Moved by history
When the political becomes personal
Welcome back to the This Day In Esoteric Political History newsletter. Each week, a member of our team (or a friend of the show) gathers together bits of America’s past and attempts to find a throughline that might add a little understanding to our current moment.
Here’s what happened over the week ahead in American history…
June 20
1782: Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States, including the iconic bald eagle
1840: Samuel Morse patents his dot-dash telegraphy signals, known to the world as Morse code
1921: Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson becomes the first woman to preside over the floor of the US House of Representatives
1963: The United States and the Soviet Union agree to establish a nuclear "hot line," a communication system aimed at preventing misunderstandings during the Cold War
1979 : Jimmy Carter held a ceremony to celebrate the new solar panels that had been installed on the White House roof. The panels were symbolic support for new energy initiatives, but also looked to reduce the building’s energy bill at a time of soaring gas prices
1986 : News of the death of basketball star Len Bias is starting to spread around the country. Bias died of a cocaine overdose just days after being drafted by the Boston Celtics. Here’s our episode with Adam McKay
June 21
1788: The US Constitution comes into effect as New Hampshire becomes the 9th state to ratify it
1790 : In lower Manhattan, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison sit down in a meeting brokered by Thomas Jefferson to work out a major compromise involving the Treasury department and the location of the US Capitol
1946 : An epic battle is playing out across the radio waves, as The Adventures of Superman takes on a multi-part series in which the man of steel confront “The Clan of the Fiery Cross,” a loose stand-in for the KKK
1956: Playwright Arthur Miller defies the House Committee on Un-American Activities by refusing to name suspected communists during the McCarthy era.
1964: Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney are tragically killed by a Ku Klux Klan lynch mob near Meridian, Mississippi, drawing national attention to civil rights issues
1989: The Supreme Court rules that burning the American flag as a form of political protest is protected by the First Amendment
(with Michael Liroff)
June 22
1807: British board USS Chesapeake, leading to the provocation that contributed to the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain
1944: President Franklin Roosevelt signs the "GI Bill of Rights" (Servicemen's Readjustment Act), providing crucial support to veterans after World War II
1990 : South African leader Nelson Mandela visited Boston, Massachusetts, as part of a worldwide “thank you” tour after being released from prison
1992: The Supreme Court rules that "hate crime" laws violated free-speech rights, addressing a contentious issue of free speech and discrimination
June 23
1772: Somerset v Stewart court case finds slavery unsupported by English common law, encouraging the abolitionist movement
1888: Abolitionist Frederick Douglass becomes the first African-American nominated for US President
1926: The College Board administers the first SAT exam in the USA, marking the beginning of standardized testing for college admissions
1959: Convicted Manhattan Project spy Klaus Fuchs is released after only nine years in prison and allowed to emigrate to Dresden, East Germany
1968 : “Resurrection City,” an encampment that occupied the National Mall in Washington DC for six weeks in the summer of 1968.
(with Jane Coaston)
2016: Brexit referendum results in the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union, a historic decision with global repercussions
June 24
1861: Tennessee becomes the 11th and last state to secede from the Union
1948: The Soviet Union begins the West Berlin Blockade by stopping access by road, rail and water
1957: The US Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment in the landmark case Roth v. United States
2009 : South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is exposed for having an affair with a woman in Argentina
June 25
1798: The US passes the Alien Act, allowing the president to deport dangerous aliens
1868: Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina are readmitted to the US after the Civil War, marking the end of Reconstruction
1876: Battle of the Little Bighorn occurs, with General Custer's defeat becoming famously known as "Custer's Last Stand" during the Indian Wars
1913 : “The Great Reunion” of 1913. 50 years after the Battle of Gettysburg, Civil War veterans returned to swap stories and shape the story of how America remembers that conflict
(with Jane Coaston)
1962: The Supreme Court rules New York school prayer unconstitutional in a significant separation of church and state decision
1997: U.S. Air Force officials release a report dismissing long-standing claims of an alien spacecraft crash in Roswell, New Mexico
June 26
1917: The first US troops arrive in France, at the port of St Nazaire, during World War I
1929 : Congress passed the “Permanent Reapportionment Act,” which capped the number of representatives in the house
(with Philip Bump)
1945: The United Nations Charter is signed by 50 nations in San Francisco, establishing the United Nations
1963: President John F. Kennedy delivers his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in West Berlin during the Cold War
1993: President Clinton punishes Iraq for a plot to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush, reflecting ongoing tensions in the Middle East
In which we take the above collection of events and find themes, throughlines, rabbit holes and more.
In the first half of this newsletter each week, we reduce history to a bunch of one-line bullet points. Yikes. Not really the spirit of our show, where we to understand the context that made stories play out the way they did.
Luckily, there’s this half of the newsletter, and I’m finding myself thinking about how so many of those one-line bullet points have sent real people in dramatic new directions.
How many Bostonians were moved by the visit of Mandela to devote themselves to dismantling white supremacy in this country? What about artists who saw Arthur Miller defy a congressional subpoena, and deepened their commitment to creating work that reveals hard truths? For better or worse, Brexit galvanized an entire generation to think about politics, sovereignty, trade and immigration in a way that continues to reverberate throughout European politics.
And then there are the deaths of Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney. Their murder while working to register Black voter in Mississippi sent chills throughout the south, but also stiffened the resolve of organizers who believed in the just cause. My mother was one of them. Just a couple months later, she headed to Mississippi to take part in “Freedom Summer.” You can read a letter she wrote back home about it here.
This morning, while scrolling instagram, I came across this story from Robert Reich. I don’t know if I’ve seen a better example of how the personal and political are so deeply connected. How moments in history can grab you and force you to think about what you truly believe in.
Take a moment to watch it, and remember to let yourself be moved and motivated by the history taking place around you. Politics is for people.
-Jody
A Little More Esoterica
Another reminder for those of you in NYC, Jody has a live show on Thursday, June 27th — Ask Roulette, a conversation series where strangers ask each other questions live on stage. Including Radiotopia’s own Avery Trufelman.
A number of listeners have reached after seeing news from Niki about her dog Nala dying after being attacked by a larger dog last week. Nala was a regular presence during This Day tapings, lounging at Niki’s feet. I (Jody) have fond memories of occasionally having to edit out Nala’s gentle snores from a taping. Do take a moment to read Niki’s post. We’ll miss you, Nala. 💙💙💙
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