Here. Pat Bagley in the Salt Lake Tribune, and for Cagle Cartoons.
When is the Pulitzer committee going to give Bagley the prize for his work?
Tip of the old scrub brush to Twitter, and @PatBagley.
Ten most terrifying words in English language
September 28, 2020
1 Comment | 
Civil Rights, History, Nonviolent protest, Political cartoons, Politics, Second Amendment, Violence | Tagged: Cartoos, Non-violent Protest, Pat Bagley, Right Wing Terrorism, Second Amendment | 
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Posted by Ed Darrell
Happy birthday Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln!
February 12, 2020Is it an unprecedented coincidence? 211 years ago today, just minutes (probably hours) apart according to unconfirmed accounts, Abraham Lincoln was born in a rude log cabin on Nolin Creek, in Kentucky, and Charles Darwin was born into a wealthy family at his family’s home in Shrewsbury, England.
Lincoln would become one of our most endeared presidents, though endearment would come after his assassination. Lincoln’s bust rides the crest of Mt. Rushmore (next to two slaveholders), with George Washington, the Father of His Country, Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, and Theodore Roosevelt, the man who made the modern presidency, and the only man ever to have won both a Congressional Medal of Honor and a Nobel Prize, the only president to have won the Medal of Honor.
In his effort to keep the Union together, Lincoln freed the slaves of the states in rebellion during the civil war, becoming an icon to freedom and human rights for all history. Upon his death the entire nation mourned; his funeral procession from Washington, D.C., to his tomb in Springfield, Illinois, stopped twelve times along the way for full funeral services. Lying in state in the Illinois House of Representatives, beneath a two-times lifesize portrait of George Washington, a banner proclaimed, “Washington the Father, Lincoln the Savior.”
Darwin would become one of the greatest scientists of all time. He would be credited with discovering the theory of evolution by natural and sexual selection. His meticulous footnoting and careful observations formed the data for ground-breaking papers in geology (the creation of coral atolls), zoology (barnacles, and the expression of emotions in animals and man), botany (climbing vines and insectivorous plants), ecology (worms and leaf mould), and travel (the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle). At his death he was honored with a state funeral, attended by the great scientists and statesmen of London in his day. Hymns were specially written for the occasion. Darwin is interred in Westminster Abbey near Sir Isaac Newton, England’s other great scientist, who knocked God out of the heavens.
Lincoln would be known as the man who saved the Union of the United States and set the standard for civil and human rights, vindicating the religious beliefs of many and challenging the beliefs of many more. Darwin’s theory would become one of the greatest ideas of western civilization, changing forever all the sciences, and especially agriculture, animal husbandry, and the rest of biology, while also provoking crises in religious sects.
Lincoln, the politician known for freeing the slaves, also was the first U.S. president to formally consult with scientists, calling on the National Science Foundation (whose creation he oversaw) to advise his administration. Darwin, the scientist, advocated that his family put the weight of its fortune behind the effort to abolish slavery in the British Empire. Each held an interest in the other’s disciplines.
Both men were catapulted to fame in 1858. Lincoln’s notoriety came from a series of debates on the nation’s dealing with slavery, in his losing campaign against Stephen A. Douglas to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate. On the fame of that campaign, he won the nomination to the presidency of the fledgling Republican Party in 1860. Darwin was spurred to publicly reveal his ideas about the power of natural and sexual selection as the force behind evolution, in a paper co-authored by Alfred Russel Wallace, presented to the Linnean Society in London on July 1, 1858. On the strength of that paper, barely noticed at the time, Darwin published his most famous work, On the Origin of Species, in November 1859.
Darwin and Lincoln might have got along well, but they never met.
What unusual coincidences.
Go celebrate human rights, good science, and the stories about these men.
A school kid could do much worse than to study the history of these two great men. We study them far too little, it seems to me.
