Archive for the ‘American History’ Category
In December, 1846, 856 Missourians, led by Alexander Doniphan, had left Santa Fe and skirmished against Mexicans at the Rio Grande, near El Paso. On February 28, fifteen miles north of Chihuahua, they fought a Mexican force, and the next day they rode into Chihuahua unopposed. In late May they joined Taylor’s forces. Then, with their period of enlistment completed, they returned to Missouri.
Meanwhile, guerrilla forces were harassing Taylor’s supply lines. Small armies of hacienda-owning warlords had entered the fighting, some of them hoping for independence from Mexico City. Some Mexicans in the north were interested in negotiations with the U.S. to that end. Some were interested in maintaining economic ties with the United States.
Fighting in the north was occasionally brutal, especially that conducted by Texas Rangers, who exercised a grudge against Mexicans and attacked with little regard for civilian lives or property. General Taylor complained that they were “too licentious” and in need of discipline.
Weakening Mexico’s cause in the north was rebellion in the center-west of Mexico. The former president, Anastasio Bustamente, was put in command of an expedition that was supposed to counter U.S. intrusions into California, but before Bustamente’s force got as far as Guadalajara insurrection intervened. And at Mazatlán, the port from which Bustamente’s force was supposed to debark, civil war had erupted, making departure impossible and weakening Mexico farther north.
U.S. Troops from Vera Cruz to Mexico City
Mexico’s acting president, Valentín Gómez Farías, remained in conflict with the Catholic Church. The Church in Mexico had been blessing troops before they went into battle, praying for a Mexican victory and organizing religious processions, but they were ignoring requests for donations of money. In Congress it was argued that the war effort could not continue without financial help from the Church, and Congress voted 46 to 32 to seize church property. Across Mexico and in the streets of Mexico City, priests and lay people protested. Criollo regiments in Mexico City revolted, and, because they were known to enjoy festivities and dancing the polka, it was called the Polko (sic) Rebellion. In the streets were leaflets reading “Death to Congress” and “Death to Farías.” Farías mobilized a militia with which to combat the revolt, and the unrest continued into February, with newspapers on the side of the revolt. The government ordered the arrests of some military leaders. Moderates joined in opposing the government, and, on March 5, the government arrested the leader of the moderates, Gómez Pedraza. Santa Anna returned to Mexico City and ordered an end to hostilities. Farías resigned, complaining of broken health, and was replaced by a supporter of the Church, Pedro Anaya. And the Church extended two million pesos to Santa Anna in exchange for the repeal of anti-clerical laws.
On March 9, the U.S. landed a force of 12,000 under the command of General Winfield Scott. The landing was unopposed. U.S. forces asked the city of Vera Cruz to surrender, and following its refusal and four days of bombardment from land and U.S. ships, the U.S. captured the city, on March 28, with a loss for the U.S. of 20 killed.
On March 31, news of the invasion reached Mexico City — twenty-two days after the event. A wave of patriotism swept through Mexico City, and it was decreed there that any Mexican who sought peace with U.S. troops on Mexican territory would be charged with treason. Santa Anna went eastward with a force to confront the U.S. invasion, hoping to hold the U.S. forces to the lowlands and exposure to the yellow fever.
The supplies that Scott was waiting for did not arrive, and rather than wait longer he left his First Infantry at Vera Cruz and moved the rest of his force inland, to a higher elevation and toward Mexico City. In mid April Scott and his army found Santa Anna’s army waiting for them at a narrow pass by a hill known as Cerro Gordo. The Battle of Cerro Gordo began on April 17. Santa Anna had 32 artillery pieces, elite cavalry units and a total of about 12,000 men, for what has been viewed as the most important battle of the war.
Santa Anna did not array his forces well. Captain Robert E. Lee and his associates found a route around Santa Anna’s flank. The attack from an unexpected direction and toward the rear of Santa Anna’s army resulted in Scott’s army capturing around 3,000 men and 43 heavy guns. Scott lost 63 killed and 353 wounded. An estimated 1,000 Mexicans were killed or wounded. The remainder of Santa Anna’s army fled along the national roadway inland.
Santa Anna returned to Mexico City, where by now news had arrived that the Battle of Buena Vista, back in February, had not been the success that Santa Anna had described. But Santa Anna was still looked to as the only man who could save Mexico, and he was allowed to advance and to occupy the city of Puebla, on the national roadway between Vera Cruz and Mexico City.
Scott tried to treat the inhabitants of Puebla well, while he awaited reinforcements and supplies. Some of his force returned home, their enlistments over. In June an English delegation arrived at Scott’s headquarters and announced Santa Anna’s willingness to end the war. The message from Santa Anna was that it was essential that the U.S. advance no farther and that it send him $10,000 in cash so that he could influence the necessary people. The money was given to Santa Anna, but it was another ruse.
Reinforcements arrived and Scott drilled his troops until August 7, when he left a garrison force at Puebla and started for Mexico City with an army of 10,700 men. At Austerlitz, Napoleon entered battle with 68,000, against a combined Russian and Austrian force of 85,000. In Washington D.C. the war was being pursued with some mind to economy.
With about 7,000 infantry and youthful volunteers from Mexico, Santa Anna marched to a fortified hill seven miles east of the city — El Penón. Scott’s army swung to the south (around Lake Chalco and Lake Xochimilco), and Santa Anna hastily repositioned his forces and relocated his headquarters at a monastery at Churubusco, five miles south of Mexico City. Santa Anna still had some hope in his cavalry, although the cavalry was ineffective against a standing line of riflemen. Santa Anna’s cannon were antiquated, the powder they used was of poor quality and the gunners inadequately trained. The weapons of his infantry were discards from Europe.
