History According to Pearl Jam

Though more suited for world history, Pearl Jam's "Do the Evolution" music video certainly presents itself for some good discussion of human nature and how history repeats itself. Though not 100% classroom ready, it can be prefaced with some discussion and used as a tool to introduce history.

And though the lyrics suggest a satirical look at the religiously faithful, the video ponders much more than just religion. In college me and a friend analyzed this entire album and easily pulled biblical references from every song. This one is no exception. (Armageddon - "2010 watch it go to fire")

The video begins with evolution from cells to dinosaurs on to early man. It continues towards the Crusades showing a medieval knight preparing for battle. The video evolves to match the lyrics discussing the stock market crash. The KKK is shown doing some kind of ritual dance. It references Nazi troops and World War 1 trench warfare. There's a sequence of a slave master whipping a slave...There's a scene depicting what looks like the bombing of a Vietnamese village, by the "evil" United States. And it goes on towards a Pink Floyd-esque futuristic era, with the idea that computers are taking over and mankind is in the decline.

So who's to blame for mankind's de-evolution? Vedder and Pearl Jam seem to blame world leaders, religious leaders and large institutions in general.

Woo..

I'm ahead, I'm a man
I'm the first mammal to wear pants, yeah
I'm at peace with my lust
I can kill 'cause in God I trust, yeah

It's evolution, baby

I'm at piece, I'm the man
Buying stocks on the day of the crash
On the loose, I'm a truck
All the rolling hills, I'll flatten 'em out, yeah

It's herd behavior, uh huh
It's evolution, baby

Admire me, admire my home
Admire my son, he's my clone
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

This land is mine, this land is free
I'll do what I want but irresponsibly
It's evolution, baby

I'm a thief, I'm a liar
There's my church, I sing in the choir: (hallelujah, hallelujah)

Admire me, admire my home
Admire my son, admire my clones'

Cause we know, appetite for a nightly feast
Those ignorant Indians got nothin' on me
Nothin', why? Because... it's evolution, baby!

I am ahead, I am advanced
I am the first mammal to make plans, yeah
I crawled the earth, but now I'm higher
2010, watch it go to fire
It's evolution, baby

Do the evolution
Come on, come on, come on

-- Eddie Vedder/Stone Gossard

PS - Korn's "Evolution" has a similar message... but with a lot less history and more things that make you go hmmmm...

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The History of Labor Day

Most call it the unofficial end of summer. Many use it as their last hoo-rah before heading back to school... It's another American excuse to barbecue, hang out with friends, drink some beer and close up the beach house...but what exactly is Labor Day?

According to the Department of Labor - Labor Day is "dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers" and their contributions to the "strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."

During the industrial revolution it was common for men, women and children to work 12 hour days, 6 and 7 days a week just to make a living. Without many labor laws in place the terrible working conditions forced many workers to band together forming unions.

On September 5, 1882, in an attempt to voice their demands for a better way of life, some 10,000 of over-worked laborers marched together through the streets of New York City, creating the first-ever Labor Day Parade.

There is debate as to who's idea Labor Day was... but I won't bore you with the specifics...(you can read more about it here). Starting in the 1890's there was increasing legislation movement for states to adopt and institute Labor Day to honor their hardworking citizens. Slowly more and more states adopted the idea.

By 1894, 29 states had adopted the holiday to honor their workers. On June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

So there you have it... kind of a boring history, but a history nonetheless.

Teachers, prepare your lesson plans. Students find your thinking caps. The school year is upon us. Good luck to all.

For more information about Labor Day visit the Department of Labor website: http://www.dol.gov/OPA/ABOUTDOL/LABORDAY.HTM

Also - the history channel has a micro-site dedicated to Labor Day with images and videos: http://www.history.com/minisites/laborday/

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1968 Democratic National Convention: Vietnam War Protests

With this week's Democratic National Convention (DNC) it is only natural to highlight one of the low lights of the Democratic party's history... It happened on this day 40 years ago in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Much like today's political climate, the United States was involved in a confusing war that had been going on far too long, and there were differences on how to move forward (or backwards).