Resources:
Charles Darwin:
- Darwin 200
- About Darwin.com; links to Darwin texts online
- On the Origin of Species online
- C. Warren Irvin Collection of Darwin and Darwiniana, University of South Carolina
- American Museum of Natural History on-line exhibit on Charles Darwin
Abraham Lincoln:
- Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
- Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress
- Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College (Galesburg, Illinois)
- Lincoln Digitization Project at Northern Illinois University
More:
- 7 surprising facts about Charles Darwin (mnn.com)
- Birthday Boys: Abie and Charlie (psychologytoday.com)
- On Feb. 12, should Darwin get his day? (richarddawkins.net)
- Tomorrow Is Darwin Day for 2013 (sensuouscurmudgeon.wordpress.com)
- Darwin: Geologist First and Last (blogs.scientificamerican.com)
Anybody know what hour of the day either of these men was born?
Yes, you may fly your flag today for Lincoln’s birthday, according to the Flag Code; the official holiday, Washington’s Birthday, is next Monday, February 15th — and yes, it’s usually called “Presidents Day” by merchants and calendar makers. You want to fly your flag for Charles Darwin? Darwin never set foot in North America, remained a loyal subject of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, to the end of his days. But go ahead. Who would know?
4 Comments | Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, Civil Rights, Civil War, Evolution, History, Science | Tagged: Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, Civil War, Evolution, History, Science | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Rare/Alternative Christmas music 2019: Macy Gray’s call for social justice
December 23, 2019Some encores from last year. Here’s one in a spasmodic series of posts on Christmas songs you probably haven’t heard a thousand times already, and may actually enjoy hearing. Got a song you’d like to suggest? Suggest it in comments.
Cover sleeve for Macy Gray’s “All I Want for Christmas.” Amazon image
This one speaks for itself, I think. From experience, I can tell you that playing this song can weed out the Trump supporters in your party attendance rather quickly.
Oddly, I think, it also brings out the dangerous elements of American society to complain about it, judging by comments at the site (go see; there are a lot more):
Grotesque comments at YouTube on Macy Gray’s Christmas wishes.
Those thought zombies walk among us. Our cross to bear.
Gray didn’t include it on any album I’ve found.
More:
1 Comment | Christmas, Civil Rights, Economics, Justice, Music | Tagged: Christmas, Justice, Macy Gray, Merry Christmas, Music | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Fly your flag today for the 2019 holiday honoring Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 21, 2019
Marchers from Selma to Montgomery carried the U.S. flag; you should fly yours today in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Image from 60s Survivors page on Joanna Bland, who was part of the march.
Citizens and residents of the U.S. should fly their U.S. flags today, on the holiday marking the birth of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Fly the U.S. flag today for the holiday for the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. The holiday is celebrated on the third Monday in January.
King’s actual birthday is January 15. In 2019, the legal holiday is January 21, today. It’s becoming common for Americans to fly their flags all weekend for a holiday on Friday or Monday.
Many Americans will celebrate with a day of service. Perhaps you will, too.
In 2019, in a nation that seems again intolerant of immigrants and people of color, remembering and honoring the life and struggles of Martin Luther King, Jr., and serving others in real and symbolic ways, is more important than ever.
More:
- Official website, MLK Day observation and Day of Service
- The late Gwen Ifill’s blog post on Dr. King and Selma’s marches, and the movie “Selma”
- 2013 Google Doodle
- 2012 notice at MFB — also Obama’s 2nd inauguration
- More from 2012 celebration
- 2010 celebration
- 2009 celebration
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. Credit: architecture.about.com, via Saporta Report
1 Comment | Civil Rights, Fly your flag today, History, Holidays, Martin Luther King | Tagged: Civil Rights, Fly your flag today, History, Holidays, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Vote! What really matters to you? Then vote!
November 2, 2018Your vote counts. Every vote counts, but your vote counts for you.
Vote!
Advertising from the Independence USA PAC
2 Comments | 2018 Elections, Campaigns, Civil Rights, Human Rights, Voting, Voting Rights | Tagged: 2018 Campaign, 2018 Election, Civil Rights, Human Rights, November 6, Politics, Voting Rights | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Beto O’Rourke, on kneeling for national anthem
August 23, 2018
U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas (El Paso) in a House committee hearing room. Relevant Magazine image.
U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke reaches out to every Texan in his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Ted Cruz. O’Rourke already visited all 254 Texas counties, listening to Texans tell him what is important in their lives.