On August 20 a major battle ensued. With Santa Anna were 204 deserters from the U.S. Army, mostly Irish Catholics who had decided that this was in part at least a religious war — Catholics against Protestants. They formed what was called the Batallón San Patricio (Saint Patrick’s Battalion) and are said to have rebelled against abusive treatment by Protestant officers. Among Protestant citizens of the United States the war against Mexico had inflamed some anti-Catholic passions.
Scott’s force feigned a frontal attack in one area while others swung around toward the rear of Santa Anna’s force. Santa Anna was demonstrating again that he was something less than a gifted tactician. Scott lost 60 dead and wounded. His force counted 813 prisoners taken, including four generals. An estimate of Mexican casualties is 700.
Among the prisoners taken were men of the St. Patrick’s Battalion. Military trials were held and 70 of them sentenced to death. General Scott pardoned five of them and reduced the sentences of fifteen others to fifty lashes and the letter D (for desertion) branded on their cheek. The remaining fifty were hanged on September 12.
On September 13, Scott’s army reached Chapultepec Castle — the Halls of Montezuma (Moctezuma) — two miles southwest of the city. A force of 832 National Guardsmen made a stand there, joined by 43 cadets from a military academy there, some as young as thirteen. Rather than surrender, the cadets fought to their deaths, and September 13 was to be a day celebrated every year in Mexico, the Day of the Boy Heroes of Chapultepec.
Members of a city council negotiated with General Scott, and a guarantee for the safety of the people of Mexico City was established, but it came to naught as outraged Mexicans launched attacks against U.S. forces as they entered the city and U.S. forces fired back in self-defense. Late on the second day in the city (September 15), the U.S. forces celebrated their victory, with music and alcohol, while civilians were tending their dead. Soon, business-starved shopkeepers in Mexico City opened their coffee shops, photography studios, dance and pool halls and other manner of commerce with U.S. soldiers.
Santa Anna had fled with an army of around 9,000, intending to carry on the war, to attack the U.S. garrison at Puebla and to cut Scott’s supply line. But before he reached Puebla his demoralized army disintegrated. Guerrilla operations continued against Scott’s lines of supply but dwindled by November — the month that the U.S. Navy captured Mazatlán and the port town of Guaymas. Santa Anna took up residence in the town of Tehuacán, and there, on January 23, 350 Texas Rangers arrived intending to capture Santa Anna, to exact revenge upon him for the Alamo. But Santa Anna had fled two hours before their arrival, and soon the U.S. gave him safe passage into exile — to Jamaica.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
A provisional government had been established at Querétaro, about 100 miles northwest of Mexico City, with a former chief justice of Mexico’s Supreme Court, Manuel de la Peña, as interim president — while some states remained in rebellion against the central government and some, including monarchists, wanted to continue fighting the United States. In November enough support was given to the national government that a quorum was considered to have been obtained and legitimacy established, allowing Peña’s government to move toward a settlement with the United States.
Negotiations began in January, and on February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. Those who had wanted the United States to acquire Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila and other northern states, and Yucatán, were disappointed. But from Mexico the United States won recognition as having Alto California, New Mexico and Texas to the Rio Grande. Mexico was given a guarantee of rights for the people who had been living in these areas and loyal to Mexico. The U.S. agreed to prevent attacks by Indians across the new border into Mexico. Mexico was agreeing to giving up a good percentage of its territory, and although the United States was virtually dictating the terms of the settlement it wanted to give Mexico something and agreed to pay 15 million dollars for damages, to assume responsibility for 3 million dollars in claims against Mexico by U.S. citizens and to relieve Mexico of its monetary debt to the United States. The U.S. President received the signed treaty on February 19. Mexico’s Congress went into session in May and ratified the treaty. And that month so did the U.S. Congress — a treaty that was to remain active into the twenty-first century.
In the war, the United States lost 1,721 killed and 11,550 deaths from other causes, mainly disease, and the war cost the federal government 100,000,000 in 1848 dollars.
Popularity: 9% [?]
During the night of 24/25 February 1942, unidentified objects caused a succession of alerts in southern California. On the 24th, a warning issued by naval intelligence indicated that an attack could be expected within the next ten hours. That evening a large number of flares and blinking lights were reported from the vicinity of defense plants. An alert called at 1918 [7:18 p.m., Pacific time] was lifted at 2223, and the tension temporarily relaxed. But early in the morning of the 25th renewed activity began. Radars picked up an unidentified target 120 miles west of Los Angeles. Antiaircraft batteries were alerted at 0215 and were put on Green Alert—ready to fire—a few minutes later. The AAF kept its pursuit planes on the ground, preferring to await indications of the scale and direction of any attack before committing its limited fighter force. Radars tracked the approaching target to within a few miles of the coast, and at 0221 the regional controller ordered a blackout. Thereafter the information center was flooded with reports of “enemy planes, ” even though the mysterious object tracked in from sea seems to have vanished. At 0243, planes were reported near Long Beach, and a few minutes later a coast artillery colonel spotted “about 25 planes at 12,000 feet” over Los Angeles. At 0306 a balloon carrying a red flare was seen over Santa Monica and four batteries of anti-aircraft artillery opened fire, whereupon “the air over Los Angeles erupted like a volcano.” From this point on reports were hopelessly at variance.