In this case, the DNC in Chicago endorsed President Lyndon Johnson's administration's platform on the war in Vietnam and chose VP Hubert Humphrey as the party's nominee for president. Humphrey had adopted Johnson's views of staying in the war awaiting the results of the Paris Peace Talks, where the leaders of both North and South Vietnam would meat in Paris to negotiate peace.

Johnson had opted not to seek re-election because he wanted to concentrate on peacemaking. It's very rare that a President does not run for a second term, but it has happened... see the notes at the bottom for other occurrences.

Many Democrats had hoped that Eugene McCarthy, who called for an immediate withdrawal from Vietnam, would be the nominee.

The decision to support Vice President Humphrey and in turn Johnson's platform on the Vietnam War resulted in a heated three-hour debate inside the convention hall.

Meanwhile, a full-scale riot erupted outside in the streets, where antiwar protesters fought with police and the National Guard. By the end of the convention, some 668 demonstrators had been arrested.

Eight of the protesters were charged with conspiracy in connection with the violence. They were known collectively as the "Chicago Eight". But one of the eight was tried separately after declaring a mistrial and they were renamed the "Chicago Seven".

Needless to say, America was shocked by the images of armed conflict in the streets broadcast on TV and in the papers. The Republican Party quickly reacted and vowed to restore law and order, earning Richard Nixon a lot of support and eventually the Presidency.

Notes:
Other Presidents not seeking re-election:

Lyndon Johnson, opted to withdraw from the 1968 election to concentrate on peacemaking, though his Vietnam War policy did not support this.

James Polk -- retired after one term and did not seek re-election

And James Buchanan's party did not nominate him for re-election in 1860... he was a lame duck who didn't do much to stop the Civil War and is rated as one of the worst Presidents in history.

For more information about this year's Democratic National Convention visit their website:
http://www.demconvention.com/

Here's more about the riots from the Chicago History Museum: http://www.chicagohs.org/history/politics/1968.html

and I can't believe people are encouraging another riot...

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Links to History: Antiques Road Show Web Site

I receive great information via email and love to share them with you... this one comes from PBS. To keep the integrity of the message they'd like you to receive, I simply copied the email from them verbatim.

"As part of Antique Roadshow's 12th broadcast season on PBS, the popular series launched a newly re-designed Web site at http://pbs.org/antiques with improved navigation, a first-of-its-kind searchable archive of appraisal videos from past seasons, a "you are there" video feature called "Your Stories," and a teachers' guide for using ROADSHOW in the classroom.

Additional information about the new features and organization of the site are included below.

The ANTIQUES ROADSHOW Archive currently offers streaming video, stills, transcripts, and more about appraisals featured in seasons 9 through 12—all presented in an easy-to-use format. Appraisals from earlier seasons will be added over the next eighteen months.
"Your Stories" recreates the excitement and anticipation of arriving at a ROADSHOW event, sharing family legends and antiquing sagas with other guests waiting on line. Now, ROADSHOW Online visitors are in on the conversation as cameras capture guests and their objects pre-appraisal.

The ANTIQUES ROADSHOW Teacher's Guide: ROADSHOW Online's first official foray into the realm of education, is designed to offer new ways to get students excited and engaged in history, geography, the arts and society, and a range of other topics, using the ROADSHOW Archive. Questions, activities, and other resources invite students to take a closer look at the objects people have used throughout history and to develop a sense of wonder about the people and events of the past, present, and even the future.

Visitors to the re-designed site find features, schedules, and information-packed articles organized into five sections:

The ROADSHOW Archive: This unique video archive allows collectors to search by item category (jewelry, furniture, glass, etc.), appraiser, assigned value, city where an item was filmed, or ROADSHOW season episode number. The record for each item includes a photo, the video of the object's appraisal, text transcript of the appraisal, lists of attributes for each object, and who appraised it in which show.

On Your TV: The TV schedule, links to cities visited on past tours, information about appraisers, host Mark L. Walberg, and our sponsors.