Now Beto conducts town hall meetings.
Recently a Texan asked him about NFL players’ kneeling during the national anthem.
Does his answer surprise you? It reveals the thought he’s put into issues.
4 Comments | Civil Rights, Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, History, Patriotism | Tagged: Civil Rights, Flag etiquette, History, Patriotism | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Democratic Party pushes civil rights in the modern era — don’t be hoaxed
August 8, 2018
How Congress voted on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, broken down by party and with a few more details; chart by Kevin M. Kruse; from Kruse’s Twitter account.
Not sure if everybody got their Bogus History from Dinesh D’Souza, but a lot of people have the same wrong ideas about what party supported civil rights in the post-World War II era. These crappy distortions of history are showing up on Facebook and all over Twitter. Worse, people believe them.
The crappy claim is that Democrats are the party of racism and support for the Ku Klux Klan. Historically, that was once so; but it has not been so since 1948 as the two main parties in the U.S. switched positions, with Democrats taking on civil rights as a key cause for Democratic constituencies, and the Republican Party retreating from Abraham Lincoln’s work in the Civil War and immediate aftermath, and instead welcoming in racists fleeing the Democratic Party.
Think Strom Thurmond, vs. Mike Mansfield and Lyndon Johnson.
Kevin Kruse corrected D’Souza in a series of Tweets, and you ought to read them and follow the notes. Kruse is good, and better, he is armed with accurate information.
This is solid history, delivered by Kruse in a medium difficult for careful explanations longer than a bumper sticker.
Mr. Kruse made a key point early in the thread.
First of all, the central point in the original tweet stands. If you have to go back to the 1860s or even the 1960s to claim the “party of civil rights” mantle — while ignoring legislative votes and executive actions taken in *this* decade — you’re clearly grasping at straws.
Anyone who reads newspapers would know that. Alas, one of the campaigns of conservatives over the past 40 years has been to kill off newspapers. They’ve been way too successful at it.
I’ll include mostly the Tweets for the rest of this post.
It’s a big tell. See my earlier posts on the 7 Warning Signs of Bogus History.
You can view the entire thread in one unroll, which I find difficult to translate to this blog platform — but you may find it easier to disseminate:
5 Comments | Civil Rights, Democratic Party, History, Politics | Tagged: Civil Rights, Democratic Party, History, Kevin Kruse | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Happy birthday, Abe and Charles!
February 12, 2018/https://public-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/Abraham-Lincoln-and-Charles-Darwin-new-631.jpg)
From Smithsonian Magazine’s 2009 article, “How Lincoln and Darwin Shaped the World.” Illustration by Joe Ciardiello.
On this day in 1809, just a few hours apart, Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born.
What are the odds of historic coincidences like that?
Lincoln’s birthday is still listed in law as a date to fly the U.S. flag, though we’ve changed the celebration to the following week and the generic President’s Day, closer to George Washington’s real birthday, February 22. President’s Day is celebrated on the third Monday in February.
So, you may certainly fly your flag today. (You may fly your flag any day, but you get the idea.)
News will feature more celebrations of Darwin than Lincoln, today, I predict — Darwin Day is a worldwide celebration by science nerds.
Both Lincoln and Darwin worked to end slavery. Darwin probably had more of an idea that racial discrimination had no science basis. Lincoln had more political sway. After Lincoln and Darwin, science and human rights advanced greatly, because of their work.
More:
- “How Lincoln and Darwin shaped the modern world,” Adam Gopnik, Smithsonian Magazine, February 2009
- Lincoln and Darwin born hours apart, Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub, February 9, 2014
- “Darwin on Lincoln, and Vice Versa,” Laura Helmuth, Mark Strauss and Terence Monmaney, Smithsonian.com, January 22, 2009
- “Who is older, Lincoln or Darwin? Trick question; they were born on the same day,” Valerie Strauss, Washington Post, February 10, 2009
- 6 things Lincoln and Darwin had in common, Mark Mancini at Mental Floss, February 12, 2014
Leave a Comment » | 1861-1865, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, Civil Rights, Evolution, Fly your flag today, History, Human Rights | Tagged: Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, Civil War, Evolution, Fly your flag today, History, Human Rights | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
58 years ago, lunch at Woolworth’s, with a side of civil rights: North Carolina, February 1, 1960
February 2, 2018February 1 was the 58th anniversary of the Greensboro sit-in. Be sure to read Howell Raines‘ criticism of news media coverage of civil rights issues in a 2010 article in the New York Times: “What I am suggesting is that the one thing the South should have learned in the past 50 years is that if we are going to hell in a handbasket, we should at least be together in a basket of common purpose.”
