Today in History: Transcontinental Train Service Begins
Regular transcontinental train service began today in 1869. Few of the passengers would have been prepared for how rough the journey to California would be.
For one thing, it would last eight to ten days, and test the patience of passengers with its numerous stops and slow progress. The trains travelled, on average, about 20 miles an hour, and they could be stopped for hours, or days, by damaged track, floods, tornadoes, blizzards, avalanches, buffalo herds, or locust swarms.
Meals were only available at train stations, which seemed to offer beefsteak for every meal, occasionally varied by antelope, sweet potatoes, cornmeal flatbread, and prairie dog stew, presented as chicken stew.
The journey grew more interesting as the train approached the Rockies. Passengers found themselves higher than they’d ever been as they stared fearfully into deep chasms.
Train fare was $65. Then Pullman cars were added. They were so luxurious, travelers were glad to pay another extra $100 for the comfort.
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Image: The ceremony for the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869, completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad (Wikimedia Commons)
Today in History: The Stars and Stripes Forever Premieres
One of the most famous pieces of American music premiered today in 1896. At the Philadelphia Academy of Music, John Philip Sousa led his band in a performance of The Stars and Stripes Forever. At its jubilant finale, the crowd cheered and demanded an encore, and then another.
The performance was repeated in several cities, and was always greeted with rapturous applause, though one critic in Toronto groused that the piece was “rather noisy.”
It was now a necessity at all future concerts.
Sousa had written the initial score in just two days. He also wrote lyrics, which are rarely heard. The refrain begins with the words,
“Hurrah for the flag of the free
May it wave as our standard forever”
The music is both martial and festive, with a finale that encourages listeners to get up on their feet.
Sousa deserves to be remembered for giving us this rousing march and for giving the piccolo players in brass bands a rare opportunity to shine.
“Today in American History with Jeff Nilsson” can be heard on select public radio stations across the U.S.
Image: John Philip Sousa, 1922 (Library of Congress)
Today in History: Jefferson Davis Released from Prison
When the Civil War ended, the government faced the problem of what to do with the former Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, or “Jeffie D” as Lincoln referred to him.
After Davis had been captured in Georgia, some Northerners wanted to try him as an accomplice to Lincoln’s assassination. Others wanted him prosecuted for the deadly conditions at the Andersonville prisoner of war camp. But there was no evidence for either charge.
In 1866, the House voted to try him for treason, which was agreeable to Davis. He looked forward to a trial where he could justify his actions. Now prosecutors worried a not guilty verdict might be viewed as a validation for secession.
Finally, today in 1867, he was freed from prison when several prominent men in the North signed the $100,000 bond that would release him. The publisher Horace Greeley justified his signing the bond by saying “From the hour he lays down his arms, my enemy is my formerly erring countryman.”
“Today in American History with Jeff Nilsson” can be heard on select public radio stations across the U.S.
Image: Jefferson Davis, 1869 (Wikimedia Commons)
Today in History: Coal Miners Strike
Today marks a turning point in the history of organized labor. In 1902, 147,000 anthracite coal miners walked off job.
Up to this time, the public had often regarded striking union workers as radicals bent on seizing power and property from their employers. So there was scant sympathy for the United Mine Workers, especially with cold weather approaching.
But the mine operators began losing support when a letter from one of them was published. It said the miners’ interest would be best served by the men to whom God, in his infinite wisdom, had given control of the property interests of America.
President Theodore Roosevelt was concerned that coal shortages could lead to civil unrest. He broke new ground by pressuring management to meet with the union they didn’t want to acknowledge. What emerged was a compromise for both sides. But now, the president had recognized that labor unions had a legitimate place in the settlement of strikes.
“Today in American History with Jeff Nilsson” can be heard on select public radio stations across the U.S.
Image: Members of President Roosevelt’s strike commission, 1902 (Library of Congress)
Today in History: Dust Storms, Spam, and Post-War Pleasure Driving
Today in 1934, a severe, two-day dust storm stripped topsoil from the great plains, creating a swirling dust cloud two miles high. It blew across the country for 2,000 miles, ultimately reaching the east coast. There, it darkened the air so heavily that it hid the Statue of Liberty and the top of the U.S. Capitol.
