History from Deardoff

  At six o’clock in the evening on July 23, 1914, nearly one month after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand   and his wife by a young Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia, the ambassador of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Serbia, delivered an ultimatum to the Serbian foreign ministry. Acting with the full support of its allies in Berlin, Austria-Hungary had determined in the aftermath of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination to pursue a hard-line policy towards Serbia. Their plan, developed in coordination with the German foreign office, was to force a military conflict that would, Vienna hoped, end quickly and decisively with a crushing Austrian victory before the rest of Europe—namely, Serbia’s powerful ally, Russia—had time to react. On receipt of the ultimatum, Serbia at once appealed to Russia, whose council of ministers met on July 24 to determine a course of action. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Sazonov voiced his belief that Germany was using the crisis over the archdu...

  7/21/1925 - The trial of high-school teacher John T. Scopes ended with his conviction in Tennessee; he had taught Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in violation of a state law. Scopes found himself harassed and mocked by the press. Even worse, the Depression affected his career. After graduation, he was "barred" from career opportunities in Tennessee, requiring him and his wife to move into his childhood home in Kentucky around 1930. Having failed in education, Scopes attempted a political career the summer of 1932 as a Kentucky congressman. He registered on the Socialist ticket and suffered defeat. In the end, Scopes returned to the oil industry, serving as an oil expert for the United Production Corporation (later Pennzoil). Scopes died of cancer in 1970.

  On July 18, 1947, Harry Truman signed the current Presidential Succession Act. When he ascended to the presidency following FDR's death, the existing (1886) act called for the cabinet to follow in the order in which each department was created. This meant the next in line was the Secretary of State. Remember there was no method of filling a vice-presidential vacancy at that time. The problem was FDR liked to handle his own foreign policy without interference. Hence in 1944 he appointed Edward Stettinius...an able individual who would cooperate with whatever Roosevelt wanted. In class I used to describe him as an "empty suit" but he was more than that. And he was what FDR wanted. But did he have the qualifications for be POTUS? Cabinet members at the time were selected due to expertise in certain areas. But they were appointed, not elected. The 1947 Act, which is current policy, called for the Speaker of the House then the President Pro Tem of the Senate to follo...

OTD in 1557, Henry VIII's 4th wife, Anne of Cleves, died, having outlived all his other wives, Henry, and even his son, Edward. Henry, enchanted by a flattering Hans Holbein portrait of his bride-to-be, was repulsed by the “tall, big-boned and strong-featured” woman who arrived in England at the beginning of 1540. Declaring “I like her not! I like her not!” after his first meeting with her, the English king only went through with the wedding to maintain diplomatic ties with Anne’s home, the German Duchy of Cleves, and other Protestant allies across the European continent. After just six months of marriage, Henry, eager to replace his queen with the young, vivacious Catherine Howard, had the union annulled on the grounds of non-consummation. Anne, from then on known as the “King’s beloved sister,” spent the rest of her days in England. From the king's testimony: “She is nothing fair, and have very evil smells about her,” Henry reportedly said, adding that he “plainly mistrusted ...

  General John J. "Black Jack Pershing died July 15, 1948 at age 87. Considering he was 5 years old at the time the ACW ended, he was probably aware of this and Lincoln's Assassination. Graduating from West Point in 1886 he participated in wars against the Apaches and Sioux. During the Spanish-American War he charged up San Juan Hill and later aided putting down the Filipino Insurrection (Including the Moro Rebellion). He was an observer in the Russo-Japanese War attached to the Japanese First Army in Manchuria. At the time of the Mexican Punitive Expedition (1916), he led a combined armed force of 10,000 men that penetrated 350 miles (560 km) into chaotic Mexico. They routed Pancho Villa's revolutionaries, but failed to capture him. Of course his most famous role was as the leader of the AEF during the First World War. Dying in 1948, he had followed the progress and outcome of the Second World War...and the beginning of the Cold War.

  It's Bastille Day! On this day in 1789, Parisian revolutionaries and mutinous troops stormed and dismantled the Bastille, a royal fortress and prison that had come to symbolize the tyranny of the Bourbon monarchs. Americans debated whether to support this revolution. After all, France gave us essential aid during our own revolution, and there was even a treaty of alliance. However, that treaty was with the monarchy which had been overthrown, plus we could not afford a foreign war. As the excesses of the Reign of Terror became known, Washington's policy of non-intervention received more support. (Except for Jefferson and his followers.)

  Steeplejacks removing the spiked crown from the head of The Statue of Liberty for renovation work (1938)

 Today in military history: 1755 - General Edward Braddock and his army was decisively defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela and he was mortally wounded.  Rather than allowing his body to be found and desecrated by the Indian allies of the French, it was buried in the middle of the roadway and the English and American retreating army marched over the site.  It was only discovered decades after.  23 year old George Washington led the British force to safety. 1890 -  John C. Frémont, the "Pathfinder" of American history died.  He was the first presidential nominee of the Republican Party (1856) and later served as an ineffectual general in our civil war.  Lincoln was eventually forced to sideline him. 1821- Nathan Bedford Forrest was born.  He was one of the most effective cavalry leaders of the American Civil War whose maxim "Get there first with the most men" is often quoted.  A controversial figure his troops were responsible for the mas...

 On this day in religious history: -Czech priest Jan Hus was burned to death for heresy in 1415.  He opposed Catholic Church practices such as selling indulgences and church offices, and differed about the role of the Church in salvation and the importance of the Eucharist. -In 1435, Sir Thomas More was beheaded.  He had been a friend of King Henry VIII until his opposition to the establishment of the Anglican Church.  More was also an author of the first Science Fiction book "Utopia", a lawyer, judge and had served Henry as Lord High Chancellor. -The current (and 14th) Dalai Lama was born in 1935.  Fearing for his life, he fled Tibet for China in 1959 where he formed a government in exile.  He has stated that the incarnation of the next Dalai Lama will be born in India and any interference by the Chine government should be ignored. - In 1942, Anne Frank and her family were forced into hiding due to German suppression of the Jews in Holland.  They will...

  July 4, 1863 was a good day for the federals during the ACW. In Pennsylvania, the Army of Northern Virginia began it's retreat to Virginia...and the odds of it returning intact were not very good.  However, the Union forces had suffered every bit as much as their foes and an energetic pursuit just wasn't going to happen. This was the second of three invasions of the north by Lee's forces.  Its importance as the war's turning point would not be interpreted as such for a while.  The war still had another two years to go. July 4 saw the end of the Tullahoma Campaign, where William Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland had driven  the Confederate Army of Tennessee from that state.  While of major importance to the final conclusion of the war, it has been largely forgotten because it was a campaign of brilliant maneuvering with no major battles.  Rosecrans complained it was ignored because it was not "written in blood". Perhaps the most important news that da...

 A victim of the "Zero Year Curse", President James Garfield was shot this day in 1881 after only 4 months in office. According to the conspiracy theory, the Indian Chieftain Tecumseh placed a curse on the US Government after the defeat of his brother, The Prophet, at Tippecanoe.  Any President thereafter who was elected in a year ending in "zero" would die in office.  And the curse was worth citing for the first years I was teaching.  William Henry Harrison (1840), Abraham Lincoln (1860), James Garfield (1880), William McKinley (1900), Warren Harding (1920, FDR (1940) and JFK (1960) all died of natural causes or were murdered. Then came Ronald Reagan (1980) and, despite John Hinkley's best effort, he completed his term in office. It was a pretty far-fetched theory away. James Garfield was a general in the American Civil War who performed well in the western theater.  Later he became the only sitting member of the House of Representatives to be elected to the Wh...