This is mostly an encore post; please holler quickly if you find a link that does not work.
Four young men turned a page of history on February 1, 1960, at a lunch counter in a Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond, sat down at the counter to order lunch. Because they were African Americans, they were refused service. Patiently, they stayed in their seats, awaiting justice.
On July 25, nearly six months later, Woolworth’s agreed to desegregate the lunch counter. One more victory for non-violent protest.
Caption from Smithsonian Museum of American History: Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond leave the Woolworth store after the first sit-in on February 1, 1960. (Courtesy of Greensboro News and Record)
News of the “sit-in” demonstration spread. Others joined in the non-violent protests from time to time, 28 students the second day, 300 the third day, and some days up to 1,000. The protests spread geographically, too, to 15 cities in 9 states.
Smithsonian caption: “On the second day of the Greensboro sit-in, Joseph A. McNeil and Franklin E. McCain are joined by William Smith and Clarence Henderson at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Courtesy of Greensboro News and Record)”
Part of the old lunch counter was salvaged, and today is on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History. The museum display was the site of celebratory parties during the week of the inauguration as president of Barack Obama.
Part of the lunch counter from the Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina, now displayed at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History, in Washington, D.C.- photo from Ted Eytan, who wrote: [“Ever eaten at a lunch counter in a store?”] The words . . . were said by one of the staff at the newly re-opened National Museum of American History this morning to a young visitor. What she did, very effectively, for the visitor and myself (lunch counters in stores are even before my time) was relate yesterday’s inequalities to those of today, by explaining the importance of the lunch counter in the era before fast food. This is the Greensboro, North Carolina lunch counter, and it was donated to the Smithsonian by Woolworth’s in 1993.
Notes and resources:
- See the Smithsonian’s on-line display about the decision in Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education and the struggles for civil rights, “Separate is not equal.“
- F. W. Woolworth’s, a “five-and-dime” style store, largely closed its U.S. operations in 2001, though changing its focus to the Foot Locker shoe stores. One of its last remaining stronghold of 807 stores, in Great Britain, was shuttered at the end of 2008.
- Independent Lens program on PBS, “February 1″
- North Carolina History Project entry on the sit-in
Student video, American History Rules, We Were There – First person story related by Georgie N. and Greg H., with pictures:
Associated Press interview with Franklin E. McCain:
More:
- A.M. UPDATE: NSU to have “Greensboro Four Day” on Wednesday (muskogeephoenix.com)
- NC A&T students feel the magnitude of inauguration festivities (charlotte.news14.com)
- LIFE and Civil Rights: Anatomy of a Protest, Virginia, 1960 (life.time.com)
- Nice write up of one of those white students who stood up, to give the black students a place to sit down, from Don’t Duck History
It was a long fight.
Yes, this is an encore post. Defeating ignorance takes patience and perseverance.
Leave a Comment » | A Good Story, Bill of Rights, Citizenship, Civil Rights, Dissent, History, History images, Museums, Nonviolent protest, U.S. Congress | Tagged: Bill of Rights, Civil Rights, Constitution, Franklin E. McCain, Greensboro North Carolina, History, Jibreel Khazan, Jospeh A. McNeil, Lunch Counter, Museums, Nonviolence, Nonviolent protest, Sit-in, Smithsonian | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Fly your flag today for the 2018 holiday honoring Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 15, 2018As on every federal holiday, citizens and residents of the U.S. should fly their U.S. flags today, on the holiday marking the birth of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rev. King, and the U.S. flag. (No information on place or time of photo; please feel free to lend light and facts.)