Spam was trademarked on this date in 1937. It was welcomed as an economical food during the Depression, but lost some of its appeal in World War II when it was served to soldiers as often as three times a day.
With wartime gas rationing gone in 1946, Americans were eagerly taking to the roads again. But, according to a Post article on this day, they found the roads had been poorly maintained during the war years. Highways signs had been removed for scrap metal, and their wooden replacements were faded into illegibility. But this barely diminished the pleasure of driving with the wartime national speed limit of 35 miles an hour lifted.
“Today in American History with Jeff Nilsson” can be heard on select public radio stations across the U.S.
Image: South Dakota dust storm, 1934 (Library of Congress)
Today in History: The World Celebrates the End of World War II
Eighty years ago today, the streets of New York, London, Paris, Rome, and Moscow were packed with jubilant crowds. They celebrated the end of six years of war in Europe that had killed over 15 million people.
The German High Command had signed papers of unconditional surrender to the United Nations that morning. The Third Reich, which was supposed to endure a thousand years, was gone after twelve, just one week after Adolf Hitler committed suicide.
In New York, the Statue of Liberty’s lamp was relit after being darkened for the war. In many cities, the event was observed by ecstatic crowds singing and cheering well into the night. But other cities remained calm and observed a reverential stillness.
To Medal of Honor Recipient Audie Murphy, recuperating from wounds, the news brought only a vague irritation. He said he wanted company and he wanted to be alone. He wanted to talk and wanted to be silent. It was Victory in Europe Day outside, but he felt no peace inside.
“Today in American History with Jeff Nilsson” can be heard on select public radio stations across the U.S.
Image: V.E. Day celebration in Piccadilly Square, London, England, 1945 (Mrjspence via the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en), Wikimedia Commons)
Today in History: Germany Warns That Passenger Ships Are Not Safe from Torpedoes
Prior to the Titanic, the Lusitania was considered the world largest, fastest, most comfortable ocean liner.
Today in 1915, before it sailed from New York, the German government warned passengers that British ships would be considered fair targets during the war in Europe.
Today, as the Lusitania came within sight of the Irish coast, it was hit with a torpedo from a German U-boat. In 18 minutes, the ship was underwater. Twelve hundred passengers and crew members died, including 123 Americans. The U-boat captain was celebrated as a hero in Germany.
In the neutral U.S., citizens were furious that their countrymen had been killed in other people’s war. President Wilson got Germany to apologize and promise to leave passenger ships alone. But the Lusitania deaths were eventually answered because Germany ultimately resumed its unlimited submarine warfare, America entered the war, and quickly helped end the German threat on the high seas.
“Today in American History with Jeff Nilsson” can be heard on select public radio stations across the U.S.
Image: The RMS Lusitania (Library of Congress)
Today in History: Presidential Candidate Denies Infidelity
In 1987, Colorado Senator Gary Hart was the front-runner among the candidates pursuing the Democratic presidential nomination. Early in the campaign, the married candidate had to deny rumors he’d had affairs with several women. But in April, a reporter learned Hart had arranged a liaison at his Washington residence. He was seen there with a blonde woman who was definitely not his wife.
Today in 1987, he denied any infidelity to his wife. He said if he’d wanted to have an adulterous affair, he wouldn’t be so obvious about it.
But the damage was done. His financial support began melting away. His lead in the polls shrank. When the Hart campaign heard that details of another relationship were about to go public, Hart announced he was withdrawing from the race.
Curiously, polls showed voters mostly didn’t care about Hart’s affairs. But the Watergate scandal just 13 years earlier left Americans with a strong distaste for even the appearance of dishonesty.
“Today in American History with Jeff Nilsson” can be heard on select public radio stations across the U.S.
