Kenneth C. Davis's Blog, page 116

Don't Know Much About® THE STONO REBELLION

For those still stuck with the Gone With the Wind view of American slavery, this is the anniversary of one of the largest and most violent slave insurrections in American History. It wasn't anything like the picture Margaret Mitchell painted. The Stono Rebellion was one of hundreds of violent slave uprisings in pre-Civil War America. And the specter of black men carrying guns was one reason George Washington did not allow black recruits in the Continental Army — he knew his slave-holding...

Labor Pains: A Don't Know Much About Minute

The end of summer, a three-day weekend, burgers on the grill, and a back-to-school shopping spree, right? And the most important question, "Can I still wear white?"

But very few people associate Labor Day with a turbulent time in American History. That's what Labor Day is really about The holiday was born during the violent union-busting 19th century, when sweat shop conditions killed children, when there was no minimum wage and when going on vacation meant you were fired.

If you like...

Don't Know Much About® Lyndon B. Johnson

All I have I would have given gladly not to be standing here today.

Lyndon B. Johnson, in his first address as President to a joint session of Congress (November 27, 1963)

The 36th President, Lyndon B. Johnson, was born on this date in 1908, in a small farmhouse near Stonewall, Texas on the Pedernales River. Coincidentally, it is also the date on which LBJ accepted the 1964 Democratic nomination for President. (Senator Hubert H. Humphrey was his Vice Presidential nominee.)

In some respects...

Don't Know Much About® the 19th Amendment

It took 144 years after Independence. But on August 26, 1920–90 years ago– the "other half" of the country got their rights. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women the vote, was declared in effect on this date by the Secretary of State. The Amendment had actually been ratified earlier in the month when Tennessee gave its approval on August 18, 1920.

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=old&doc=63

Here's a quick history of the movement from Don't Know Much About History
Who...

Today in History: Majority Misrule

On August 19, 1934, 9 out of 10 Germans endorsed Adolf Hilter's assumption of absolute power.

Eighty-nine and nine-tenths per cent of the German voters endorsed in yesterday's plebiscite Chancellor Hitler's assumption of greater power than has ever been possessed by any other ruler in modern times. Nearly 10 per cent indicated their disapproval. The result was expected.

Here is the original New York Times account of the vote.

Don't Know Much About® Alfred Hitchcock

Somehow I think Alfred Hitchcock might enjoy knowing his birthday falls on Friday the 13th this year.

As a child of the 50s and 60s, I think Alfred Hitchcock's television series –more than his movies– had a tremendous impact on my sensibilities. Only later did I come to fully appreciate his movie masterpieces.

Here's a quick quiz about the birthday boy born in Leytonstone, England and his remarkable, groundbreaking television series

First there was the music ("Funeral March of a Marionette" by ...

TODAY IN HISTORY: The "Negro Riots" in Watts

It started with a "DWB"– "driving while black." On August 11, 1965, an all-too-frequent stop of a young black man exploded into one of the worst urban riots in American history.

Where: Watts was a rundown district of shabby houses built near the highway approaching Los Angeles International Airport. Ninety-eight percent black, Watts was stewing in a California heat wave. In the stewpot were all the ingredients of black anger. Poverty. Overcrowding. High unemployment. Crime everywhere. Drugs...

Don't Know Much About® Hiroshima

Another day of infamy. Sixty-five years ago on August 6,1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima–

"We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates valley Ersa, after Noah and his fabulous Ark." (Harry Truman, from his diaries, as quoted in The Making of the Atomic Bomb).

Okay, Mr. President. Here's the situation. You're about to invade Japan's main islands. Your best generals say hitting these beaches will m...

Of "Mosques," Memorials and Burning Convents

In polite society, one supposedly never discusses religion or politics. In America, it seems we can rarely separate the two.

The latest fracas over faith in the public square involves the plans for Cordoba House, an Islamic Center, including a "mosque," to be built two blocks from Ground Zero. Proposed to bridge the differences between Islam and the West, the $100-million project, which includes a prayer room rather than an actual mosque,  has won the backing of Mayor Bloomberg, among others. ...

TODAY IN HISTORY: Don't Know Much About® Tocqueville in America

Happy Birthday, Monsieur Tocqueville (born July 29, 1805; died April 16, 1859)

Observing a Choctaw tribe—the old, the sick, the wounded, and newborns among them—forced to cross an ice-choked Mississippi River during the harsh winter, Alexis de Tocqueville once wrote,

"In the whole scene, there was an air of destruction, something which betrayed a final and irrevocable adieu; one couldn't watch without feeling one's heart wrung." The Indians, he added, "have no longer a country, and soon will...