Fly the U.S. flag today for the holiday for the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. The holiday is celebrated on the third Monday in January.
King’s actual birthday is January 15. In 2018, the legal holiday and King’s actual birthday are the same day. It’s becoming common for Americans to fly their flags all weekend for a holiday on Friday or Monday.
Many Americans will celebrate with a day of service. Perhaps you will, too.
In 2017, days before the inauguration of a new president, remembering and honoring the life and struggles of Martin Luther King, Jr., and serving others in real and symbolic ways, is more important than ever.
More:
- Official website, MLK Day observation and Day of Service
- Gwen Ifill’s blog post on Dr. King and Selma’s marches, and the movie “Selma”
- 2013 Google Doodle
- 2012 notice at MFB — also Obama’s 2nd inauguration
- More from 2012 celebration
- 2010 celebration
- 2009 celebration
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. Credit: architecture.about.com, via Saporta Report
Leave a Comment » | Civil Rights, Fly your flag today, History, Holidays, Martin Luther King | Tagged: Civil Rights, Fly your flag today, History, Holidays, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Letter of the week: What is wrong with you, white supremacists?
September 2, 2017Letter-to-the-Editor of the Salt Lake Tribune, August 20, 2017.
“What is wrong with you?” Open letter to white supremacists, in the Salt Lake Tribune, by Jonna Ramey, August 20, 2017. Image maker unknown.
What is wrong with you?
I am a 67-year-old American white woman. My parents enlisted in World War II to fight fascism. They both served; my mother was a nurse, my father navigated bombers. They lost friends in that bloody war so that all the world could be free of fascism. They did not fight so that some white people could claim supremacy or that Nazis could openly walk the streets of America.
White person to white supremacist person: What is wrong with you?
People of European heritage are doing just fine in the world. They run most of the world’s institutions, hold much of the world’s wealth, replicate as frequently as other humans. You’re not in any danger here. The world is changing, that’s true. Others want a piece of the pie. They work for it, strive for it and earn it. Technology (robotics) is having a greater effect on your job prospects than immigrants. Going forward, tackling corporate control and climate change will need all of our attention, ideas and energy. Put down your Tiki torches and trite flags and get involved in some real work.
By the way, the world won the war against Nazi fascism in the 1940s, just as America won the war against the Confederacy in the 1860s. Aligning with two lost causes just labels you as profound losers.
And finally, white person to white person: Like my parents before me, I will not stand idly by nor give up my rights or the rights of other Americans because you think you are better than some of us. It doesn’t work that way. All Americans stand shoulder to shoulder against your hatred and bigotry.
Jonna Ramey
Salt Lake City
Kathryn found the letter on Facebook somewhere. Since we both have Utah roots, and anchors sometimes, the venue alone made it interesting.
On Facebook it came with a link to Leigh Melander, who turns out to have an affiliation with the Joseph Campbell Foundation (JCF). You remember, Campbell’s series of interviews with Bill Moyers a few years ago became a hit television series. Melander seems to be an interesting voice in her own right.
(Who is Jonna Ramey?)
How did Melander chance across that image from the paper version of the letter in the Salt Lake Tribune?
Wouldn’t it be amazing if supremacists paid more attention to Joseph Campbell’s informed and hopeful outlook on use of myth to bring peace and happiness, instead of inventing false claims to drive hate?
Hate and discrimination are expensive. We can’t afford them.
2 Comments | Civil Rights, History, Newspapers, Racism | Tagged: Charlottesville, Civil Rights, History, Jonna Ramey, Salt Lake Tribune, White supremacist | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
53 years ago: August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
August 7, 2017August 7 is the 53rd anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the resolution which authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to move troops into South Vietnam to defend U.S. interests.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, passed by Congress on August 7, 1964, as presented to President Lyndon Johnson, and signed by him on August 10. This is the document that authorized U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Image from the National Archives, Our Documents display.
The resolution passed Congress after what appeared to be attacks on two U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf of Tonkin. At the time, and now, evidence is weak that such attacks took place.