On the Road: The current appraisal tour schedule and links to apply for tickets, to tour city information pages, to the Summer Tour FAQ's and more.

Only Online: Hear more about extraordinary ROADSHOW finds in "Follow the Stories;" learn from our experts in "Tips of the Trade;" polish your antiquing lingo with our "Glossary," and watch the appraisal event action with "Your Stories."

Resources: Information about the experts and links to resources featured in ROADSHOW's "field trip" segments during visits to the six cities of the 2007 Summer Tour, recommended reading, and more.

And fans also can sign up to receive ANTIQUES ROADSHOW Fanfare, a monthly e-mail bulletin with timely updates about the television series and ANTIQUES ROADSHOW Online."

http://pbs.org/antiques

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Dr. Benjamin Rush: An Underrated Signer

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine and Lewis and Clark. Each of these men owe a great deal of their success to a lesser known man named Benjamin Rush.

Each and every one of the aforementioned characters was aided in one way shape or form by Dr. Benjamin Rush.

In 1813, at the time of his death, Dr. Benjamin Rush was arguably one of America’s three most notable men, George Washington and Ben Franklin being the others. Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, he served under 3 presidents, founded five colleges, and trained thousandas of medical students.

In June 1776, he was appointed to represent Philadelphia at the Continental Congress. He later became the physician-general of the Continental Army, where he campaigned for the removal of George Washington as the Army General, after a series of defeats. He later expressed regret for his actions. Washington and Rush were not the best of friends...

Read more about the conversations between George Washington and Benjamin Rush.

Rush is most famous, however, for helping to reconcile the friendship of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.

Dr. Rush did not align himself with either party. His ecumenical approach to politics allowed him to foster relationships with men from both parties, and kept him employed under three different Presidents of varying political beliefs. Thus, Rush was friendly with both Jefferson and Adams.

Rush's efforts would eventually help to reconcile differences between the two great minds. Our good friend Hercules Mulligan of the Foundation Forum puts it best on his blog entry: The Dream of Benjamin Rush. Why reinvent the wheel? Read his post, after finishing mine of course.

Rush also played an important role in the creation of one of America's most influential and inspiring documents, the pro-independence Common Sense. Rush consulted Thomas Paine on the writing of the document.

Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis to Philadelphia to meet with Dr. Rush with the hope of preparing them for their great exploration. Rush taught Lewis about many of the illnesses he would encounter in the frontier as well as a crash course on bloodletting. Rush provided the expedition crew with a medical kit which included laxatives that contained mercury. As it turns out, these laxatives came in very handy as the lack of clean water and the diet heavy in meat caused the corps to use the pills often.

Incidentally, the large traces of mercury in the crews' feces have allowed scientists and archaeologists to trace more closely the actual route blazed by Lewis and Clark.

All this said, I'm proud to be a founding teacher of a brand new high school in the Philadelphia School District named none other than: The Arts Academy @ Benjamin Rush.

I'm very fortunate to be a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity of building a high school from the ground up... from the mission statement to graduation. I can't wait to get started.

If anyone out there has any experience in a brand new school... and I mean brand new, first time opened... please share some pointers.

For more information about Benjamin Rush, visit:
Benjamin Rush: Patriot and Physician
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Rush

You shouldn't have any trouble finding information about Rush. Rush wrote over 2,000 pages of published letters and essays, in addition to hundreds of unpublished papers. His works are scattered around the world and can be found in both public and private collections.
Here are just a few of his selected writings.

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The Battle of Tripoli: America's First War Against Terrorism

"From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli."

Most of you know, this as the first line to the US Marine Hymn. And if you're like my father (who was not a Marine... he actually "failed" his physical, but that's a different story), you may even know the tune and most of the words. But what the heck does it mean?

The words were inspired by an unanticipated battle in 1805, where nearly 1000 soldiers, most of whom were not American, fought in the U.S. Marines' first battle on foreign land.

