpse Fleetwood and the others observed
that day was certainly that of the 16th
President. As
Lincoln’s casket was lowered into the now reconstructed
and final resting place, Fleetwood was allowed to assist
with one of the leather lowering straps.
Fleetwood was the last man living to have seen –
face to face (so to speak) – President Abraham Lincoln.
February
14, 1866: Although
it is Valentine’s Day, the dozen riders entering
Liberty, Missouri around 2:00 P.M. do not appear to be on
a romantic mission. All
of them are wearing military overcoats and several have
sidearms belted around the outside of their overcoat.
Three of the riders take up positions in the town
square where they can observe all of the side streets.
The rest ride over to the Clay County Savings
Association, where two dismount and enter the building.
Two bank employees, a clerk and a cashier, take
note of the strangers as they enter and begin warming
themselves at the stove.
Stepping to the Cashier’s cage and sliding a $10
bill across the polished counter, one of the strangers
says, “I would like to have this bill changed.”
The cashier glances at the bill, and when he looks
back up it is into the looming black hole of a drawn
six-shooter. The
man quietly speaks again, “I would like all the money in
your bank.” Except
for a guerrilla raid on a bank during the Civil War, this
is the first time such a demand had been made in an
American bank. It
was the first face to face robbery of a bank during
business hours, and it was the first robbery committed by
the soon-to-be infamous James Gang.
Their take in this first robbery will be estimated
at $60,000. For
the next 15 years, the James Gang will hold up banks,
trains and stagecoaches in 11 states to become the most
notorious and imitated outlaws in America’s Wild West.
To this day they remain an ever-active subject of
lore, literature, and Hollywood.
Part of the lore: that the James Boys were a brand
of Wild West Robin Hoods, is by some still believed.
Facts, however, do not substantiate that lore.
As the boys rode out of Liberty shouting and
shooting that first day, George Wymore, a 19-year-old
college student walking to class was shot to death.
Hit four times, each wound would have proven fatal.
It was senseless murder, and like the robbery of
the bank itself, Wymore’s murder would only be the
first.
|
February
22, 1732: According
to accepted tradition, today is the birthday of George Washington, the Commanding General of the Continental
Army and the 1st President of the United
States. He has
often been called “The Father of Our Country.”
Sadly, modern political correctness has modified
such teaching, and Washington’s influence often is
minimized. Nothing
could be further from the truth, for George Washington was
something very special.
Such was noticed by the Native Americans who fought
against him. In
the French and Indian War George Washington served with
the British as a young Virginia militia officer, and he
demonstrated great courage in the terrible 1755 defeat of
General Braddock. Of
some 1,373 British and Colonial officers and men, only 453
survived unhurt. From
this engagement arose a traditional story told among the
Native Americans that at one time graced the pages of our
history books. One
by one the native warriors picked off the mounted British
officers, until only Washington remained.
The chief then directed all his marksmen to
concentrate their fire on that last officer.
Two horses were shot from under Washington and at
least four bullets passed through his uniform.
After repeated shots were fired, the warriors
stared in disbelief. Realizing
something special was happening, the chief reportedly
ordered his men to stop shooting saying, “This one is
under special protection of the Great Spirit.”
To this a nearby warrior responded, “I had
seventeen clear shots at him…and after all could not
bring him to the ground.
This man was not born to be killed by a bullet.”
March
March
7, 1965: This
was a Sunday in 1965, and some 525 people began a
fifty-four mile march from Selma, Alabama to the state
capitol at Montgomery.
They were demonstrating for African American voting
rights and to protest the earlier shooting of Jimmie Lee
Jackson by an Alabama state trooper.
Jackson reportedly had been trying to protect his
mother at another civil rights demonstration.
When the marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge
on the outskirts of Selma, they were brutally attacked by
heavily armed police within plain sight of television
cameras and reporters.
When the footage was shown on the evening news it
shocked the nation. Immediately
there were demonstrations supporting the marchers held in
eighty cities. Thousands of supporters, including Dr.
Martin Luther King and famous personalities such as actor,
Charlton Heston, converged on Selma.
“Bloody
Sunday” led to a court guarantee that the
demonstrators be permitted to march.
Subsequently, on March 21, 1965, under the
protection of the National Guard, 25,000 demonstrators
again started on the now famous march from Selma to
Montgomery. There
is an African proverb that in this case proved very true, “When
you pray, Move your feet.”
March
13, 1868:
Under the direction of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Salmon
P. Chase, begins on this date the first impeachment trial
of a United States president.
The only other such event in American history was
the impeachment of Bill Clinton.
Andrew Johnson, a southerner, who became president
with the death of Abraham Lincoln, was impeached for
violation of the Tenure
of Office Act. Johnson
attempted to enact a lenient Reconstruction policy toward
the defeated South, but Congress disagreed and wanted the
South punished. To
prevent Johnson from replacing officials that disagreed
with his policies, some of whom were members of his own
cabinet, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act.
This law required the president to have Senate
approval to remove an official from office. Johnson
decided to test the constitutionality of this law by
replacing the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton.
In response, the House of Representatives voted
eleven impeachment articles against President Johnson.
In the Senate trial, the two-thirds majority vote
necessary for conviction fell short – by only one vote.
That vote was cast by Edmond G. Ross of Kansas (six
other Republicans also voted against impeachment).
Note:
The story of Ross’ courageous vote is told in the
book, Profiles in
Courage, Written by John F. Kennedy and published in
1955.
March
31, 1956:
One of the premier early auto racers, Ralph DePalma, dies
in South Pasadena, CA at age seventy-two.
DePalma, who was the winner of the 1915 Indy 500,
is most famous for his rivalry with fellow racing legend
Barney Oldfield. During
World War I, full scale auto racing was not allowed
because of the war effort.
However, match races pitting two rivals against
each other were acceptable as they provided maximum
entertainment with a minimal use of resources.
Because of their opposite personalities, race
promoters recognized the appeal of matching DePalma
against Oldfield. Brash
and crude, Oldfield talked as much as he raced, cheated as
much as he played fair.
DePalma, on the other hand, was a true gentleman,
gracious both in victory and defeat.
Their match race was originally set for June 23,
1917, but heavy rains postponed the event.
During the delay, the competitive antagonism
between DePalma and Oldfield flared.
DePalma won an appeal for calcium chloride to be
laid on the track to keep the dust down.
Outraged, Oldfield claimed dust was "part and
parcel of dirt track racing."
DePalma commented that Oldfield just wanted him
“to eat his dust.”
Finally, an estimated 15,000 fans turned out to
watch the two men race, but unfortunately as is often the
case, the race did not live up to the hype.
Oldfield easily won all three heats.
His car, the Golden Submarine, was so much lighter
than DePalma’s Packard that it’s cornering speed more
than made up for DePalma’s bigger engine.
|
|