Most historians today think the evidence for the attacks is inconclusive; many argue it is unlikely North Vietnamese gunboats would have opened fire on a vastly superior U.S. Navy warship. Debate is complicated because the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution effectively substituted for a declaration of war, in a war the U.S. arguably lost, which divided Americans as rarely before, and which cost more than 58,000 soldiers and civilians their lives.
How will we view the Tonkin Gulf resolution in 50 years, with the history of two much longer wars in the Middle East factored in? What do you think?
Quick summary from the National Archives:
On August 4, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced that two days earlier, U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin had been attacked by the North Vietnamese. Johnson dispatched U.S. planes against the attackers and asked Congress to pass a resolution to support his actions. The joint resolution “to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia” passed on August 7, with only two Senators (Wayne Morse and Ernest Gruening) dissenting, and became the subject of great political controversy in the course of the undeclared war that followed.
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution stated that “Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repeal any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent any further aggression.” As a result, President Johnson, and later President Nixon, relied on the resolution as the legal basis for their military policies in Vietnam.
As public resistance to the war heightened, the resolution was repealed by Congress in January 1971.
Santayana’s ghost looks on in wonder.
Map of divided Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. History Place map via Mr. Roache’s Place
Considering its powerful effect on American history, the document is very, very brief. Here’s the text [links added]:
Eighty-eighth Congress of the United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSIONBegun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, the seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and sixty-four
Joint Resolution
To promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia.Whereas naval units of the Communist regime in Vietnam, in violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law, have deliberately and repeatedly attacked United Stated naval vessels lawfully present in international waters, and have thereby created a serious threat to international peace; and
Whereas these attackers are part of deliberate and systematic campaign of aggression that the Communist regime in North Vietnam has been waging against its neighbors and the nations joined with them in the collective defense of their freedom; and
Whereas the United States is assisting the peoples of southeast Asia to protest their freedom and has no territorial, military or political ambitions in that area, but desires only that these people should be left in peace to work out their destinies in their own way: Now, therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.
Map showing ship movements reported during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, on August 4, 1964; reports that North Vietnamese gunboats attacked and engaged two patrolling U.S. Navy ships pushed Congress to authorize President Johnson to take extensive defensive actions. (image from Wikipedia map 8/2017)
Section 2. The United States regards as vital to its national interest and to world peace the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. Consonant with the Constitution of the United States and the Charter of the United Nations and in accordance with its obligations under the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, the United States is, therefore, prepared, as the President determines, to take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to assist any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty requesting assistance in defense of its freedom.
Section 3. This resolution shall expire when the President shall determine that the peace and security of the area is reasonably assured by international conditions created by action of the United Nations or otherwise, except that it may be terminated earlier by concurrent resolution of the Congress.
[endorsements]
And on that authority, “Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression,” the U.S. spent the next 11 years in all-out warfare in Vietnam, with up to 500,000 military troops in the conflict, and losing the lives of more than 58,000 men and women. Can we ever know what really happened, or what motivated President Johnson to ask for the resolution, or what motivated Congress to pass it?
U.S. engagement in Vietnam continued well after the repeal of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution in 1971. In 1973 a peace treaty was signed between the U.S., North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The provisions of the treaty did not hold; a final North Vietnamese military push in April 1975 crumpled the South Vietnamese government and army. The few remaining U.S. forces made an emergency withdrawal as Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops entered Saigon. Vietnam was reunited by force, under a communist government.
Attacks on the USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy — if they occurred — took place early on August 4. President Johnson might be excused for having done nothing on the issue at the time. That was the same day that the bodies of three civil rights workers were discovered by the FBI, murdered by a pro-segregation mob with clear ties to the local Ku Klux Klan. Either event, the Gulf of Tonkin, or the Mississippi civil rights murders, could be a major event in any presidency, testing to the utmost the leadership and peace-making abilities of a president. Johnson dealt with both events at the same time.
Three American civil rights’ workers, James Earl Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael “Mickey” Schwerner, were lynched on the night of June 21–22, 1964 by members of the Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, the Neshoba County‘s Sheriff Office and the Philadelphia Police Department located in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The three had been working on the “Freedom Summer” campaign, attempting to register African Americans to vote.