In the late 18th century it was common place for Muslim terrorists to carry out unprovoked attacks on American ships sailing in the seas of northern Africa. The terrorists were fulfilling their faithful duty. They were carrying out jihad against all Western powers. Because it is written in the Koran that all nations who do not acknowledge the Prophet Muhammad are sinners. Therefore it is the right and duty to those faithful to Muhammad to plunder and enslave those who do not believe. And that mussulman who dies serving his God would go to paradise? Does this sound familiar?

As early as 1786, Thomas Jefferson then the Ambassador to France - was trying to negotiate peace with the Tripoli's Ambassador to Britain and curb these unprovoked attacks. Eventually tribute payments were made to some of these countries, but the attacks by these "Barbary Pirates" continued.

In 1804 off the coast of Tripoli, a US Navy ship, the Philadelphia, ran aground and was quickly engulfed by the pirates. It resulted in 307 Americans being taken hostage. While Jefferson was trying to negotiate peace to rescue the prisoners, an American diplomat decided to take matters into his own hands.

Eaton appointed himself General of a make-shift army. Devastated by the idea of Americans being held hostage, Eaton, accompanied by 8 US Marines set out for Tripoli. Along the way he gathered nearly 1000 Greek, Arab and European mercenary soldiers.

Eaton's basic plan was to end the custom of paying bribe money, to protect American merchant ships from the pillage of Barbary pirates and overthrow Tripoli's leader.

With the support of another army at sea Eaton was successful in capturing the town of Derna. His victory would eventually lead to peace negotiations between the US and the Barbary states.

Many believe his triumph resulted in the American flag being flown over foreign soil for the first time.

Links:

Here's more about William Eaton: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Eaton

If you'd like to know more about the Barbary Pirates, the Battle of Tripoli or early terrorist attacks, here are a few books which might interest you:

Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation

The End of Barbary Terror: America's 1815 War against the Pirates of North Africa

Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror 1801-1805

Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present

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Links to History: Free Lesson Plans and Back to School Savings

This edition of Links to history has some great incentives for teachers... Free stuff...and some stuff that's closer to free than it was before...

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Savings at PBS Online Store:

Here are the latest promotions for ShopPBS - remember, your purchases support PBS programming.

Save 25% on The War: A Ken Burns Film -- Only $74.99 at ShopPBS.org when you shop through this link. Offer ends August 31, 2008

20% off NOW on PBS Best Sellers at ShopPBS.org - Shop July 22 - August 4 2008



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Free K-12 Lesson Plan Resource from American Heritage:

The American Heritage Education Foundation (AHEF) is pleased to make available at no cost to educators and interested citizens a history/civic K-12 lesson plan resource CD of $150.00 value, "America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty."

Endorsed by former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, and collaboratively developed by professional educators and community service organizations, "America's Heritage" assists teachers in educating young people about America's factual, philosophical heritage based on themes of freedom, unity, progress, and responsibility.

Available in CD and binder format, the resource includes Elementary, Elementary Spanish (ESL), Middle, and High School volumes. It correlates with NCSS and Core Knowledge national social studies standards.

Through independent testing, "America's Heritage" has proven to increase student performance in history objectives in schools compared with schools that did not use the resource. It has been made available successfully to Teaching American History schools/districts in support of American History education.

Topics include:

The Mayflower Compact
Colonial America & the American Revolution
History of Thanksgiving
Founding Fathers
Presidents The National Motto
U.S. Flag The Great Seal
Declaration of Independence
U.S. Constitution
Bill of Rights
Gettysburg Address
Federalist Papers
Statue of Liberty
The Pledge of Allegiance
The American's Creed
National Anthem
Religious Expression in Public Schools

To request a review copy, make a free bulk order, or get more information, go to AHEF at http://www.americanheritage.org/, email AHEF at ahef@americanheritage.org

PS - I know I mentioned a teacher's guide to the Antiques Road show... i'll get to that next...

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The History of: "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

It's been said that it's the third most frequently sung song in America... I'm sure Happy Birthday and The Star-Spangled Banner win the gold and silver.

Every night, during the 7th inning stretch in every major and minor league baseball game, thousands upon thousands of people rise to their feet and sing the song as one.

