America
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History of the American Birthday Celebration
Birthday celebrations in America crossed over the line between a few rich and celebrated individuals to the rest of us, sometime around 1860 – 1880. We can thank two factors for this change in emphasis. Children became seen less for their economic necessity, as workers, and valued more emotionally, as individuals and as beloved family members. Therefore, worthy of celebration for just being alive. Also, the production of household and workplace clocks became widespread, quite a change from the rare clock of the preindustrial period. The clock along with the time focus of factory work and the like, street cars etc., made Americans much more time conscious. Because of these…
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The Impeachment Trial of Donald J. Trump
On Saturday, February 13, 2021, the Senate acquitted Donald J. Trump for the second time. Former President Trump is the first president to be impeached more than one time. The single article of impeachment was for the charge of incitement of insurrection; an insurrection that occurred on January 6, 2021 immediately following a preplanned “Save America” rally, featuring Donald Trump. The mob headed to the capital at the direction of Trump, “let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue” . They preceded to storm the capital in order to stop the counting of certified electoral votes resulting in a violent interference of the peaceful transfer of power to officiate president elect Joe Biden.…
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One Term Presidents Voted Out
One Term Presidents : for further reading on this topic This list of presidents, who served only one term, DOES NOT include those who left office for a reason other than losing the election. John Adams, 1797-1801 John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829 Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841 Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857 Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893 William Howard Taft, 1909-1913 Herbert Hoover, 1929-1933 Jimmy Carter, 1977-1981 George H.W. Bush, 1989-1993
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg has Died at Age 87
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court. After Sandra Day O’Connor, she was the second woman to serve. Ruth Bader Ginsburg died from metastatic pancreas cancer today, Friday, September 18, 2020. Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg’s dying wish was, to quote her, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.” Ruth Jane Bader was born on March 15, 1933 in Brooklyn. She went on to live an amazing life, where she overcame numerous hurdles and achieved many firsts. A true heroine of our time who is greatly revered and she will continue to be a powerful…
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Emancipation Proclamation
Juneteenth Emancipation Order June 19, 1865 commemorates the day General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas leading the union occupation force and bringing with them the news of the Emancipation Proclamation. Read more about the holiday of Juneteenth: “Emancipation wasn’t a gift bestowed on the slaves; it was something they took for themselves, …” New York Times Opinion Piece Washington Post Article on George Floyd Protest
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American Presidential Impeachments
Donald John Trump was impeached for the second time on January 13, 2021. Below is a summary of presidential impeachments in ascending order. In 1868 Andrew Johnson became the first U.S. president to be charged for impeachable acts by the House of Representatives. The 11 articles of impeachment outlined these acts: 1) violation of the Tenure of Office act by attempting to fire Edwin M. Stanton, the secretary of war, 2) influencing a general of the army to violate an act of congress, 3) contempt of congress. Though President Andrew Johnson was impeached, he escaped conviction and removal when the Senate acquitted him by only one vote. Source Richard Nixon,…
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The New Deal
When Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his 1932 acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for the presidency, he said, “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” His plan and pledge (The New Deal) was his promise for relief programs in the wake of the horrific devastation of the Great Depression; devastation made worse by President Herbert Hoover’s lack of an effective response. Source: https://www.britannica.com/event/New-Deal Roosevelt’s domestic programs brought immediate economic relief and dramatically expanded the scope of the Federal government’s power and involvement in the domestic sphere.
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NIXON’S RESIGNATION
On August 8, 1974, President Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994), the 37th President of the United States, spoke at 9: 01 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White House. His address to the American people was heard live over radio and television as he announced his resignation as President of the United States. Nixon’s Resignation Speech Good evening. This is the 37th time I have spoken to you from this office, where so many decisions have been made that shaped the history of this Nation. Each time I have done so to discuss with you some matter that I believe affected the national interest.…
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The Rosenbergs
The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg began on March 6, 1951 in the New York Southern District federal court overseen by Judge Irving R. Kaufman. Roy Cohn, the lawyer known for his infamous association with Senator Joseph McCarthy , and more recently with Donald Trump, was part of the prosecution that succeeded in exacting a conviction. The Rosenberg’s crime was legally termed “Conspiracy to Commit Espionage” for purportedly selling nuclear secrets to the Russians. However, the Rosenbergs were not charged with treason, as some may suppose, and could not be, because the United States was not at war with the Soviet Union. As stated: By Section 110 of Article…
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First President Gives a Warning
There is a warning contained in George Washington’s Farewell Address. In an op-ed piece in the New York Times by Thomas R. Pickering and James Stoutenberg, Feb. 18, 2018, they point out Washington’s “uncanny foresight” regarding forces that can threaten our democracy. In a quote from Washington’s address this first leader of America reveals weaknesses in our system of government that can be exploited: “A free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another,” he declared. Such encroachment, he said, would lead to the consolidation of…