Probably much of the confusion came from the fact that anti-aircraft shell bursts, caught by the searchlights, were themselves mistaken for enemy planes. In any case, the next three hours produced some of the most imaginative reporting of the war: “swarms” of planes (or, sometimes, balloons) of all possible sizes, numbering from one to several hundred, traveling at altitudes which ranged from a few thousand feet to more than 20,000 and flying at speeds which were said to have varied from “very slow” to over 200 miles per hour, were observed to parade across the skies. These mysterious forces dropped no bombs and, despite the fact that 1,440 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition were directed against them, suffered no losses. There were reports, to be sure, that four enemy planes had been shot down, and one was supposed to have landed in flames at a Hollywood intersection. Residents in a forty-mile arc along the coast watched from hills or rooftops as the play of guns and searchlights provided the first real drama of the war for citizens of the mainland. The dawn, which ended the shooting and the fantasy, also proved that the only damage which resulted to the city was such as had been caused by the excitement (there was at least one death from heart failure), by traffic accidents in the blacked-out streets, or by shell fragments from the artillery barrage.
Attempts to arrive at an explanation of the incident quickly became as involved and mysterious as the “battle” itself. The Navy immediately insisted that there was no evidence of the presence of enemy planes, and Secretary [of the Navy, Frank] Knox announced at a press conference on 25 February that the raid was just a false alarm. At the same conference he admitted that attacks were always possible and indicated that vital industries located along the coast ought to be moved inland. The Army had a hard time making up its mind on the cause of the alert. A report to Washington, made by the Western Defense Command shortly after the raid had ended, indicated that the credibility of reports of an attack had begun to be shaken before the blackout was lifted. This message predicted that developments would prove “that most previous reports had been greatly exaggerated.” The Fourth Air Force had indicated its belief that there were no planes over Los Angeles. But the Army did not publish these initial conclusions. Instead, it waited a day, until after a thorough examination of witnesses had been finished. On the basis of these hearings, local commanders altered their verdict and indicated a belief that from one to five unidentified airplanes had been over Los Angeles. Secretary Stimson announced this conclusion as the War Department version of the incident, and he advanced two theories to account for the mysterious craft: either they were commercial planes operated by an enemy from secret fields in California or Mexico, or they were light planes launched from Japanese submarines. In either case, the enemy’s purpose must have been to locate anti-aircraft defenses in the area or to deliver a blow at civilian morale.
The divergence of views between the War and Navy departments, and the unsatisfying conjectures advanced by the Army to explain the affair, touched off a vigorous public discussion. The Los Angeles Times, in a first-page editorial on 26 February, announced that “the considerable public excitement and confusion” caused by the alert, as well as its “spectacular official accompaniments, ” demanded a careful explanation. Fears were expressed lest a few phony raids undermine the confidence of civilian volunteers in the aircraft warning service. In Congress, Representative Leland Ford wanted to know whether the incident was “a practice raid, or a raid to throw a scare into 2,000,000 people, or a mistaken identity raid, or a raid to take away Southern California’s war industries.” Wendell Willkie, speaking in Los Angeles on 26 February, assured Californians on the basis of his experiences in England that when a real air raid began “you won’t have to argue about it—you’ll just know.” He conceded that military authorities had been correct in calling a precautionary alert but deplored the lack of agreement between the Army and Navy. A strong editorial in the Washington Post on 27 February called the handling of the Los Angeles episode a “recipe for jitters,” and censured the military authorities for what it called “stubborn silence” in the face of widespread uncertainty. The editorial suggested that the Army’s theory that commercial planes might have caused the alert “explains everything except where the planes came from, whither they were going, and why no American planes were sent in pursuit of them.” The New York Times on 28 February expressed a belief that the more the incident was studied, the more incredible it became: “If the batteries were firing on nothing at all, as Secretary Knox implies, it is a sign of expensive incompetence and jitters. If the batteries were firing on real planes, some of them as low as 9,000 feet, as Secretary Stimson declares, why were they completely ineffective? Why did no American planes go up to engage them, or even to identify them?… What would have happened if this had been a real air raid?” These questions were appropriate, but for the War Department to have answered them in full frankness would have involved an even more complete revelation of the weakness of our air defenses.
At the end of the war, the Japanese stated that they did not send planes over the area at the time of this alert, although submarine-launched aircraft were subsequently used over Seattle. A careful study of the evidence suggests that meteorological balloons—known to have been released over Los Angeles —may well have caused the initial alarm. This theory is supported by the fact that anti-aircraft artillery units were officially criticized for having wasted ammunition on targets which moved too slowly to have been airplanes. After the firing started, careful observation was difficult because of drifting smoke from shell bursts. The acting commander of the anti-aircraft artillery brigade in the area testified that he had first been convinced that he had seen fifteen planes in the air, but had quickly decided that he was seeing smoke. Competent correspondents like Ernie Pyle and Bill Henry witnessed the shooting and wrote that they were never able to make out an airplane. It is hard to see, in any event, what enemy purpose would have been served by an attack in which no bombs were dropped, unless perhaps, as Mr. Stimson suggested, the purpose had been reconnaissance.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Reverend clergy all, Senator Hawkins, distinguished members of the Florida congressional delegation, and all of you:
I can’t tell you how you have warmed my heart with your welcome. I’m delighted to be here today.