We all know the chorus by heart... and we sing it loud and proud... it's almost un-American not to. It's as American as baseball... in fact it IS baseball. What would baseball be like without it?

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is celebrating it's 100th year as THE baseball song. The irony of the song is that the author had never been to a baseball game.

The story goes that Jack Norworth, a song writer and vaudeville performer, was inspired to write the song when he saw an sign promoting a game at the Polo Grounds, while riding a New York city subway. Norworth's inspiration began by writing a song about a girl named Katie Casey who's boyfriend called to see if she'd like to go to a show... but instead, Katie asked her boyfriend to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". And in knowing the lyric you can imagine a girl asking her boyfriend to "buy her some peanuts and cracker-jack".

The song was a huge hit... (yep, pun intended, but that was an easy one...) The song was a top 10 hit for three artists in 1908. And it wasn't until the 1934 World Series, when the song was performed at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis.

For the next several decades, baseball fans would spontaneously sing the song during ball games. Often times between innings or during pitching changes when the organist would play the tune.

What made the song even more popular was its inclusion in the 7th inning stretch of Chicago Cubs games. But this didn't happen until much later and really wasn't planned.

(See a history of the 7th inning stretch here...) Thanks to the robust President Taft, we have a 7th inning stretch...which also was not planned.

The story goes that legendary Cubs play-by-play announcer Harry Caray would privately sing the song during commercial breaks. (Back then he was broadcasting for the other Chicago baseball team...) In 1976, White Sox owner Bill Veeck, known for his wacky promotions and stunts, tricked Caray into leading the White Sox faithful in singing the song at Comiskey Park, by hiding a microphone in the broadcast booth, and allowing all the fans to hear him and sing along. The tradition was started...

Caray carried the tradition to the other side of Chicago when he became the Cubs' announcer in 1982. And because the Cubs were broadcast on Cable television, the entire country got to hear Caray's rendition, and other teams began adopting the tradition. And the rest, as they say... is history. Even after Caray's transition to baseball heaven in 1998 the Cubs continue the tradition by having celebrities sing the song during the 7th inning stretch.

But of course each team would substitute the lyrics to customize the song for their favorite team... in my case it goes "root, root, root for the Phillies..."

For more history of the song, and many other baseball songs you can read Baseball's Greatest Hit: The Story of Take Me Out to the Ball Game . The book comes with a CD of rare and classic recordings of the song including Harry Caray.

The Baseball-Almanac, which is an excellent site for baseball enthusiasts, has the complete version of both lyrics, as well as several you can listen to..
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_stmo.shtml

To celebrate the song's 100th anniversary Major League Baseball and Baby Ruth teamed up to create a contest where the winner would sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at this year's All-Star game... Here's the link: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/fan_forum/babyruth/ (Tab around this micro-site for more information about the song...)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1908 original version)
words by - Jack Norworth
music by - Albert VonTilzer

Katie Casey was baseball mad,
Had the fever and had it bad.
Just to root for the home town crew,
Ev'ry sou Katie blew.
On a Saturday her young beau
Called to see if she'd like to go
To see a show, but Miss Kate said
"No, I'll tell you what you can do:"

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win, it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes,
you're out, At the old ball game.

Katie Casey saw all the games,
Knew the players by their first names.
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along,Good and strong.
When the score was just two to two,
Katie Casey knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song:

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win, it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game.

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Roll Call: Who's Reading this Blog?

Mostly for my own curiosity, but also to help see where this blog endeavor could go, I'd like to take a quick roll call of who my regular readers are.

I know for a fact that there are anywhere between 43 and 53 people who subscribe to my RSS feed... I thank you for that. I'm very flattered. What started as a site to help my students respond easily to reading assignments (in their own element so to speak) has turned into something I really enjoy doing... writing about and sharing knowledge about US History.

All I ask is for some of you, to kind of chime in with a quick note in the comments section of this post and let me know who you are... you can sign in anonymously and give me an occupation and an age, or anything you feel comfortable revealing.

Thanks for reading... and thanks for posting...

