Sunday, August 31, 2008
The Making Of America.
Lately I've been watching politicians carefully and closely. Looking for their platforms, and their favored causes, I got so deep in all of this I dragged out history books. Old ones, 'cause that's where you'll find the real stuff, events you were part of. Whoever wrote them can't make us more campaign promises, or how the economy will be, or wars will turn out. It is just what it is.
Seeing the one hundred year event in Denver this week, noticing the candidates' fresh new hope, gave me energy to work longer at campaign headquarters, making call after call. I am on such a high about this election, almost makes me wish I could be for both parties. The voices I heard from the other end of the phone calls make me remember how much we need great leaders for our country. Most of those voices sounded eager for better tomorrows for all of us,
As our country's government formed, an unlikely social triangle developed that in many ways continues today. Its three parts were the slavery of Blacks; the treatment of Native Americans, and the refusal to allow basic human rights to women.
When I set out to write this, I thought to show facts only about this trio, but realized that many aspects of the prevaling culture they found themselves in greatly affected their time on this earth.
The following list at the end of my thoughts here grows and grows. It is taken from Culture And Important Dates In American History, The New York Public Library Desk Reference, 3rd. edition, A Simon and Shuster MacMillan Company: 1633 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019. Copyright 1988, 1989, 1993.
1607- The first European settlement in America is established at Jamestown, Virginia.
1619- The first black slaves land at Jamestown, Virginia.
1619- The first representative assembly in America, is established in Virginia.
1647- Margaret Brent is the first woman to claim the right to vote.
1688- The first formal protest against slavery is made, by Pennsylvania Quakers.
1712- A slave revolt in New York leads to the excution of 21 blacks; 6 commit suicide.
1741- The second slave uprising takes place in New York; 13 are hanged, 13 burned; and 71 deported.
1749- Black slavery is legalized in Georgia.
1758- The first Indian reservation is established.
1779- George Washington orders a military campaign against the Iroquois, The Battle of
Tippecanoe, thwarting plans for an Indian Confederacy.
1808- The importation of slaves is outlawed. 250,000 are illegally imported between
and 1860.
1811- While Shawnee Chief Tecumseh is away making alliances with other tribal
eaders, Indiana Governor, Wm. Henry Harrison and one thousand men destroy his
settlement in the Battle of Tippecanoe, thwarting plans for an Indian confederacy.
1830- President Jackson signs the "Indian Removal Act."
1838- Cherokees begin "the Trail of Tears", their 1200 mile forced march to Oklahoma.
I848- The first Women's Rights Convention is held in Seneca Falls, N Y.
1857- The Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court upholds Slavery. This decision also
stated that slaves are not citizens of any state, or of the United States.
1860- A nationwide shoemakers' strike wins workers higher wages, and the National Labor
Union is founded.
1861- The Civil War begins.
1862- Slavery is abolished in Washington, D. C.
863- President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclomation, freeing the slaves.
1864- Black prisoners of war are massacred by Confederate soldiers at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
864- One hundred thirty three Cheyenne and Arapahoe are killed by Colorado Cavalry v
volunteers at Sand Creek, the Sand Creek Massacer.
1865- The Confederacy surrenders, and the Civil War ends.
1865- The Ku Klax Klan is formed in Pulaski, Tennessee.
I868- The fourteenth amendment is ratified. Grants due process to all but Native Americans.
1869- Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony establish the National Women's Suffrage
Association to press for women's voting rights.
1872- Susan B Anthony is arrested for voting.
1875- The Civil Rights Act gives equal rights to Blacks in public accomodations, and jury duty.
1896- The Supreme Court upholds the "Separate but Equal" doctrine.
1903- Mary Harris leads a week long march of child mill workers from Pennsylvania, to President Theodore Roosevelt's New York City home.
1905- The Niagra Movement later to become the NAACP, is founded.
1908- Women demonstrate in New York City, demanding an end to sweat shops and child
labor.
1911- The triangle Shirt Waste fire in New York City kills 146 Sweat Shop workers, mostly
women, and leads to demands for better working conditions.
1914- The Colorado National Guard burns a striking miners'camp and kills thirteen children
and seven adults in the Ludlow Massacre.
1915- The Women's International Leage for Peace and Freedom is founded, and 25,000
women march in New York City, demanding the right to vote.