Those of you in the National Association of Evangelicals are known for your spiritual and humanitarian work. And I would be especially remiss if I didn’t discharge right now one personal debt of gratitude. Thank you for your prayers. Nancy and I have felt their presence many times in many ways. And believe me, for us they’ve made all the difference.
The other day in the East Room of the White House at a meeting there, someone asked me whether I was aware of all the people out there who were praying for the President. And I had to say, “Yes, I am. I’ve felt it. I believe in intercessionary prayer.”
But I couldn’t help but say to that questioner after he’d asked the question that — or at least say to them that if sometimes when he was praying he got a busy signal, it was just me in there ahead of him.
[Laughter]
I think I understand how Abraham Lincoln felt when he said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”
From the joy and the good feeling of this conference, I go to a political reception.
[Laughter]
Now, I don’t know why, but that bit of scheduling reminds me of a story — [laughter] — which I’ll share with you.
An evangelical minister and a politician arrived at Heaven’s gate one day together. And St. Peter, after doing all the necessary formalities, took them in hand to show them where their quarters would be. And he took them to a small, single room with a bed, a chair, and a table and said this was for the clergyman. And the politician was a little worried about what might be in store for him. And he couldn’t believe it then when St. Peter stopped in front of a beautiful mansion with lovely grounds, many servants, and told him that these would be his quarters.
And he couldn’t help but ask, he said, “But wait, how — there’s something wrong — how do I get this mansion while that good and holy man only gets a single room?” And St. Peter said, “You have to understand how things are up here. We’ve got thousands and thousands of clergy. You’re the first politician who ever made it.”
[Laughter]
But I don’t want to contribute to a stereotype.
[Laughter]
So, I tell you there are a great many God-fearing, dedicated, noble men and women in public life, present company included. And yes, we need your help to keep us ever mindful of the ideas and the principles that brought us into the public arena in the first place. The basis of those ideals and principles is a commitment to freedom and personal liberty that, itself, is grounded in the much deeper realization that freedom prospers only where the blessings of God are avidly sought and humbly accepted.
The American experiment in democracy rests on this insight. Its discovery was the great triumph of our Founding Fathers, voiced by William Penn when he said, “If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants.”
Explaining the inalienable rights of men, Jefferson said, “The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.”
And it was George Washington who said that “of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”
And finally, that shrewdest of all observers of American democracy, Alexis de Tocqueville, put it eloquently after he had gone on a search for the secret of America’s greatness and genius — and he said, “Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the greatness and the genius of America. America is good. And if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
Well, I’m pleased to be here today with you who are keeping America great by keeping her good. Only through your work and prayers and those of millions of others can we hope to survive this perilous century and keep alive this experiment in liberty — this last, best hope of man.
I want you to know that this administration is motivated by a political philosophy that sees the greatness of America in you, her people, and in your families, churches, neighborhoods, communities — the institutions that foster and nourish values like concern for others and respect for the rule of law under God.
Now, I don’t have to tell you that this puts us in opposition to, or at least out of step with, a prevailing attitude of many who have turned to a modern-day secularism, discarding the tried and time-tested values upon which our very civilization is based. No matter how well intentioned, their value system is radically different from that of most Americans. And while they proclaim that they’re freeing us from superstitions of the past, they’ve taken upon themselves the job of superintending us by government rule and regulation. Sometimes their voices are louder than ours, but they are not yet a majority.
An example of that vocal superiority is evident in a controversy now going on in Washington. And since I’m involved, I’ve been waiting to hear from the parents of young America. How far are they willing to go in giving to government their prerogatives as parents?
Let me state the case as briefly and simply as I can. An organization of citizens, sincerely motivated and deeply concerned about the increase in illegitimate births and abortions involving girls well below the age of consent, sometime ago established a nationwide network of clinics to offer help to these girls and, hopefully, alleviate this situation. Now, again, let me say, I do not fault their intent. However, in their well-intentioned effort, these clinics have decided to provide advice and birth control drugs and devices to underage girls without the knowledge of their parents.
For some years now, the federal government has helped with funds to subsidize these clinics. In providing for this, the Congress decreed that every effort would be made to maximize parental participation. Nevertheless, the drugs and devices are prescribed without getting parental consent or giving notification after they’ve done so. Girls termed “sexually active” — and that has replaced the word “promiscuous” — are given this help in order to prevent illegitimate birth or abortion.
Well, we have ordered clinics receiving federal funds to notify the parents such help has been given. One of the nation’s leading newspapers has created the term “squeal rule” in editorializing against us for doing this, and we’re being criticized for violating the privacy of young people. A judge has recently granted an injunction against an enforcement of our rule. I’ve watched TV panel shows discuss this issue, seen columnists pontificating on our error, but no one seems to mention morality as playing a part in the subject of sex.
Is all of Judeo-Christian tradition wrong? Are we to believe that something so sacred can be looked upon as a purely physical thing with no potential for emotional and psychological harm? And isn’t it the parents’ right to give counsel and advice to keep their children from making mistakes that may affect their entire lives?
Many of us in government would like to know what parents think about this intrusion in their family by government. We’re going to fight in the courts. The right of parents and the rights of family take precedence over those of Washington-based bureaucrats and social engineers.
But the fight against parental notification is really only one example of many attempts to water down traditional values and even abrogate the original terms of American democracy. Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged. When our Founding Fathers passed the First Amendment, they sought to protect churches from government interference. They never intended to construct a wall of hostility between government and the concept of religious belief itself.
