Category: History

Brief narratives about people and events in the American past.

William Harvey Carney …

was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on this date in 1900 — for duty performed nearly 37 years earlier at Fort Wagner, S.C. Sergeant Carney was the first African-American to receive the Medal of Honor.

Carney was a member of the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, the regiment whose story was told in the film Glory (1989) with Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Matthew Broderick. Carney was not portrayed in the film by name.

The citation for Carney’s Medal of Honor reads: “When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon. When the troops fell back he brought off the flag, under a fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded.”

(Originally posted May 23, 2004)

Wanted for murder, robbery, and state charges of kidnaping

Clyde Champion Barrow and Bonnie Parker were shot to death in an ambush near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, on this date 71 years ago. The FBI has a web page with details about Bonnie and Clyde, including a photo of each.

Not exactly Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway and Gene Hackman (who portrayed Clyde’s brother Buck). All three were nominated for an acting Oscar, as were Michael J. Pollard and Estelle Parsons. Parsons, who played Buck’s wife Blanche in the 1967 film, won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Lucky Lindy Lands

Lindbergh Does It!
To Paris in 33 1/2 Hours;
Flies 1,000 Miles Through Snow and Sleet;
Cheering French Carry Him Off Field

Paris, May 21 — Lindbergh did it. Twenty minutes after 10 o’clock tonight suddenly and softly there slipped out of the darkness a gray-white airplane as 25,000 pairs of eyes strained toward it. At 10:24 the Spirit of St. Louis landed and lines of soldiers, ranks of policemen and stout steel fences went down before a mad rush as irresistible as the tides of ocean.

“Well, I made it,” smiled Lindbergh, as the little white monoplane came to a halt in the middle of the field and the first vanguard reached the plane. Lindbergh made a move to jump out. Twenty hands reached for him and lifted him out as if he were a baby. Several thousands in a minute were around the plane. Thousands more broke the barriers of iron, rails round the field, cheering wildly.

I was told there would be no math

It’s been pointed out in a comment that I’m 14 names short on my list of the 100 Greatest Americans; that I started at 57 instead of 44. I’d feel foolish if doing this in the first place hadn’t already made me feel that way.

But here they are:

  1. Charles Lindbergh — see comment re: Lindbergh
  2. Frank Capra
  3. John Ford
  4. Orson Welles
  5. Jedediah Smith
  6. John Wesley Powell
  7. Sequoyah
  8. Sitting Bull
  9. Chief Joseph
  10. Sam Adams
  11. “Black Jack” Pershing
  12. Hyman Rickover
  13. Joseph Henry — foremost American scientist of the 19th century

I can’t restore “Hef” to the list as one commenter has argued. While I agree with Garth that Hefner fostered a healthy liberalization of standards, Hefner also fostered an unhealthy attitude toward women as toys. And, most assuredly, there are other more important publishers who also supported a free press, for one, Katharine Graham during Watergate.

The 100, one last time

NewMexiKen opened up 57 slots on the 100 Greatest Americans list yesterday. Their replacements:

First, I suggested three as I deleted the others:

  1. Bing Crosby
  2. Brigham Young
  3. Omar Bradley

Then, I liked Functional Ambivalent’s nominees, so they’re in as a block, counting Lewis and Clark as one:

  1. Lewis and Clark
  2. Ernest Hemingway
  3. Frank Lloyd Wright
  4. Margaret Sanger
  5. David Sarnoff
  6. Douglas MacArthur
  7. W.C. Handy
  8. Ray Kroc
  9. Rachel Carson

A few incredibly important political-military-judicial figures need to be added:

  1. James Madison
  2. John Adams
  3. Ulysses Grant
  4. George Marshall
  5. John Marshall
  6. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
  7. Earl Warren
  8. Thurgood Marshall
  9. Jane Addams

Inventors were among America’s greatest contribution to the world:

  1. Eli Whitney — the cotton gin yes, but much more importantly, interchangable parts
  2. Samuel Colt — automatic firearms
  3. Cyrus McCormick — agricultural implements
  4. Samuel F. B. Morse — communication
  5. Philo Farnsworth — television
  6. James Watson — DNA

And how about the robber barons:

  1. John Jacob Astor — established America’s first settlement on the Pacific Coast
  2. John D. Rockefeller — oil
  3. J.P. Morgan — capital
  4. William C. Durant — General Motors

And the writers:

  1. John Muir — for his conservation ideology
  2. Louisa Mae Alcott — every young woman read her novels; immeasurable influence
  3. Edgar Alan Poe — Evermore
  4. Toni Morrison — Nobel Prize; seems more relevant than Pearl Buck, another American woman Nobel Prize winner
  5. Sinclair Lewis — Nobel Prize; The Jungle
  6. William Faulkner — Nobel Prize

American music:

  1. Stephen Foster — the 19th century
  2. Irving Berlin — the 20th century
  3. Louis Armstrong — the greatest American musician; changed music forever
  4. Duke Ellington; — America’s greatest composer
  5. Hank Williams — did for Country what Elvis did for pop and Ray Charles did for Rhythm & Blues — revolutionized it

Which gets us to 99 and too many names left:

Frank Capra, John Ford, Orson Welles
Jedediah Smith, John Wesley Powell
Sequoyah, Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph
Sam Adams, “Black Jack” Pershing, Hyman Rickover

Porciuncula

Porciuncula (see below) is from a chapel near Assisi in Italy that Saint Francis restored and made the center for the Franciscan Order.