Image: Gary Hart, 1984 (Congress.gov)
Today in History: Congress Extends the Chinese Exclusion Act
Today in 1892, Congress extended the Chinese Exclusion Act for another ten years. The Act prohibited all Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. It was the first time a nationality had been identified as unsuitable for the country.
Immigrants from China began arriving in large numbers after gold was discovered in California. When the gold became harder to find, frustrated miners drove many Chinese from the gold fields. They moved to towns, where they took up menial work in laundries and restaurants. But when they began achieving success in farming and the garment trade, American workers implored Congress to stop Chinese immigration.
The Exclusion Act was made permanent in 1902.
Not until 1965 were all restrictions on Chinese immigration lifted. Today, there are two million Chinese immigrants in America. They have come not seeking riches as much as seeking the freedoms their government has taken from them.
“Today in American History with Jeff Nilsson” can be heard on select public radio stations across the U.S.
Image: Cartoon from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper commenting on the Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882 (Library of Congress)
Today in History: The U.S. Buys the Panama Canal from France
This morning in Panama, in 1904, French authorities handed over the keys to their canal building operations in Panama.
They had begun building a canal across Central America 25 years earlier. But they had run out of money and workers. Tropical diseases and dangerous work had killed over 20,000 French canal workers.
The U.S. took over the project after paying France $40 million. It was just a small part of the total bill that would approach $400 million — an amount close to $13 billion in today’s money.
It remains one of the greatest achievements of engineering and human endurance. A canal across 51 miles with 12 lock systems that included cutting an 85-foot-deep valley through the Continental Divide.
The entire project would take ten more years before ships could sail from the Gulf to the Pacific Ocean, avoiding the 8,000-mile trip around Cape Horn and saving two-and-a-half weeks of travel.
“Today in American History with Jeff Nilsson” can be heard on select public radio stations across the U.S.
Image: Building the Panama Canal, 1913 (Library of Congress)
Today in History: The U.S. Navy Fires on the Spanish Fleet in Manila Bay
In the spring of 1898, America’s Asiatic Squadron (four cruisers and two gunboats) was anchored outside Manila Bay. With America now at war with Spain, U.S. Admiral Dewey had imposed a blockade of this major Philippine harbor.
But German ships kept crossing Dewey’s blockade to supply a German outpost. Dewey summoned the German commander to his flagship.
America was at war with Spain, he said. “It matters little to us whether we fight Spain, or Germany, or the world. And if you desire war, you can have it right here and now.” The German fleet then honored the blockade.
At 5:30 a.m. of May 1, 1898, Dewey ordered his squadron to open fire on the antiquated Spanish fleet of Admiral Montojo in Manila Harbor. What followed is considered the most complete military victory in our nation’s history. The Spanish fleet was completely destroyed by the American guns without losing a single man or vessel. And the U.S. became a world power.
“Today in American History with Jeff Nilsson” can be heard on select public radio stations across the U.S.
Image: Battle of Manila. 1898. Copy of lithograph published by Butler, Thomas & Company, 1899 (Wikimedia Commons)
Today in History: Nixon Releases Watergate Transcripts
In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee investigating the Watergate break-in ordered the president to hand over recordings of his discussions in the Oval Office. The Committee hoped the recordings would resolve conflicting testimony about the president’s involvement in the Watergate affair.
Nixon refused at first, claiming executive privilege. But today in 1974, he released over 1200 pages of redacted transcripts. The Supreme Court said this wouldn’t suffice. Nixon had to provide the tapes.
Once he did, the Committee could hear Nixon agreeing to pay the Watergate burglars for their silence.
Another recording included Nixon’s chief of staff admitting the Democrats were making progress in their Watergate inquiries. He suggested directing the FBI to stay out of the investigation, and Nixon agreed.
The tapes also contained 18 minutes of silence, which had been accidentally — some would say, improbably — erased while the tapes were being transcribed. Altogether, the recordings destroyed the president’s assertions he wasn’t involved and knew nothing of the coverup.
“Today in American History with Jeff Nilsson” can be heard on select public radio stations across the U.S.
Image: Nixon at his desk (Library of Congress)
