Kim Phuc, subject of iconic picture of the Vietnam era, speaks 40 years later

Go to this link: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-napalm-girl-photo-vietnam-war-turns-40-210339788.html

Remember, for more pictures of the Vietnam era, go to this post here: http://historyscoop.com/2014/04/14/images-of-the-vietnam-era/

The St. Louis Baby Teeth Survey

Sometimes, you can’t make stuff like this up. Read this:
http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/health/decades-later-baby-tooth-survey-legacy-lives-on/article_c5ad9492-fd75-5aed-897f-850fbdba24ee.html

Dr. Louise Reiss, who was the leader of the survey, just passed away in 2011. Here is her obituary in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/science/10reiss.html?_r=0

Pearl Harbor Remembrance

Here is the story from today’s paper about the survivor who has spent his life trying to identify those buried in unmarked graves: http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/pearl-harbor-dead-remembered-on-st-anniversary/image_fe692461-ce54-5db3-8539-cfb1ce1c745d.html

And here is a great youtube link showing actual reports from that day 71 years ago. I will try to actually insert the video when I get home tonight. I cannot edit this the way I want to at school: This includes the original NBC footage of the attack, as well as the Day of Infamy speech. 

 

Then here’s the story of the ships damaged at Pearl Harbor that were repaired to fight again (only three ships were a total loss on that day!); http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2012/1207/Pearl-Harbor-resurrection-the-warships-that-rose-to-fight-again-video

The Battle of Antietam, 150 Years Later

September 17, 2012 was the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) in the US Civil War, the single bloodiest day in the entire conflict, and first thing close to a victory that the Union forces had won during the entire conflict. President Abraham Lincoln used this day to announce his intention to declare the emancipation of slaves who were held in areas that continued in rebellion against the Union government.

Please click on this link to read about reflections upon this singularly bloody day.

This link is also an interesting take on the significance of this event.

The 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation

Last January 1 was the 150th anniversary of the date in 1863 when the Emancipation Proclamation took effect.

Here is an actual photocopy from the National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/.

Here is a really good article from the Atlantic Monthly which provides some historical evaluation of this important document: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/01/the-wholly-misunderstood-emancipation-proclamation/266741/

A monumental week of anniversaries

This week saw two different events commemorated: Nov. 19 was the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address by President Abraham Lincoln, and Nov. 22 was the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Two presidents, who took office a century apart; who both died at the hands of assassins.

Here is video from the History Channel: http://www.history.com/topics/gettysburg-address/videos#gilder-lehrman-gettysburg-address

Here is a link about the importance of the speech, and the various copies of it in existence: http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm This site has a lot of really interesting related links at the bottom of the page which are well worth checking out.

Here is an article from The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/11/the-gettysburg-address-at-150-and-lincolns-impromptu-words-the-night-before/281606/

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On the subject of the Kennedy assassination, here is an interesting compilation of links from the Dallas Morning News website– which is where the assassination took place: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/jfk50/

War of 1812 Veteran’s grave gets new headstone

This: http://www.wmtw.com/news/maine/portland/memorial-stone-dedicated-to-war-of-1812-veteran/-/8865266/22437710/-/cbv9od/-/index.html?hpt=us_bn7

New discoveries about Jamestown

Remember “Starving Time in Virginia?” When the Jamestown settlers nearly starved? Well, how about a little long pig?

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/01/us/jamestown-cannibalism/index.html?hpt=us_r1

Thanks, KJ!

50th Anniversary of Jackson, Mississippi sit-in

Today marks the 50th anniversary of a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Jackson, MS, which was the subject of a famous photograph. Notice that the protesters are both white and African American (otherwise it wouldn’t be as obvious an attempt to integrate):

Tougaloo College students and faculty attempt to integrate a lunch counter in Jackson, MS.

Here is the article: http://news.findlaw.com/apnews-lp/04da6897ba60404186136d9c14935efc

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS (AP)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi will inaugurate a marker Tuesday recalling a civil rights protest 50 years ago when a white mob attacked a racially mixed group seated at a whites-only lunch counter.

On May 28, 1963, the mob attacked some Tougaloo College students and faculty members who opposed segregation by sitting at the whites-only counter at a Woolworth’s five-and-dime store in Jackson. Some of the peaceful demonstrators were beaten. Others were doused with ketchup, mustard and sugar.