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Links to History: BackStoryRadio.org and The Civil Rights Digital Library

As a history blogger with a decent sized audience (and surprisingly good search engine rankings), I'm often contacted to promote local events, websites, publications, etc...

Most of those that contact me do have relevant information that my readers would enjoy, but too often I don't find time to post their requests. This will change.

From now on I'll post these findings every so often as... "Links to History".

This is the first of such postings... enjoy.

backstoryradio.org - BackStoryRadio is a call-in radio show that brings a historical perspective to every day happenings. U.S. historians Ed Ayers, Peter Onuf, and Brian Balogh discuss current events. Check it out.

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www.civilrightslibrary.org - The Civil Rights Digital Library is one of the most comprehensive digital archives of the civil rights movement recently unveiled by The University of Georgia.

The Library aggregates and digitizes never-before-seen video news clips, audio files, images, FBI files, court documents and more from more than 75 institutions from across the nation. You can view some of the best here: http://crdl.usg.edu/voci/go/crdl/pf/abouter/9930.

Also, there is a special part of the site just for teachers.... Freedom on Film, which features lesson plans, worksheets and resources to facilitate learning the civil rights material. (http://crdl.usg.edu/voci/go/crdl/educatorResources/list)

next... the updates to the Antiques Roadshow website... they're going Web 2.0!!!

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The Declaration of Independence

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

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Harry Truman - Mis-quoted

As some of you may know I have a website dedicated to US History Lesson plans, time lines, quotes, facts, etc... anything that would help a teacher research or share information.

A while back I decided it would be a good idea to add pages with quotes from Presidents. I added the obvious ones; Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, JFK and FDR, and Thomas Jefferson. I eventually added more Presidents, but the list is not complete.

This led me to add some pages for quotations from famous Americans (people that might be studied in a high school classroom), like MLK, Thomas Paine, Alexander Hamilton, Ben Franklin, John Muir, Abigail Adams and Susan B. Anthony, to name a few.

For some of these quotations pages, I've added video, so you can listen to the quotes as you read them. I guess my website is finally getting into Web 2.0.

To find these quotes, I mostly use other Internet sources. I do occasionally ad quotes that I read in books or magazines, but for the most part I trust the Internet to be my accurate source.

Not too long ago I received an inquiry from a site visitor that read:

Do you know the correctness and creation date of this Truman quote: "Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it."?

I was taken aback... how could this trusted Internet site from where I pulled the quote be wrong? Like the Chicago Tribune paper he's holding... he's been misquoted.

I quickly used my research skills to get to the bottom of it... and within a few minutes had found the answer... I quickly replied:

Hi Jim,

I hadn't thought about checking the validity of any of the quotes on my site, but perhaps I should change that. I have put too much trust in the public domain.

I did some research and it appears like Truman was accidentally or incorrectly credited with saying this.

Here is the information I found from WikiQuote (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman)

Attributed without citation in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (1992) by Angela Partington, disputed in The Quote Verifier : Who Said What, Where, and When (2006) by Ralph Keyes, p. 224, as something Truman is not known to have said, nor was likely to have said.

And i did find some other information which credits Mortimer Snerd with saying something similar - "Always be sincere, whether you mean it or not." Though this quote is also credited to Flanders and Swann, a British comedy duo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders_and_Swann

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I love the research. I will remove this from my site this evening.

Best,

Kevin Katz
http://www.ushistorysite.com/

And that was that... Harry Truman has mistakenly been given credit to something he never said. Jim wrote back to me with a great resource....

Thank you. I'm nearly 50 years old and I had always heard "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” so I was surprised the actual quote was, “Harry, if you can't stand the heat you better get out of the kitchen” [Truman, Wright
Memorial Dinner of the Aero Club of Washington, address 12/1952] the folks
at the Truman Library showed me how to access his public papers on-line < http://www.trumanlibrary.org/, click on "Archival Research," and then on Public Papers>

Another Truman quote taken out of context and credited to him...