On a commission from the Dallas Symphony, composer Stephen Stucky composed a piece during the Lyndon Johnson Centennial in 2008; Kathryn and I heard the world premiere of August 4, 1964, on September 18, 2008. Stucky’s piece (with libretto by Gene Scheer) is the only place I know where anyone has seriously considered the nexus between these two, opposite-side-of-the-world tragedies, and how they set the stage for the rest of the 1960s decade. The piece has been recorded by the Dallas Symphony. I highly recommend it.
Here’s a video from the Dallas Symphony on the piece:
What have we learned from this bit of history? What should we have learned from it?
More:
- History and art: Lyndon Johnson, Civil Rights, Vietnam, Stephen Stucky, the Dallas Symphony, and “August 4, 1964,” Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub, August 4, 2017
- Vietnam War Fast Facts (warhistoryonline.com)
- Today in History, August 7th (hankeringforhistory.com)
- Today in history for Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2013 (amarillo.com)
Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.
Leave a Comment » | Civil Rights, History, Lyndon B. Johnson, Music, Presidents, Vietnam, War | Tagged: Civil Rights, Dallas Symphony, History, Lyndon B. Johnson, Steven Stucky, Tonkin Gulf Resolution, Vietnam, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
History and art: Lyndon Johnson, Civil Rights, Vietnam, Stephen Stucky, the Dallas Symphony, and “August 4, 1964”
August 4, 2017
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Jaap van Zweden, presents the premiere of Steven Stucky’s oratorio “August 4, 1964,” with soloists, from left, mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor, soprano Laquita Mitchell, tenor Vale Rideout, and baritone Robert Orth. Photo from the National Endowment for the Arts, Jason Kindig
In an era when our president and Congress appear unable to deal with one issue on a good day, it may be instructive to look back to a day upon which one U.S. President handled a lot, all at once.
On August 4, 1964, President Johnson awoke to the news that two U.S. Navy ships cruising in the Tonkin Gulf had been fired upon by North Vietnamese Navy gunboats; then the FBI called and announced that the bodies of three civil rights workers had been found, young men registering African Americans to vote in Mississippi. Both of these events rumble through history like a Rocky Mountain avalanche to today; either was a make-or-break event for any presidency.
Lyndon Johnson dealt with them both, the same day. And though Vietnam did not turn out for the best, it’s useful to note that Johnson’s call for Congress to grant authority to act on the Tonkin incident got results just three days later.
Sadly we note that Stephen Stucky, the composer of this great piece, died of brain cancer on February 14, 2016.
“August 4, 1964,” is an oratorio covering a remarkable and fantastic coincidence in the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. On that day, the bodies of three civil rights workers who had been missing for nearly seven weeks, were found in shallow graves near Philadelphia, Mississippi — they were the victims of violence aimed at stopping blacks from voting. The incident was a chief spur to the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
And also on that day, the U.S.S. Maddox reported it had been attacked by gunboats of the North Vietnamese Navy, in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Gulf of Tonkin incident led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Johnson the authority to expand and escalate the war in Vietnam, which he did.
Cover for the CD of the Dallas Symphony’s Grammy-nominated performance of Steven Stucky’s “August 4, 1964,” Jaap van Zweden conducting.
The Dallas Symphony commissioned the work, from composer Steven Stucky and librettist Gene Scheer, in commemoration of President Johnson’s 100th birth anniversary — he would have been 100 on August 27, 2008. The works were premiered in Dallas in 2008.
The music is outstanding, especially for a modern piece. The Dallas Symphony played at its flashiest and most sober best, under the baton of new conductor Jaap van Zweden. It was a spectacular performance. According to the New York Times:
Mr. van Zweden, hailed in his debut as music director a week before, scored another triumph here. And the orchestra’s assured and gritty performance was rivaled by that of the large Dallas Symphony Chorus, both corporately and individually, in shifting solo snippets charting the course of the fateful day.
The strong cast, mildly amplified, was robustly led by the Johnson of Robert Orth, last heard as another president in John Adams’s “Nixon in China” in Denver in June. Laquita Mitchell and Kelley O’Conner, wearing period hats, were touching as Mrs. Chaney and Mrs. Goodman. Understandably, the taxing role of a high-strung McNamara took a small toll on the tenor of Vale Rideout in his late aria.