The large church built at Pecos Pueblo beginning in 1622 was named Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Porciuncula de los Pecos. It was the largest European structure north of Mexico until destroyed in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The ruins there now are from the smaller 18th century church.

“Our Lady” was apparently “Queen of the Angels” in Los Angeles, but only “of the Angels” 150 years earlier in Pecos.

And, finally, the remaining 30 from the list

  1. Maya Angelou — there are far more significant writers
  2. Mel Gibson — he was born in the U.S., but he’s a hack, however successful
  3. Michael Jackson — there are scores of better entertainers who aren’t freakin’ whackos
  4. Michael Jordan — Michael is “THE” American athlete as far as much of the world is concerned; his time on the list may be short, but he’s there for now
  5. Michael Moore — absurd
  6. Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.) — another athlete that rose above athletics; as time passes he may seem less important, however, for now he stays
  7. Neil Alden Armstrong — not sure Armstrong was “great” but what he did was; NewMexiKen believes Armstrong will be the most famous person from our times in 500 years
  8. Nikola Tesla — too many of you are saying “who?” for Tesla to make the list; a great electrical engineer, but true greatness is moving beyond your primary field and achieving fame elsewhere as well [Update: Tesla should be included. See comments.]
  9. Oprah Winfrey — Oprah’s influence is unbelievable and mostly positive; I included Carson, she rises to that level
  10. Pat Tillman — bless his patriotic heart, but get real
  11. Dr. Phil McGraw — LOL
  12. Ray Charles — heroin-addict womanizer who helped revolutionize popular music
  13. Richard Nixon — let’s not kick Nixon around
  14. Robert Kennedy — inspirational leader for a couple months
  15. Ronald Reagan — changed American politics
  16. Rosa Parks — maybe the toughest one; symbol for so much; in the end, her own actions are too specific, too limited
  17. Rudolph W. Giuliani — he rose to the occasion, but what else?
  18. Rush Limbaugh — greatness implies not appealing to the lowest common denominator
  19. Sam Walton — changed American retailing; JC Penney and Montgomery Ward were probably as influential, but we’re living with Walton today
  20. Steve Jobs — maybe Jobs could be included with Wozniak for inventing the PC; but not for running Apple
  21. Steven Spielberg — a pretty impressive and varied body of work to date, but …
  22. Susan B. Anthony — NewMexiKen rule: you make the currency (or coins) you make the list
  23. Theodore Roosevelt — one of the great presidents
  24. Thomas Edison — inventor in so many areas and also entrepreneur: General Electric
  25. Thomas Jefferson — drafted the Declaration of Independence; that’s enough right there and he was just getting started
  26. Tiger Woods — still just an athlete and celebrity
  27. Tom Cruise — one of the silliest on the list, though he was good in Collateral
  28. Tom Hanks — arguably the best actor on the list; but not the best actor who could be on the list
  29. Walt Disney — Mickey, Donald, Goofy — that’s good enough for me
  30. Wright Brothers (Orville & Wilbur Wright) — up-up-and-away

Six more bite the dust

  1. Lance Armstrong — great athlete and his public battle with cancer is significant, but I just don’t think he’s transcended athletics yet, like Ruth or Robinson or Owens
  2. Laura Bush — married beneath herself
  3. Lucille Ball — I Love Lucy
  4. Lyndon B. Johnson — a tough one for NewMexiKen; in the end, fatally flawed; but the “We Shall Overcome” speech (in support of the Civil Rights Act) is a signal moment in American history; he stays
  5. Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone) — why not Cher? why not Barbra? are they not strong women who managed their own entertainment careers? Is that sufficient? No.
  6. Malcolm X (Malcolm Little) — Alex Haley’s Autobiography of Malcolm X tries to convince us Malcolm was changing at the time of his assassination; had he lived he may well have become a more important historical figure
  7. Marilyn Monroe — talented, gorgeous, tragic, but not great
  8. Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) — “THE” American writer
  9. Martha Stewart — huh? Jon Stewart maybe, Payne Stewart even; not Martha
  10. Martin Luther King Jr. — you get a holiday named after you, you make the list; greater for what he represented and how he lead than for who he was, but if you doubt him go read his letter from Birmingham Jail; that alone puts him on the list