Thanks Jim for bringing this to our attention.. and thanks for being a true scholar, and a true historian... always question... always doubt... and always seek the truth... Here's Jim's blog: http://woodrow-woodrowd.blogspot.com/

Let's trust Jim.. and the folks at the Truman Library...

And finally, here is the link to the updated and hopefully accurate Harry Truman quotes page: http://ushistorysite.com/truman_quotes

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Survey Results: As time passes, how do you think history will rate Bill Clinton as president?

No matter what you think of Bill Clinton, he will leave a legacy... most (if not all) presidents do. But love him or hate him, Clinton will leave a legacy which will outlast many of his counterparts.

It is clear that under Clinton's watchful eye the economy flourished. Some of this can be attributed to his prowess in foreign policy, most notably the ratification of NAFTA and GATT, which both helped to bolster our trade and in turn our economy.

Yes, a personal scandal did hurt Clinton's true ability to be judged unbiasedly. And unfortunately many will never put that mistake aside. These are the same people that voted him "One of the worst" Presidents in history, which is absolutely ridiculous. A surprising 19% of my readers put Clinton in this category. This is clearly a case of disregarding the facts and simply voting on his sometimes questionable morals. I digress.

Back to the facts... Clinton's foreign policy, though not great, was considered a positive. Along with the aforementioned NAFTA and GATT accomplishments, Clinton also helped to denuclearize several Soviet Republics, like the Ukraine. Though he can't be given all the credit, as many of his predecessors set the table for this to occur.

How about the Chemical Weapons Convention. Signed in 1993 under Clinton's administration, it was basically an extension of the Geneva Convention urging countries not to stockpile chemical weapons. The pact put into effect many verification measures including on-site inspections and compliance guidelines. That's not too bad... but again, not really Clinton's idea, but good for him for signing it. But since 184 of the 195 recognized states or countries signed it (though not all will remain compliant) we can't really give much of hoorah a to Mr. Bill.

1996 brought about a United States led effort to save the Mexican peso and subside any chance for a full fledged Mexican depression. NAFTA would help in the long run, but Mexico needed help now. Clinton's compassion for our southern neighbor staved off what would have been a huge calamity in Mexico, which could have led to an influx of Mexican's flocking to the US for jobs... heck that happens now, but imagine what it could have been.

Through deterrence, diplomacy and some Clinton charm, he reduced the threat of North Korea going postal, by negotiating the Framework Agreement to freeze and dismantle North Korea’s nuclear weapons fuel production and long range missile testing. (Little good it did, consider where North Korea is now).

This also helped to open a dialogue with South Korea, where Clinton played the "good neighbor" by trying to get two quarrelling neighbors to kiss and make up... a la Jimmy Carter. In doing this, Clinton helped to coordinate the Four Party Talks, which included both Koreas, the US and Japan.

Clinton also negotiated the exit of Russian troops from the Baltics, brought NATO missions into the Balkans and helped Russia to end to the Kosovo war. He then invited Russia to join the G-8, ATEC and into talks with NATO. He convinced Russia to dismantle thousands nuclear warheads, lessening the threat of nuclear danger, and finally helped to build Russia's economy by offering more than 250,000 Russian entrepreneurs training, consulting services and US backed loans to welcome them into the world of Free enterprise/market economy... It's about time, right?

He strengthened our relationship with China, helping to bring them into the World Trade Organization (which most likely helped to plant the seed of what China's economy is today... which is rather large and getting larger...)

With Bono's help (yep.. that Bono from U2) he helped broker the Good Friday Peace Accord, which ended decades of bloodshed, and finally allowed the people of Northern Ireland to live in relative peace and decide their own destiny.

He's done similar revitalizations with countries in Africa and Vietnam... and all of it was in the best interest of our country... a lot of win/win situations.

I could go on and on... and this is just foreign policy... this is not our Economy... I'll save that for another entry...

So here are the results of the poll... (with 52 votes)

As time passes, how do you think history will rate Bill Clinton as president?