1916- The national Women's Party is founded. The first birth control clinic opens in Brooklyn.
916- Margaret Sanger is arrested for operating a birth control clinic.
1917- Women picket the White House for the right to vote.
1920- Hallelujah! It's about time........Fifty one years after Stanton and Anthony began
campaigning for it, the ratification of the 19th amendment gives women the right
to vote, and the Leage of Women Voters is founded.
1921- The Ku Klux Klan begins a revival against Blacks in the North, South and Midwest.
1921- Margaret Sanger establishes the American Birth Control Leage, the predecessor to
Planned Parenthood.
1923- Under presidential pressure, U. S. Steel institutes the eight hour work day.
1924- Native Americans are declared citizens by Congress.
1929- The Stock Market crashes, and the Great Depression begins.
1933- President Roosevelt closes all U.S. banks during 100 days. A special session of
.Congress passes the National Recovery Administration and the Tennessee Valley
Authority, TVA, and the WPA.
1935- The National Labor Relations Act, recognizing workers' right to organize and bargain collectively, passes.
1935- President Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act
1944- Congress passes the G I Bill of rights, providing veterans' benefits.
1965- The Supreme Court holds that "the rite of privacy" covers the use of contraceptives.
1967- Two hundred thousand people march against the Vietnam war, in New York City.
1971- Five hundred thousand demonstrate in Washington D. C. against what some call
America's Longest War, Vietnam.
1973- Oglala Sioux occupy Wounded Knee, South dakota, and declare an independent Oglala
Sioux nation.
1978- The "Longest Walk" by 300 Native Americans begins, to protect treaty rights.
It takes a while to get through three wars, and the need to change important things in our country. I could not list them all here. What I got from revisiting this part of our history
is that our freedoms did not come easily. Many died. Many were treated horribly, and those who campaigned on our behalf for women's rights were ridiculed and disdained, as if they did not know their assigned place in society.
Those who live on Indian reservations could use some charity from we who live more freely. If you really care about the social plight our race placed on blacks, resolve to have no part in keeping it alive with off color jokes, or stories thinly disguised as humor. While much has been achieved regarding women having basic rights, there is more to be done. The best way I know to strengthen a right is to use it, as in this coming election. Every time I pull a voting machine lever, I will remember that brave souls before me made sure I could.
Seeing the one hundred year event in Denver this week, noticing the candidates' fresh new hope, gave me energy to work longer at campaign headquarters, making call after call. I am on such a high about this election, almost makes me wish I could be for both parties. The voices I heard from the other end of the phone calls make me remember how much we need great leaders for our country. Most of those voices sounded eager for better tomorrows for all of us,
As our country's government formed, an unlikely social triangle developed that in many ways continues today. Its three parts were the slavery of Blacks; the treatment of Native Americans, and the refusal to allow basic human rights to women.
When I set out to write this, I thought to show facts only about this trio, but realized that many aspects of the prevaling culture they found themselves in greatly affected their time on this earth.
The following list at the end of my thoughts here grows and grows. It is taken from Culture And Important Dates In American History, The New York Public Library Desk Reference, 3rd. edition, A Simon and Shuster MacMillan Company: 1633 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019. Copyright 1988, 1989, 1993.
1607- The first European settlement in America is established at Jamestown, Virginia.
1619- The first black slaves land at Jamestown, Virginia.
1619- The first representative assembly in America, is established in Virginia.
1647- Margaret Brent is the first woman to claim the right to vote.
1688- The first formal protest against slavery is made, by Pennsylvania Quakers.
1712- A slave revolt in New York leads to the excution of 21 blacks; 6 commit suicide.
1741- The second slave uprising takes place in New York; 13 are hanged, 13 burned; and 71 deported.
1749- Black slavery is legalized in Georgia.
1758- The first Indian reservation is established.
1779- George Washington orders a military campaign against the Iroquois, The Battle of
Tippecanoe, thwarting plans for an Indian Confederacy.
1808- The importation of slaves is outlawed. 250,000 are illegally imported between
and 1860.
1811- While Shawnee Chief Tecumseh is away making alliances with other tribal
eaders, Indiana Governor, Wm. Henry Harrison and one thousand men destroy his
settlement in the Battle of Tippecanoe, thwarting plans for an Indian confederacy.