The evidence of this permeates our history and our government. The Declaration of Independence mentions the Supreme Being no less than four times. “In God We Trust” is engraved on our coinage. The Supreme Court opens its proceedings with a religious invocation. And the members of Congress open their sessions with a prayer. I just happen to believe the schoolchildren of the United States are entitled to the same privileges as Supreme Court Justices and Congressmen.
Last year, I sent the Congress a constitutional amendment to restore prayer to public schools. Already this session, there’s growing bipartisan support for the amendment, and I am calling on the Congress to act speedily to pass it and to let our children pray.
Perhaps some of you read recently about the Lubbock school case, where a judge actually ruled that it was unconstitutional for a school district to give equal treatment to religious and nonreligious student groups, even when the group meetings were being held during the students’ own time. The First Amendment never intended to require government to discriminate against religious speech.
Senators Denton and Hatfield have proposed legislation in the Congress on the whole question of prohibiting discrimination against religious forms of student speech. Such legislation could go far to restore freedom of religious speech for public school students. And I hope the Congress considers these bills quickly. And with your help, I think it’s possible we could also get the constitutional amendment through the Congress this year.
More than a decade ago, a Supreme Court decision literally wiped off the books of 50 States statutes protecting the rights of unborn children. Abortion on demand now takes the lives of up to one and a half million unborn children a year. Human life legislation ending this tragedy will some day pass the Congress, and you and I must never rest until it does. Unless and until it can be proven that the unborn child is not a living entity, then its right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness must be protected.
You may remember that when abortion on demand began, many, and, indeed, I’m sure many of you, warned that the practice would lead to a decline in respect for human life, that the philosophical premises used to justify abortion on demand would ultimately be used to justify other attacks on the sacredness of human life — infanticide or mercy killing. Tragically enough, those warnings proved all too true. Only last year a court permitted the death by starvation of a handicapped infant.
I have directed the Health and Human Services Department to make clear to every health care facility in the United States that the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protects all handicapped persons against discrimination based on handicaps, including infants. And we have taken the further step of requiring that each and every recipient of Federal funds who provides health care services to infants must post and keep posted in a conspicuous place a notice stating that “discriminatory failure to feed and care for handicapped infants in this facility is prohibited by Federal law.” It also lists a 24-hour, toll-free number so that nurses and others may report violations in time to save the infant’s life.
In addition, recent legislation introduced in the Congress by Representative Henry Hyde of Illinois not only increases restrictions on publicly financed abortions, it also addresses this whole problem of infanticide. I urge the Congress to begin hearings and to adopt legislation that will protect the right of life to all children, including the disabled or handicapped.
Now, I’m sure that you must get discouraged at times, but you’ve done better than you know, perhaps. There’s a great spiritual awakening in America, a renewal of the traditional values that have been the bedrock of America’s goodness and greatness.
One recent survey by a Washington-based research council concluded that Americans were far more religious than the people of other nations; 95 percent of those surveyed expressed a belief in God and a huge majority believed the Ten Commandments had real meaning in their lives. And another study has found that an overwhelming majority of Americans disapprove of adultery, teenage sex, pornography, abortion, and hard drugs. And this same study showed a deep reverence for the importance of family ties and religious belief.
I think the items that we’ve discussed here today must be a key part of the Nation’s political agenda. For the first time the Congress is openly and seriously debating and dealing with the prayer and abortion issues — and that’s enormous progress right there. I repeat: America is in the midst of a spiritual awakening and a moral renewal. And with your Biblical keynote, I say today, “Yes, let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.
“Now, obviously, much of this new political and social consensus I’ve talked about is based on a positive view of American history, one that takes pride in our country’s accomplishments and record. But we must never forget that no government schemes are going to perfect man. We know that living in this world means dealing with what philosophers would call the phenomenology of evil or, as theologians would put it, the doctrine of sin.
There is sin and evil in the world, and we’re enjoined by Scripture and the Lord Jesus to oppose it with all our might. Our nation, too, has a legacy of evil with which it must deal. The glory of this land has been its capacity for transcending the moral evils of our past. For example, the long struggle of minority citizens for equal rights, once a source of disunity and civil war, is now a point of pride for all Americans. We must never go back. There is no room for racism, anti-Semitism, or other forms of ethnic and racial hatred in this country.
I know that you’ve been horrified, as have I, by the resurgence of some hate groups preaching bigotry and prejudice. Use the mighty voice of your pulpits and the powerful standing of your churches to denounce and isolate these hate groups in our midst. The commandment given us is clear and simple: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”But whatever sad episodes exist in our past, any objective observer must hold a positive view of American history, a history that has been the story of hopes fulfilled and dreams made into reality. Especially in this century, America has kept alight the torch of freedom, but not just for ourselves but for millions of others around the world.
And this brings me to my final point today. During my first press conference as President, in answer to a direct question, I pointed out that, as good Marxist-Leninists, the Soviet leaders have openly and publicly declared that the only morality they recognize is that which will further their cause, which is world revolution. I think I should point out I was only quoting Lenin, their guiding spirit, who said in 1920 that they repudiate all morality that proceeds from supernatural ideas — that’s their name for religion — or ideas that are outside class conceptions. Morality is entirely subordinate to the interests of class war. And everything is moral that is necessary for the annihilation of the old, exploiting social order and for uniting the proletariat.