Better than most - 36% (19 votes)

Not as good as most - 26% (14 votes)

One of the worst - 19% (10 votes)

One of the Best - 13% (7 votes)

Worse than Most - 3% (2 votes)

Would anyone care to vote again? Can he really be considered one of the worst?

I'd like to hear your thoughts on Clinton's legacy... and how he can be considered one of the worst.

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RFK, Sirhan Sirhan and the Woman in the Polka Dot Dress; 40 Years Later

It seems as if my blog has been Kennedy-centric of late. But for good reason.

Today, June 5 marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Coincidentally, it comes one day after Barrack Obama wins the Democratic nomination for President, a position RFK would most likely have gained, and won.

It comes several weeks after some bizarre comments made by Hillary Clinton referencing the tragedy. When asked why she hadn't conceded a race that, for all intents and purposes, has been decided for months she replied:

My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it.

What's even stranger is that this is not the first time she referenced RFK's death in association with her stretching the primary through June. Here are her comments from a March 6 interview with Time:

TIME: Can you envision a point at which--if the race stays this close--Democratic Party elders would step in and say, "This is now hurting the party and whoever will be the nominee in the fall"?

CLINTON: No, I
really can't. I think people have short memories. Primary contests used to last
a lot longer. We all remember the great tragedy of Bobby Kennedy being assassinated in June in L.A. My husband didn't wrap up the nomination in
1992 until June. Having a primary contest go through June is nothing
particularly unusual.

Are you kidding me? You're right Hillary. Primaries lasting through June is not particularly unusual... but your comments are. I'm sure she was apologetic the first time she said it, and I know she doesn't mean any harm to Senator Obama, but I thought she would have learned from her mistakes. She's always appeared to be a very intelligent and calculating woman but I'm not exactly sure how these comments in particular passed through her filter.

I'm happy they did because it makes this blog post come full circle back into the present.

The Assassination

The movie Bobby is a great portrayal of the entire event. Even though you know what happens the movie sets up the suspense very well.

The Woman in the Polka Dot Dress

So who exactly is the woman in the polka-dot-dress? Several witnesses to the shooting told police they saw Sirhan Sirhan talking to a man and a woman in a polka-dot dress before the incident. This combined with an LAPD sergeant's report that he overheard a woman wearing a polka-dot dress say "We shot Kennedy." This mystery woman, disappeared in the chaos as the crowd dispersed before the police officer could react. Many believe this woman may have hypnotized Sirhan Sirhan brainwashing him and convincing him to kill Kennedy. This theory was quickly dismissed by police. So where is this woman now? Where was she then? Nobody knows who she is, or if she ever even existed.

Conspiracy?

Despite this confusion, we are certain of one thing. Both Robert Kennedy and John Kennedy were killed by two very unstable men. Though what is not certain is whether these deaths are related or are they part of a larger conspiracy. Did Sirhan have accomplices? Did Oswald have accomplices? Are they mob related? Were there more than one shooter in both assassinations? Will we ever know the truth of either of the Kennedy assassinations?

Some information:

The Freedom of Information Act at least gives us the ability to see the results of the investigations, though we can't possibly judge the validity of them. Here is a link to the FBI report on the assassination of RFK: http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/rfk.htm

For more information on the RFK assassination and other California assassinations, read the book California Justice by David Kulczyk. It has short histories of nearly 35 California lynchings and shootings.

I can't say this is the best read in the world, and it's definitely not for everyone, but it does work if you're into old style lynchings and posses and bar room brawls turned into shootouts.


Where's Sirhan now?

He's still in prison. He's been eligible for parole 13 times (as of June, 2008) and has been denied each time.

RIP RFK

Here's the eulogy of Bobby Kennedy, presented by his brother Teddy.



Fun Facts:

It is rumored that in true Kennedy fashion, as RFK lay dying on the kitchen floor at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, he uttered his last words: "Is everyone alright?"

The lead investigator for Robert Kennedy's assassination was Assistant Police Chief Daryl Gates, who later would become Chief of Police of the LAPD during the Rodney King incident and the riots that ensued after the verdict.

Links to more facts: http://flag.blackened.net/daver/misc/rfk.html

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