1830- President Jackson signs the "Indian Removal Act."
1838- Cherokees begin "the Trail of Tears", their 1200 mile forced march to Oklahoma.
I848- The first Women's Rights Convention is held in Seneca Falls, N Y.
1857- The Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court upholds Slavery. This decision also
stated that slaves are not citizens of any state, or of the United States.
1860- A nationwide shoemakers' strike wins workers higher wages, and the National Labor
Union is founded.
1861- The Civil War begins.
1862- Slavery is abolished in Washington, D. C.
863- President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclomation, freeing the slaves.
1864- Black prisoners of war are massacred by Confederate soldiers at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
864- One hundred thirty three Cheyenne and Arapahoe are killed by Colorado Cavalry v
volunteers at Sand Creek, the Sand Creek Massacer.
1865- The Confederacy surrenders, and the Civil War ends.
1865- The Ku Klax Klan is formed in Pulaski, Tennessee.
I868- The fourteenth amendment is ratified. Grants due process to all but Native Americans.
1869- Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony establish the National Women's Suffrage
Association to press for women's voting rights.
1872- Susan B Anthony is arrested for voting.
1875- The Civil Rights Act gives equal rights to Blacks in public accomodations, and jury duty.
1896- The Supreme Court upholds the "Separate but Equal" doctrine.
1903- Mary Harris leads a week long march of child mill workers from Pennsylvania, to President Theodore Roosevelt's New York City home.
1905- The Niagra Movement later to become the NAACP, is founded.
1908- Women demonstrate in New York City, demanding an end to sweat shops and child
labor.
1911- The triangle Shirt Waste fire in New York City kills 146 Sweat Shop workers, mostly
women, and leads to demands for better working conditions.
1914- The Colorado National Guard burns a striking miners'camp and kills thirteen children
and seven adults in the Ludlow Massacre.
1915- The Women's International Leage for Peace and Freedom is founded, and 25,000
women march in New York City, demanding the right to vote.
1916- The national Women's Party is founded. The first birth control clinic opens in Brooklyn.
916- Margaret Sanger is arrested for operating a birth control clinic.
1917- Women picket the White House for the right to vote.
1920- Hallelujah! It's about time........Fifty one years after Stanton and Anthony began
campaigning for it, the ratification of the 19th amendment gives women the right
to vote, and the Leage of Women Voters is founded.
1921- The Ku Klux Klan begins a revival against Blacks in the North, South and Midwest.
1921- Margaret Sanger establishes the American Birth Control Leage, the predecessor to
Planned Parenthood.
1923- Under presidential pressure, U. S. Steel institutes the eight hour work day.
1924- Native Americans are declared citizens by Congress.
1929- The Stock Market crashes, and the Great Depression begins.
1933- President Roosevelt closes all U.S. banks during 100 days. A special session of
.Congress passes the National Recovery Administration and the Tennessee Valley
Authority, TVA, and the WPA.
1935- The National Labor Relations Act, recognizing workers' right to organize and bargain collectively, passes.
1935- President Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act
1944- Congress passes the G I Bill of rights, providing veterans' benefits.
1965- The Supreme Court holds that "the rite of privacy" covers the use of contraceptives.
1967- Two hundred thousand people march against the Vietnam war, in New York City.
1971- Five hundred thousand demonstrate in Washington D. C. against what some call
America's Longest War, Vietnam.
1973- Oglala Sioux occupy Wounded Knee, South dakota, and declare an independent Oglala
Sioux nation.
1978- The "Longest Walk" by 300 Native Americans begins, to protect treaty rights.
It takes a while to get through three wars, and the need to change important things in our country. I could not list them all here. What I got from revisiting this part of our history
is that our freedoms did not come easily. Many died. Many were treated horribly, and those who campaigned on our behalf for women's rights were ridiculed and disdained, as if they did not know their assigned place in society.
Those who live on Indian reservations could use some charity from we who live more freely. If you really care about the social plight our race placed on blacks, resolve to have no part in keeping it alive with off color jokes, or stories thinly disguised as humor. While much has been achieved regarding women having basic rights, there is more to be done. The best way I know to strengthen a right is to use it, as in this coming election. Every time I pull a voting machine lever, I will remember that brave souls before me made sure I could.