The entire thing deserves more commentary, perhaps soon. There is stellar history in the choral piece. And there is this: Consider that Lyndon Johnson, the best legislator and second most-effective executive we ever had as president, got hit with these two crises the same day. On the one hand the nation got the Voting Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, executive orders and government support to end segregation and the evils it created. On the other hand, we got stuck with the disaster of the Vietnam War.
How would the nation fared had a lesser person been in the White House on that day?
(August 4 is a busy, busy day in history; much to think about.)
More:
- About the music, at Stucky’s site
- The recording by the Dallas Symphony has been available for several months, on Naxos — it’s almost as good as the live performances, but with some of the singers changed
- KERA FM and TV’s Art & Seek news story on the Grammy nomination for the Dallas Symphony recording
- Jaap van Zweden plays out his last season with the Dallas Symphony in 2016-2017; he’s moving to the New York Philharmonic
- Teachers, can you use this music in history classes, on the Johnson administration, on Vietnam or Civil Rights?
Much of this is an encore post.
2 Comments | Art, Civil Rights, Desegregation, Government, History, Lyndon B. Johnson, Music, Politics, Vietnam, Voting Rights Act | Tagged: Arts, August 4 1964, Civil Rights Workers, Dallas Symphony, Government, Gulf of Tonkin, Heroes, History, Lyndon Johnston, Music, Politics, Symphony, Vietnam | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Fly your flag today for the 2017 holiday honoring Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 16, 2017As on every federal holiday, citizens and residents of the U.S. should fly their U.S. flags today, on the holiday marking the birth of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rev. King, and the U.S. flag. (No information on place or time of photo; please feel free to lend light and facts.)
Fly the U.S. flag today for the holiday for the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. The holiday is celebrated on the third Monday in January.
King’s actual birthday is January 15. You could have flown your flag then, too — many Americans fly flags all weekend.
Many Americans will celebrate with a day of service. Perhaps you will, too.
In 2017, days before the inauguration of a new president, remembering and honoring the life and struggles of Martin Luther King, Jr., and serving others in real and symbolic ways, is more important than ever.
More:
- Official website, MLK Day observation and Day of Service
- 2013 Google Doodle
- 2012 notice at MFB — also Obama’s 2nd inauguration
- More from 2012 celebration
- 2010 celebration
- 2009 celebration
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. Credit: architecture.about.com, via Saporta Report
Leave a Comment » | Civil Rights, Fly your flag today, History, Holidays, Martin Luther King | Tagged: Civil Rights, Fly your flag today, History, Holidays, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Georgia’s vote ratified the 13th Amendment, December 6, 1865
December 6, 2016
13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. National Archives image.
On December 6, 1865, Georgia’s legislature voted to ratify the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, pushing the total of states past the three-fourths margin required, 27 of 36 states. Secretary of State William Seward proclaimed the amendment ratified 12 days later, on December 18.
But we celebrate it in February.
February 1 is National Freedom Day in the U.S.
Text courtesy of the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University, 36 U.S. Code § 124 reads:
The President may issue each year a proclamation designating February 1 as National Freedom Day to commemorate the signing by Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1865, of the joint resolution adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives that proposed the 13th amendment to the Constitution.
(Pub. L. 105–225, Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1259.)
The Library of Congress collects original documents teachers and students can use to study the 13th Amendment; here’s the full page, copied in case they change it:
Primary Documents in American History
13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution declared that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Formally abolishing slavery in the United States, the 13th Amendment was passed by the Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. Library of Congress Web Site | External Web Sites | Selected Bibliography A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress
The Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana
From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1822-1909
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Congress.gov
Exhibitions
The Teachers Page
Younger Readers
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Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.
Leave a Comment » | Abraham Lincoln, Civil Rights, Civil War, Freedom - Political, History, Law, Slavery, U.S. Constitution | Tagged: 13th Amendment, Abraham Lincoln, Civil Rights, Civil War, Constitution, freedom, History, National Freedom Day, Slavery | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