Well, I think the refusal of many influential people to accept this elementary fact of Soviet doctrine illustrates an historical reluctance to see totalitarian powers for what they are. We saw this phenomenon in the 1930’s. We see it too often today.This doesn’t mean we should isolate ourselves and refuse to seek an understanding with them. I intend to do everything I can to persuade them of our peaceful intent, to remind them that it was the West that refused to use its nuclear monopoly in the forties and fifties for territorial gain and which now proposes 50-percent cut in strategic ballistic missiles and the elimination of an entire class of land-based, intermediate-range nuclear missiles.
At the same time, however, they must be made to understand we will never compromise our principles and standards. We will never give away our freedom. We will never abandon our belief in God. And we will never stop searching for a genuine peace. But we can assure none of these things America stands for through the so-called nuclear freeze solutions proposed by some.
The truth is that a freeze now would be a very dangerous fraud, for that is merely the illusion of peace. The reality is that we must find peace through strength.
I would agree to a freeze if only we could freeze the Soviets’ global desires. A freeze at current levels of weapons would remove any incentive for the Soviets to negotiate seriously in Geneva and virtually end our chances to achieve the major arms reductions which we have proposed. Instead, they would achieve their objectives through the freeze.
A freeze would reward the Soviet Union for its enormous and unparalleled military buildup. It would prevent the essential and long overdue modernization of United States and allied defenses and would leave our aging forces increasingly vulnerable. And an honest freeze would require extensive prior negotiations on the systems and numbers to be limited and on the measures to ensure effective verification and compliance. And the kind of a freeze that has been suggested would be virtually impossible to verify. Such a major effort would divert us completely from our current negotiations on achieving substantial reductions.
A number of years ago, I heard a young father, a very prominent young man in the entertainment world, addressing a tremendous gathering in California. It was during the time of the Cold War, and communism and our own way of life were very much on people’s minds. And he was speaking to that subject. And suddenly, though, I heard him saying, “I love my little girls more than anything — – “And I said to myself, “Oh, no, don’t. You can’t — don’t say that.”
But I had underestimated him. He went on: “I would rather see my little girls die now, still believing in God, than have them grow up under communism and one day die no longer believing in God.”
There were thousands of young people in that audience. They came to their feet with shouts of joy. They had instantly recognized the profound truth in what he had said, with regard to the physical and the soul and what was truly important.
Yes, let us pray for the salvation of all of those who live in that totalitarian darkness — pray they will discover the joy of knowing God. But until they do, let us be aware that while they preach the supremacy of the state, declare its omnipotence over individual man, and predict its eventual domination of all peoples on the Earth, they are the focus of evil in the modern world.
It was C.S. Lewis who, in his unforgettable “Screwtape Letters,” wrote: “The greatest evil is not done now in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint. It is not even done in concentration camps and labor camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried and minuted) in clear, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice.”
Well, because these “quiet men” do not “raise their voices”; because they sometimes speak in soothing tones of brotherhood and peace; because, like other dictators before them, they’re always making “their final territorial demand,” some would have us accept them at their word and accommodate ourselves to their aggressive impulses. But if history teaches anything, it teaches that simple-minded appeasement or wishful thinking about our adversaries is folly. It means the betrayal of our past, the squandering of our freedom.
So, I urge you to speak out against those who would place the United States in a position of military and moral inferiority. You know, I’ve always believed that old Screwtape reserved his best efforts for those of you in the church. So, in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride — the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil.
I ask you to resist the attempts of those who would have you withhold your support for our efforts, this administration’s efforts, to keep America strong and free, while we negotiate real and verifiable reductions in the world’s nuclear arsenals and one day, with God’s help, their total elimination.
While America’s military strength is important, let me add here that I’ve always maintained that the struggle now going on for the world will never be decided by bombs or rockets, by armies or military might. The real crisis we face today is a spiritual one; at root, it is a test of moral will and faith.
Whittaker Chambers, the man whose own religious conversion made him a witness to one of the terrible traumas of our time, the Hiss-Chambers case, wrote that the crisis of the Western World exists to the degree in which the West is indifferent to God, the degree to which it collaborates in communism’s attempt to make man stand alone without God. And then he said, for Marxism-Leninism is actually the second oldest faith, first proclaimed in the Garden of Eden with the words of temptation, “Ye shall be as gods.”
The Western world can answer this challenge, he wrote, “but only provided that its faith in God and the freedom He enjoins is as great as communism’s faith in Man.”
I believe we shall rise to the challenge. I believe that communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages even now are being written. I believe this because the source of our strength in the quest for human freedom is not material, but spiritual. And because it knows no limitation, it must terrify and ultimately triumph over those who would enslave their fellow man. For in the words of Isaiah: “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increased strength But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary.”
Yes, change your world. One of our Founding Fathers, Thomas Paine, said, “We have it within our power to begin the world over again.” We can do it, doing together what no one church could do by itself.
God bless you, and thank you very much.
Yes, let us pray for the salvation of all of those who live in that totalitarian darkness — pray they will discover the joy of knowing God. But until they do, let us be aware that while they preach the supremacy of the state, declare its omnipotence over individual man, and predict its eventual domination of all peoples on the Earth, they are the focus of evil in the modern world.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Wyatt Earp
BORN: March 19, 1848
Monmouth, Illinois
DIED: January 13, 1929 (age80)
Los Angeles, California
SPOUSE: Urilla Sutherland (wife)1
Celia Ann Blaylock (companion)2
Josephine Sarah Marcus (wife)3
CHILDREN: None
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19,1848 – January 13, 1929) was the third son of Nicholas Earp and Victoria Ann Cooksey. He was name after his father’s commanding officer from the Mexican-American War.