Ten more again

  1. Jimmy Carter — a successful man in everything except the presidency
  2. Jimmy Stewart — not even among the greatest actors
  3. John Edwards — is there some other John Edwards? surely this isn’t the one-term senator
  4. John Glenn — marine officer, game show contestant, astronaut, Senator, back in space in his seventies
  5. John F. Kennedy — lots and lots of points for not ending the world during the Cuban missile crisis but name something else he accomplished
  6. John Wayne — actors become the best by pretending to be other people; can an actor be a great American?
  7. Johnny Carson (John William Carson) — another tough one (and another I’ve seen in person); does he get credit for keeping the national discourse on a higher plane while he was such an influence?
  8. Jonas Edward Salk — NewMexiKen saw enough of polio as a child to know what Salk did
  9. Joseph Smith Jr. — Brigham Young surely, but not Smith
  10. Katharine Hepburn — fine actress; what else?

Brown v. Board of Education

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Brown on this date in 1954. A little background from the National Park Service:

This case was initiated by members of the local NAACP chapter in Topeka, Kansas. Thirteen parents volunteered to participate. In the summer of 1950, they took their children to schools in their neighborhoods and attempted to enroll them for the upcoming school year. All were refused admission. The children were forced to attend one of the four schools in the city for African Americans. For most this involved traveling some distance from their homes. These parents filed suit against the Topeka Board of Education on behalf of their twenty children. Oliver Brown, a minister, was the first parent listed in the suit, so the case came to be named after him. Three local lawyers, Charles Bledsoe, Charles Scott and John Scott, were assisted by Robert Carter and Jack Greenberg of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

The case was filed in February 1951. The U.S. District Court ruled against the plaintiffs, but placed in the record its acceptance of the psychological evidence that African-American children were adversely affected by segregation. These findings later were quoted by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1954 opinion.

Here’s the Supreme Court Decision.

That’s all for now

  1. Harriet Ross Tubman — escaped slave, put her life on the line to help more escape; women’s rights leader
  2. Harry Truman — among the top Presidents surely
  3. Helen Keller — overcame obstacles most of us can’t even imagine
  4. Henry Ford — for the $5 dollar day and the assembly line; pay people enough so they can buy your product
  5. Hillary Rodham Clinton — not yet
  6. Howard Hughes — too many fatal flaws
  7. Hugh Hefner — for publishing photos of nude women; I don’t think so; Hefner is on the list but not Hearst, nor Pulitzer, nor Luce, go figure
  8. Jackie Robinson (Jack Roosevelt Robinson) — superb athlete but makes the list for grace under fire
  9. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis — points for style and grace; but nothing more
  10. Jesse Owens — rose to the occasion and dispelled the Aryan myth in front of the world

Ten more

  1. Elvis Presley — of course; changed popular music
  2. Frank Sinatra — NewMexiKen would rather listen to Frank than Elvis, but Frank was not a revolutionary
  3. Franklin D. Roosevelt — America’s most conservative president; willing to accept change to preserve the system
  4. Frederick Douglass — a great presence when one was most needed
  5. George H. W. Bush — if your claim to greatness is being President, you have to be re-elected
  6. George W. Bush — name one accomplishment
  7. George Lucas — ruined movies forever, but great at it
  8. George Patton — eccentric, daring, an ass; my vote is with Omar Bradley
  9. George Washington — the indispensable American; second only to Lincoln
  10. George Washington Carver — there are sufficient African-American leaders now; Carver can be retired

Another set of ten

  1. Charles Lindbergh — heroism isn’t by itself greatness; Nazi sympathizer
  2. Christopher Reeve — tragedy isn’t greatness
  3. Chuck Yeager — a cool guy; but bottom line just a test pilot
  4. Clint Eastwood — Harry Callahan makes the list maybe; Clint I think not
  5. Colin Powell — failed to respect his own conscience
  6. Condoleezza Rice — 9/11
  7. Donald Trump — other moguls have done more with less
  8. Dwight D. Eisenhower — won the war; didn’t try to undo the New Deal
  9. Eleanor Roosevelt (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt) — first First Lady to lead publicly; important change for women
  10. Ellen DeGeneres — not even funny; Fanny Brice gets my vote

The next 10

  1. Barbara Bush — when Jeb gets elected president maybe, but until then my vote goes to Abigail Adams
  2. Benjamin Franklin — top five; the first American
  3. Bill Clinton — was unfairly attacked but provided the ammunition; best president to hang out with, not great
  4. Bill Cosby (William Henry Cosby, Jr.) — one of several people on the list NewMexiKen has seen in person, so gets extra credit; integrated television, no small thing
  5. Bill Gates — another I’ve seen in person; capitalism is what America is about
  6. Billy Graham — anti-Semitic remarks to Nixon
  7. Bob Hope; wasn’t funny; Bing Crosby gets my vote
  8. Brett Favre; Johnny U maybe, not Brett; only one ring
  9. Carl Sagan — role was to popularize science, especially space; look where he’s left us
  10. Cesar Chavez — labor and ethnic leader; changed perceptions