The marker is part of the Mississippi Freedom Trail, a series of signs honoring those who challenged segregation. The sit-in was similar to other protests around the South and occurred two weeks before Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers was assassinated in Jackson.

The Woolworth’s, which was located on a downtown Jackson street, closed decades ago.

Here is a link to a first-person account of one of the protesters who took part in the sit-ins in a different town in Mississippi. I have included an excerpt, but please read the whole account here: http://new.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/Mississippi%20Lunch%20Counter%20Sit_0.pdf

Mississippi Lunch Counter Sit-ins, 1963

 

From Anne Moody. Coming of Age in Mississippi.

 

“At exactly 11 a.m., Pearlena, Memphis, and I entered Woolworth’s from the rear entrance….before 11:15 we were occupying three seats at the previously segregated Woolworths lunch counter. In the beginning the waitresses seemed to ignore us, as if they really didn’t know what was going on. Our waitress walked past us a couple of times before she noticed we had stared to write our own orders down and realized we wanted service. She asked us what we wanted. We began to read to her from our order slips. She told us that we would be served at the back counter which was for Negroes…

 

‘”‘We would like to be served here,’ I said.

 

 “The waitress started to repeat what she had said, then stopped in the middle of the sentence.

 

“She turned the lights out behind the counter, and she and the other waitresses almost ran to the back of the store, deserting all their white customers. I guess they thought that violence would start immediately after the whites at the counter realized what was going on.

 

 “At noon, students from a nearby white high school started pouring in to Woolworth’s. When they first saw us they were sort of surprised. They didn’t know exactly how to react. A few started to heckle and the news men [by now this sit-in had attracted the attention of the local press] became interested again. Then the white students started chanting all kinds of anti-Negro slogans. We were called a little bit of everything. The rest of the seats except the three we were occupying had been roped off to prevent others from sitting down. A couple of boys took one end of the rope and made it into a hangman’s noose. Several attempts were made to put it around our necks. The crowd grew as more students and adults came in for lunch.

 

“We kept our eyes straight forward and did not look at the crowd except for occasional glances to see what was going on… Memphis suggested that we pray. We bowed our heads, and all hell broke loose. A man rushed forward, threw Memphis from his seat, and slapped my face. Then another man who worked in the store threw me against the adjoining counter…

 

“Down on my knees on the floor, I saw Memphis lying near the lunch counter with blood running out of the corners of his mouth. As he tried to protect his face, the man who’d thrown him down kept kicking him in the head…”

Civil Liberties in Times of Emergency

With the capture and arrest of the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, there are three opinion pieces I want you to read, as well as the first three paragraphs in particular from the front page of Thursday’s paper. As you hopefully know, at first authorities considered charging the surviving bomber as an enemy combatant, and deliberately decided not to Mirandize him once he regained consciousness. Remember that he is a naturalized US citizen captured on American soil and has so far not been tied to any international terrorist organizations.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/boston-bomb-investigation-extends-to-russia/article_047ec30a-d724-5b49-9811-c4c0941fd3dc.html (first three paragraphs are particularly important).

First, from an editorial from the Post-Dispatch: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-president-or-terror-suspect-the-rule-of-law-applies/article_411048ff-1e15-5032-8b1c-9756bc4a7d93.html

And this one from conservative commentator George Will: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/george-will/george-will-the-shame-of-deference/article_20bdbf54-e3fd-5fdb-aab5-7d8bb93e623e.html

And from moderate Kathleen Parker: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/kathleen-parker/kathleen-parker-the-terror-of-not-knowing/article_033f880d-56ef-5535-b1c5-0b7df2d2b74b.html

This is a great chance to APPLY what we learn and use it to determine our course of action. It is also a good chance to review the Constitutional Amendments and Supreme Court decisions as well as other historical precedents that apply to our understanding of  civil liberties. We will be discussing this in class next Tuesday, April 30. Take notes and CONSIDER your answer to these questions:

What are civil liberties? What is the purpose of civil liberties? Are they negotiable or variable? What does history show us about limitations on civil liberties in times of war or crisis? What points does George Will make about previous instances of racially-based civil liberties decisions? What point does Kathleen Parker make about the ease of stripping those perceived as “alien” or “other” of their rights and claims to humanity?

Here is a link outlining very briefly the current case law on the matter of enemy combatants and civil liberties: http://web.law.duke.edu/publiclaw/civil/index.php?action=showtopic&topicid=24