Right after Wyatt was born the family moved to Pella, Iowa. Nicholas had received a grant of 160 acres based on his service in the Mexican-American War. Wyatt had two older brothers, Virgin and James. He also had two younger brothers, Morgan and Warren. Not much is known about his sisters. It has been said that he had 3 sisters Martha, Adelia and Virginia. The family also moved alot back and forth to Pella, Iowa.
Soon the Civil War broke out. James and Virgil joined the Union Army in 1861. Although at Thirteen, Wyatt was too young. He later tried in several occasions to run away and join the army, only to have his father find him and bring him home. When Nicholas was busy recruiting and drilling local companies, Wyatt and his two younger brothers, Morgan and Warren-were left in charge of tending an 80-acre crop of corn. While at war James was seriously wounded and returned home. After James return from war the family Moved to California. On the way to California they encountered friendly and hostile Indians. Not much is known what happened through their journey. In California Wyatt drove wagons from San Bernardino to Arizona during 1965. During the next two years he made trips to Salt Lake City and Julesburg, Colorado.
In 1868 , the Earps settled in Lamar, Missouri where Nicholas become local constable. A year later he resigned to become justice of the peace. Wyatt was appointed constable in his fathers place. Very little information is known about his activities as Lamar’s Constable.
Wyatt first wife was Urilla Sutherland. It was conducted by Wyatt father, Nicholas on January 10, 1870. Urilla was the daughter of of William and Permelia Sutherland, owners of the Lamar Hotel, it is presumed that she lived there for a while. Soon saved enough money and purchased a home for 50 dollars in August 1870, during the same year Urilla died of child birth or Typhus. The date is unknown. After the passing of his wife he sold his home for 75 dollars.
Bat and Wyatt
A few years later Wyatt met Bat Masterson (left) in Kansas or while some claim hunting buffalo. In Wichita he was appointed to the police force and was paid a salary of 60 dollars a month. He had many job offers in many cities to became deputy. Later he ended up Dodge City during 1876-1879. For some reason he also ended up in the newspapers either doing good or bad. Many writers have portrayed Earp as a famous lawman. Sometimes he would get jobs that riding shotgun protecting the gold from outlaws. He was probably one of several men who were employed to prevent roberries and his actions were no more spectacular than the others.
TOMBSTONE
Sometime around October 1880, shots were heard on the streets of Tombstone. Marshal Fred White quickly responded to the disturbance. He encountered a man near the back of the building and ordered him to surrender his weapon. The man happens to be “Curly Bill” William Brocius. Fred White was shot in the groin. Wyatt and Morgan came to his aid, Wyatt hit Brocius over the head with a pistol. Wyatt and a Deputy took him in a wagon the next day to Tucson to stand trial, possibly saving him from lynch mob. White died at the age of 31 on December 27, 1880. Wyatt testified in Tucson court regarding the Brocius-White shooting. According to witnesses it was not intentionally, so the judge had to rule the shooting was accidental and set Brocius free. He remained friend of the McLaurys and an enemy of the Earps.
About a year before the shooting Wyatt and his older brothers James and Virgil moved to Tombstone, Arizona Territory. Virgil prior moving to Tombstone was appointed Deputy US Marshal. Wyatt traveled with Celia Ann “Mattie” Blaylock and James and Virgil with Bessie and Allie. Later on Morgan arrived with Louisa.
Immediately upon their arrival, the Earps began filing mining claims in the area. Months or weeks later the Earps eventually fell back to their familiar careers in saloons and gambling, also riding shotgun for Wells Fargo and of course working as lawmen. Sometime during the summer of 1880 John H. Holliday “Doc” came to Arizona. Before coming to Arizona Doc Holliday had another profession. He was a dentist. Later on he left that job, according to him a more exciting job like gambling and a drinking night life. Doc Holliday traveled with a woman name MaryKatherine “Big Nose Kate” Horony. Doc Holliday was an educated man. On one incident arose after Wyatt heard that one of his branded horses, stolen about a year ago was in the possession of Ike Clanton and Billy Clanton> Wyatt and Doc Holliday rode to the Clanton ranch near t Charleston to recover the horse. The Clantons gave up the horses.
During 1881 become part owner, with Lou Rickabaugh and others, in the gambling concession at the Oriental Saloon. Around that period its alleged to have saved a gambler Mile O’Rourke, aka “Johnny Behind the Deuce” from being lynched after the latter was arrested for murdering a miner. This incident would later add to the Earp’s legend as a lawman.
Extreme tension Between the Earps and both the Clantons and McLaurys increased through their stay in Tombstone. While Wyatt and Virgil were out of town for the Spence of Stilwell hearing, Frank McLary confronted Morgan, telling him that the McLaurys would kill the Earps if they tried to arrest Spence, Stilwell or the McLaurys again. The reason for this was that they were all arrested for robery. On their arrival back Virgil requested that Wyatt and Doc Holliday support him and Morgan in preparation to arrest and disarm the McLaurys and the Clantons. They were both deputized for that occassion.
