Happy Martin Luther King Day!

In remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights he advocated for, here is his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in its entirety.

[Image via writespirit]

Sometimes We Destroy Our History

Here is a great article from the NY Times about the ongoing movement to preserve segregated black schoolhouses in the south. Many schools were constructed from funds raised by the president of Sears, Julius Rosenwald, at the urging of Booker T. Washington. The schools were in keeping with the “separate but equal” standards of the day, which relegated black education to primitive standards at best.

Many of these buildings were saved from demolition at the urging of historians and other preservationists who recognize the historical importance of the structures in telling the history of civil rights. There have been countless books written about pre-civil rights education in the south, but not everyone will read a book. As a former attendee of one of the schools so aptly stated, “Sometimes we destroy our history…You can tell kids about it, but they appreciate it better when they see it.”

[Image via MarkFoxjr]

The Great American Smoke-Out – The First Government Report Warning Against the Dangers of Smoking Issued

On January 11, 1964, Surgeon General Luther Terry issued a report entitled Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General. This report was the first official government report that warned against the dangers of smoking. This was not the first time a government agency hinted at the dangers of smoking. In 1957, Surgeon General Leroy E. Burney stated that the official position of the U.S. Public Health Service was that scientific evidence pointed to a link between smoking and lung cancer. However, the scale of the report issued in 1964 was a major leap forward in making the public aware of the serious medical risks of tobacco. Surgeon General Terry decided to issue the report on a Saturday so as not to affect the stock market, but to also make the Sunday papers. The report was front-page news across the country and helped to educate the public about the medical risks of smoking.

This may not seem like a thrilling moment in American history, as it does not include any tales of gunplay, espionage or rock and roll. However, just think about the incredible shift the government has taken in its attitude toward smoking and tobacco companies in such a relatively short span of time. During World War II, the government provided servicemen with cigarettes as part of their rations. By 1957, it publicly linked smoking with lung cancer, and by 1964 it acknowledged the serious medical risks associated with smoking. After 1970, advertising cigarettes on television was against the law. Nancy Reagan eventually launched her war on drugs and we all found ourselves going through the infamous D.A.R.E. program. What an incredible transition in less than fifty years.

Once tobacco advertising on television became illegal in 1970, different advocacy groups used television to get out the anti-smoking message. Here are some early examples of anti-smoking PSA’s. Enjoy and don’t smoke!

Here’s a famous anti-smoking PSA that first aired on September 15, 1967

Here’s another PSA that features a dolphin – the natural choice to hit home an anti- smoking message (?)

Finally, here is John Wayne in western garb talking about his own experience with lung cancer. Its ironic that he is dressed as a cowboy talking about lung cancer, as Marlboro frequently used the image of a cowboy to sell their cigarettes. Tragically, John Wayne succumbed to cancer in 1979.

[Image via PBS]

All Over America People Were Doing a Dance Called the Funky Grandpa– The 20th Anniversary of The Simpsons

2010 marks the 20^th anniversary of The Simpsons. The show has faced controversy from the time of its inception as it has constantly played with viewer’s expectations of what is “acceptable” material for a cartoon show. The show comes off as tame these days in comparison to the other cartoon shows it has undoubtedly inspired in its wake. In honor of one of the longest running shows on television (and one of my favorites), here is a little American history lesson for all the kids out there from one of my favorite characters, Grandpa Simpson.

[Image via cmm61]

Common Sense: Words That Were Anything But Common

On this day in 1776, Thomas Paine published his enormously influential pamphlet Common Sense. Paine was an Englishman who emigrated to America in 1774 under the sponsorship of Benjamin Franklin. He had served as an excise officer in England before being fired for leading protests for higher wages.

Once in America, he became involved in the increased hostilities between American and Great Britain, and became an advocate for American independence. In Common Sense, Paine used stirring rhetoric to argue that the American colonies had outgrown the need for England’s domination, and attacked the authority of the British monarchy. He strongly believed that the time had come for American independence. Paine pleaded, “Everything that is right or reasonable pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, ‘tis time to part.” Common Sense was read by many patriots and influenced the authors of the Declaration of Independence. The language of the text itself is particularly notable in understanding its effectiveness and widespread popularity. Paine wrote in language that the average reader could understand, which helped his message reach a wide audience. Common Sense is also notable for being the first work to openly call for American independence from Great Britain.

Common Sense and the other writings that formed Thomas Paine’s American Crisis series (1776-1783) were widely distributed and did much to encourage the patriot cause during the American Revolution.

Want to read Common Sense in its entirety? Check it out here.

[Image via Britannica and arktimes]

“…There is only one king.” - Elvis Presley Turns 75

Today would have been Elvis Presley’s 75^th birthday, and a slew of celebrations are taking place to mark the occasion. Elvis’ ex-wife Priscilla and his daughter Lisa Marie will be on hand at Graceland to cut a birthday cake among a crowd of faithful fans willing to freeze in the chilly winter weather.

Here is a clip of Priscilla talking about Elvis on the Today Show:

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Elvis Presley plays a large role in the cultural imagination of American history and culture. That said, its easy to lose sight of his core talents and contributions among the sometimes cheesetastic commercialization of his legacy since his passing and the memory of the idiosyncrasies of his later years. To honor his birthday this year, I’d rather reflect on his legacy. As John Lennon once said, “Before Elvis, there was nothing.” The ingredients for rock and roll existed before Elvis Presley came along, but Elvis was perhaps unwittingly able to capture the lightning of country, gospel and rhythm and blues in a bottle and break the new genre to a huge new audience. As Rolling Stone’s David Fricke wrote in 1986,

“...At Sun Studio in Memphis Elvis Presley called to life what would soon be known as rock and roll with a voice that bore strains of the Grand Ole Opry and Beale Street, of country and the blues. At that moment, he ensured - instinctively, unknowingly - that pop music would never again be as simple as black and white.”

To get a sense of what Elvis was like when he first burst onto the music scene, here he is performing “Baby, Let’s Play House” on television in 1955.

[Image via fiftiesweb]

FDR and the Case of the Mole

Here is an interesting NY TImes article on a new book that explores a possible cover-up of the real cause of FDR’s death. As the reviewer states, no one questions that FDR died of a stroke, but there has been some dispute among doctors and historians as to what caused the stroke. As evidence, the authors of the reviewed book site a mole above FDR’s left eye that appears in photos of his early terms but disappears from photos of his fourth and final term. Could this mole be a melanoma? The reviewer, a medical doctor, does not appear to be convinced that the book offers enough facts to support it’s claim. Take a look and be the judge, is this history or pure histrionics?

[Image via PoorWilliam]