Considering the first 10

  1. Abraham Lincoln — NewMexiKen’s greatest American
  2. Albert Einstein — came to America at age 54; important work done more than 25 years earlier
  3. Alexander Graham Bell — Canadian
  4. Alexander Hamilton — if you’re on the currency you make the list
  5. Amelia Earhart — does a woman get to be great simply for being the first to do what men did?
  6. Andrew Carnegie — for philanthropy more than steel
  7. Arnold Schwarzenegger — not a good actor, not a good governor
  8. Audie Murphy — most highly decorated soldier of World War II (28 medals), all before age 21
  9. Babe Ruth — yes, made professional athletics part of popular culture
  10. Barack Obama — one speech, one big-time election; we’ll see

“The 100 Greatest Americans”

Here’s the whole AOL/Discovery Channel list:

Abraham Lincoln
Albert Einstein
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Hamilton
Amelia Earhart
Andrew Carnegie
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Audie Murphy
Babe Ruth
Barack Obama
Barbara Bush
Benjamin Franklin
Bill Clinton
Bill Cosby (William Henry Cosby, Jr.)
Bill Gates
Billy Graham
Bob Hope
Brett Favre
Carl Sagan
Cesar Chavez
Charles Lindbergh
Christopher Reeve
Chuck Yeager
Clint Eastwood
Colin Powell
Condoleezza Rice
Donald Trump
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eleanor Roosevelt (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt)
Ellen DeGeneres
Elvis Presley
Frank Sinatra
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Frederick Douglass
George H. W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Lucas
George Patton
George Washington
George Washington Carver
Harriet Ross Tubman
Harry Truman
Helen Keller
Henry Ford
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Howard Hughes
Hugh Hefner
Jackie Robinson (Jack Roosevelt Robinson)
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jesse Owens
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Stewart
John Edwards
John Glenn
John F. Kennedy
John Wayne
Johnny Carson (John William Carson)
Jonas Edward Salk
Joseph Smith Jr.
Katharine Hepburn
Lance Armstrong
Laura Bush
Lucille Ball
Lyndon B. Johnson
Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone)
Malcolm X (Malcolm Little)
Marilyn Monroe
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
Martha Stewart
Martin Luther King Jr.
Maya Angelou
Mel Gibson
Michael Jackson
Michael Jordan
Michael Moore
Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.)
Neil Alden Armstrong
Nikola Tesla
Oprah Winfrey
Pat Tillman
Dr. Phil McGraw
Ray Charles
Richard Nixon
Robert Kennedy
Ronald Reagan
Rosa Parks
Rudolph W. Giuliani
Rush Limbaugh
Sam Walton
Steve Jobs
Steven Spielberg
Susan B. Anthony
Theodore Roosevelt
Thomas Edison
Thomas Jefferson
Tiger Woods
Tom Cruise
Tom Hanks
Walt Disney
Wright Brothers (Orville & Wilbur Wright)

Don’t they teach anything in schools anymore?

AOL and Discovery Channel are producing a TV series in June to count down the 100 Greatest Americans. They created the list from nominations made by 500,000 voters (ignoramuses I’d say).

Let NewMexiKen share just some of the most absurd from the list to get you agitated:

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Barbara Bush
Brett Favre
Christopher Reeve
Ellen DeGeneres
Hugh Hefner
John Edwards
Lance Armstrong
Laura Bush
Martha Stewart
Michaels Jackson, Jordan and Moore
Pat Tillman
Dr. Phil
Tom Cruise

These are listed to compete with others of similar importance; you know, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain.

Professor Bainbridge has a good discussion.

Thanks to Ken for the pointer.

Committee of Vigilance

On May 15, 1856, residents of San Francisco organized a Committee of Vigilance to combat crime in their rapidly growing town. Like other gold rush boomtowns, San Francisco’s population explosion raised crime levels and left residents feeling insecure. Although the Committee of Vigilance turned alleged criminals over to law enforcement officials, it is known to have taken matters into its own hands more than once.

Led by Republican businessmen, the eight-thousand-member committee attempted to clean up politics as well as the streets. Perhaps coincidentally, targets of these rehabilitation efforts tended to be Democrats.

Edward McGowan, a former Pennsylvania legislator and police superintendent whose political dealings earned him the nickname “the ballot box stuffer,” was among the Democratic politicians run out of town by the second committee.

…

Although popular among residents, the Committee of 1856 disbanded after a few months. Hardly unique, the San Francisco Vigilance Committee is just one example of efforts to tame the Wild West.

Library of Congress