O.K. CORRAL
At approximately 3:00pm the Earps began heading to the OK Corral where the Cowboys had been gathering, presumably to engage the Earps. Ike and the Cowbows had been waiting for a fight and the Earps and Holliday were determined to give it to them. A witness said that she over heard one of the Earps. (some think it was Morgan) “let them have it” Holliday replied “ok” Both the Earps, Holliday and the Cowboys were in a face off. One witness is to have said that Holliday drew a shotgun shoved it into Frank McLaury’s stomach then took a couple of steps back.
It seem that Virgil wasn’t expecting a fight, maybe that’s the reason why he had Holliday’s cane in his right hand. Right away he commanded the cowboys to draw down their weapons and to put their hands up. Soon everyone started drawing their weapons, you could also hear Virgil shouting to his men, “hold!” Immediately it seemed that Ike panicked once the shooting broke out and fell to the ground toward Wyatt, declaring that he was unarmed. He was pushed to the side and Wyatt turned his attention to the other Cowboys, Ike ran into Fly’s Photography Studio, which was near by an alley. Witnesses have said that Holliday may have fired the first shots and hitting Frank McLaury in the stomach, Morgan fired immediately and hitting Billy Clanton. He was hit in the wrist and then was seen shooting with his left hand. Ike was eventually started shooting from the studio. Holliday shot Tom at close range and died.
The firing continued, Wyatt was not hit in the fight while Holliday, Virgil and Morgan Earp were hit. Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury were killed. Later while the fight was over they discovered that Tom McLaury had no gun. Some suggested that Sheriff Behan may have removed the his gun from the scene. Josie Marcus said that someone must of take the piston away right after he had dropped it, probably Sheriff Behan.
Around October, Ike Clanton filed murder charges against the Earps and Holliday, Wyatt and Holliday were arrested and brought before Justice of the Peace Wells Spicer, while Morgan and Virgil were recovering from their wounds. The hearing would determine if there was enough evidence to go to trial. One of the cowboys name Allen testified that Holliday was among the first to fire, second came from the Earp brothers. Sheriff Behan testified that Billy Clanton that he heard him say “Don’t shoot me” I don’t want to fight” He also testified that Tom McLaury open his coat and that he was not armed. Sheriff Behan views turned the public opinion against the Earps. Wyatt testimony potrayed a far different gunfight than had been first reported in the local papers. Supporters of the cowboys looked upon the Earps and Holliday as robbers and murderers. On Wyatt’s testimony he had said to Ike Clanton “Go to fighting or get away!” Eventually the Earps and Holliday were freed cause of lack of evidence against them.
Sometime in December, while walking between saloons on the streets of Tombstone, Virgil was attacked by a shotgun fire. He was shot in his left arm and shoulder. The shooter was identified as Ike Clanton, his hat was left behind in back of a building across Allen Street, from where the shots were fired. Wyatt wired U.S. Marshal Crawley Dake asking to be appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal with the authority to select his own deputies. He sold his gambling concessions of the saloon. Wyatt sent Ike Clanton that said he wanted to reconcile their differences. Clanton refused.
Later on March 18, Morgan Earp was assassinated by gunmen firing from a dark alley, through the door window into the lighted pool hall. Morgan was hit in the lower back while a second shot hit the wall just over Wyatt’s head. The fatal shot fired at Morgan passed clean through and bedded i the thigh of a pool hall patron. While a doctor was called Morgan was moved from the floor to a nearby couch. The assassins escaped in the dark, Morgan died about 45 minutes later.
The day after Morgan’s murder, Wyatt, James and a group of friends took Morgans body train. They were going to bury him in California where the rest of the family was at. Virgil and his wife Allie also accompanied him. Word came to Wyatt that the cowboys were ready to ambush him and were waiting for him in Tucson. Among that were with Wyatt was Holliday, Turkey Creek, Jack Johnson and Sherman McMasters took Virgil to the train station. As soon as the trained pulled away gunfire was heard. Stilwell body was found near the tracks.
A few days later Wyatt and friends stumbled upon Curley Bill. According to Wyatt Curley jumped into his horse for a fight both Wyatt and Curley Bill traded shotgun blasts and eventually hitting Curley Bill in the chest and almost died instantly. The Earp party survived unharmed throughout the whole time.
Soon later the Earp Party was not allowed in Tombstone. Wyatt soon joined Warren (his younger brother) in San Francisco and joined Josie Marcus (ex-mistress to Behan). Mattie (a former prostitute) died of over dose. of laudanum from the coroners death report. Josie became Wyatt companion for the next 46 years. Holliday died of Tuberculosis around 1887 in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. He was 36 years old.
During the next decades he found himself in running saloons and glambling concessions and investing in mines in Colorado and Idaho. In 1886 Wyatt and Josie move to San Diego stayed there a few years running several gambling house in town and also judged prize fights and raced horses. In 1897 soon moved to Alaska’s Gold rush. Eventually Wyatt moved to Los Angeles and met famous actor including a young actor name John Wayne. One of his Hollywood friends happen to be William S. Hart well-known cowboy star. He died in January 13,1929 in his apartment in Los Angeles, California. Western actors William S. Hart and Tom Mix were his pallbearers at his funeral. His wife Josie was unable to attend his funeral cause of her condition. Wyatt was cremated and burried in the Marcus family plot at the Hills of Eternity, a Jewish Cemetary (Josie was Jewish) in Colma, California. Josie died in 1944, her ashes were buried next to Wyatt. The original gravemarker was stolen in 1944, later on replaced.
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp and Josie Marcus
Popularity: 40% [?]