Gilbert M. Stack's Blog, page 131
July 4, 2018
Today in History: The Declaration of Independence
On this day (July 4) in 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted and published The Declaration of Independence describing the conflict of the young United States with England and why they believed it to be necessary for the thirteen colonies to break away and form their own country. The declaration includes an inspirational sentence that may be the best known words in the English language. "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." While it is undoubtedly true that the U.S. has often failed to live up to the full spirit of these words, it is also true that they have inspired millions of people to find the best in themselves and strive to form a country that fully embraces this ideal. Happy Fourth of July!
July 3, 2018
Today in History: The Capetian Dynasty Rules France
On this day (July 3) in 987, Hugh Capet was crowned King of the Franks. His descendants would rule what became France until 1792 when the monarchy was forcibly dissolved by the French Revolution. His descendants returned to the throne after Napoleon’s defeat. Hugh was a descendant of Charlemagne through his paternal grandmother.
July 2, 2018
Today in History: The Lee Resolution
On this day (July 2) in 1776, the Lee Resolution was passed, formally severing the ties of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain. Two days later, on July 4th, the Continental Congress would pass and publish the Declaration of Independence.
July 1, 2018
Today in History: Lexel's Comet Almost Hits Earth
On this day (July 1) in 1770, Lexel’s Comet came closer to the earth than any other recorded comet. It passed a mere 1,400,000 miles from our planet. Lexel’s Comet has not been seen since, and is considered lost. But obviously what came close once could come close again sometime in the future… Now there’s a good story idea! But, of course, it’s already been done many times. Anyone remember Lucifer’s Hammer?
June 30, 2018
Today in History: Sports Gone Bad!
On this day (June 30) in 1559 King Henry II of France was injured in an accident during a tournament. While jousting with the captain of his Scottish Guard, Gabriel Montgomery, Gabriel’s lance splintered and one of the pieces struck Henry in the eye. The wound became infected and the king died ten days later. While on his death bed, Queen Catherine cut off access to the king and refused to permit his mistress (whose colors he was wearing during the joust) to visit his bedside despite the king begging to see her. (The Queen sent the mistress into exile after the king’s death.) Henri absolved Gabriel Montgomery of all responsibility for his death.
June 29, 2018
Today in History: The Death Penalty
On this day (June 29) in 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The case was Furman v. Georgia and involved a man convicted of murder while committing a burglary. In unsworn statements, Furman gave two accounts of what happened. He either fell and the gun accidentally discharged or he fired blindly, killing the home owner. Two other cases, Branch v. Texas and Jackson v. Georgia were consolidated with Furman v. Georgia. Both of these death penalty sentences resulted from rape, not murder.
In the 5-4 decision, a majority of the judges agreed that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment, but none could agree with another as to why this was the case. Therefore, they wrote five separate concurring decisions. The result was that all death penalty sentences were reduced to life in prison (except in California where the California Supreme Court had already found the death penalty to be unconstitutional and converted the sentences of everyone on death row to life in prison).
37 states responded to Furman v. Georgia by passing new death penalty laws which defined criteria that had to be considered in death penalty cases and California held a referendum which reinstituted the death penalty so in 1976 new death penalty cases arrived at the Supreme Court. Opponents hoped that the court would outlaw the death penalty completely, but the opposite happened. William Douglas (appointed by FDR) had retired and been replaced by John Paul Stevens (appointed by Gerald Ford). In Gregg v. Georgia, the court found that the death penalty was constitutional so long as the criteria for giving the punishment were objective (and checked by an appellate court) and the character and record of the defendant were taken into account by the sentencer.
June 28, 2018
Today in History: Life on Mars?
On this day (June Twenty-Eight) in 1911 a meteorite fell to earth in Abu Hummus, Egypt. It was the first meteorite to show that water once existed on Mars. It is also suggestive, but not conclusive, that bacteria once existed on Mars. That’s all really cool, but stop and think about it for a moment. Scientists can actually tell that the rock originated on a specific planet in our solar system. That just blows my mind.
June 27, 2018
Today in History: Gas Attack!
On this day (June 27) in 1994, eight people were killed and 500 injured when Aum Shinrikyo cultists released sarin gas in Matsumoto. The cultists believed that nuclear Armageddon was coming and that only members of their cult would survive. The attack was an assassination attempt on three judges who the cult expected to rule against them in a land dispute. They also wanted to test how deadly their sarin gas was.
June 26, 2018
Today in History: Tiberius
On this day (June 26) in the year 4, Emperor Augustus adopted Tiberius as his heir. Part of the genius of the early empire was the practice embraced by many emperors of legally adopting a competent leader, assuring that his successor would be a capable ruler.
June 25, 2018
Today in History: The Berlin Airlift
On this day (June 25) in 1948 the Berlin Airlift began. The airlift was a response to the Soviet blockade of Berlin which prevented food, fuel and everything else from being driven into the city. While some of Truman’s military advisors wanted him to make a military response, he decided on the unarmed airlift as a less provocative means of securing allied interests in Berlin. If the Soviets shot down unarmed humanitarian aircraft they would be the clear aggressors in the following altercation. They began by lifting 750 tons of food and fuel into Berlin each day and ramped up from there.
