So Long Women’s History Month! Here's "A Word to the Wives"

With Women’s History Month coming to a close, I thought I would post a little video that explores how far women’s roles in American life have come. Here is “A Word to the Wives,” about two enterprising women who attempt to “trick” their husbands into buying them new kitchens. The film was made by companies looking to advertise their new kitchen appliances in the 1950s, and operates under the assumption that all women are housewives and all men can’t manage to operate kitchen appliances without a woman present. This film is a throwback in more ways than one, and definitely managed to entertain me when I first found it last week. At the time, I was looking for any video on women’s history, and found this the same day that my own oven caught on fire and died. This film entertained me and I hope it will make you laugh too.

Happy Maryland Day!

Today in 1634, settlers first arrived at the land that King Charles I of England chartered to Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore. The colony was named for the King’s wife, Henrietta Maria, and was the first proprietary colony in what is now the United States.

Find out more about Maryland Day at the Library of Congress. 

[Image via Maryland-Map.org]

In the Army Now – Elvis Presley Joins the Army

Today in 1958, Elvis Presley was conscripted into the U.S. Army as a private at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas. He wished to be treated like any other soldier during his stint in the army saying: “The Army can do anything it wants with me.” He was adamant about taking on regular duties, and turned down offers to serve as mainly an entertainer to the troops (which would have also allowed him to keep in touch with the public). The army wasn’t prepared for the media attention Elvis’ conscription would create, and a small army of reporters descended on Fort Chaffee on the first day to see Elvis take his oath, try on his uniform and cut his hair.

            Elvis served mainly in Germany during his two- year stint in the service. Although he wanted to be treated like everyone else, he did have certain privileges. For a time, he lived apart from the base in his own apartment with family and friends. He also was able to provide his base with televisions and bought an extra set of fatigues for everyone in his unit (and donated his army pay to charity).

            Two interesting developments occurred while Elvis was in the army: he learned about amphetamines and was introduced to karate. The interest in karate would continue and later become a part of his stage routine. The interest in and use of amphetamines would later have serious consequences for his health, and contributed to his death. Beyond these developments, he also met a girl named Priscilla during his time in Germany who he would later marry. Interestingly, in the video below he claims there was nothing serious between them.

            I think it was John Lennon who said that once Elvis entered the army, his career was never the same. Elvis had those same fears, and worried about his own ability to recover his career after leaving the service in 1960. From 1960-1967, Elvis made a series of mostly laughable films, and moved further away from making serious rock and roll. He would try to recapture his musical career with his 1968 comeback special, but it was never really the same. Here is a video showing footage of Elvis’ first few days in the army.

[Images via fairlycommonsense and forgotton-ny]

Health Care Reform Timeline

Here is an interactive timeline from the NY Times that shows the past attempts at health care reform. What do you think of the newly passed bill?

OK Enters National Vernacular

From History.com

 On this day in 1839, the initials "O.K." are first published in The Boston Morning Post. Meant as an abbreviation for "oll correct," a popular slang misspelling of "all correct" at the time, OK steadily made its way into the everyday speech of Americans.

During the late 1830s, it was a favorite practice among younger, educated circles to misspell words intentionally, then abbreviate them and use them as slang when talking to one another. Just as teenagers today have their own slang based on distortions of common words, such as "kewl" for "cool" or "DZ" for "these," the "in crowd" of the 1830s had a whole host of slang terms they abbreviated. Popular abbreviations included "KY" for "No use" ("know yuse"), "KG" for "No go" ("Know go"), and "OW" for all right ("oll wright").

Of all the abbreviations used during that time, OK was propelled into the limelight when it was printed in the Boston Morning Post as part of a joke. Its popularity exploded when it was picked up by contemporary politicians. When the incumbent president Martin Van Buren was up for reelection, his Democratic supporters organized a band of thugs to influence voters. This group was formally called the "O.K. Club," which referred both to Van Buren's nickname "Old Kinderhook" (based on his hometown of Kinderhook, New York), and to the term recently made popular in the papers. At the same time, the opposing Whig Party made use of "OK" to denigrate Van Buren's political mentor Andrew Jackson. According to the Whigs, Jackson invented the abbreviation "OK" to cover up his own misspelling of "all correct."

The man responsible for unraveling the mystery behind "OK" was an American linguist named Allen Walker Read. An English professor at Columbia University, Read dispelled a host of erroneous theories on the origins of "OK," ranging from the name of a popular Army biscuit (Orrin Kendall) to the name of a Haitian port famed for its rum (Aux Cayes) to the signature of a Choctaw chief named Old Keokuk. Whatever its origins, "OK" has become one of the most ubiquitous terms in the world, and certainly one of America's greatest lingual exports.

New Presidential History Page!

Ever wondered which president made the first audio recording? Which president starred in the first video with sound recording? You can find out now on the new presidential history page. On this new page at www.ushistorygirl.com you can read important speeches from each president and also enjoy audio and video clips from important political moments in the 20th and 21st centuries. From FDR's fireside chats to Nixon sweating through his first debate with JFK, you will find it all at the new presidential history page.

Once Upon a Time, Republicans Advocated Health Care Reform

Yesterday, Congress passed the much- debated health care reform bill. I can’t really remember the last time an issue so polarized the Congress, and the nation at large. After its passage, Democrats hailed health care reform as historic legislation in line with Social Security and Medicare. On the other hand, Republicans panned the bill calling it a “financial Frankenstein.” No matter what your views on its passage, I think we can all agree that it is historic legislation that will certainly be remembered as a fundamental part of Obama’s presidency. Over the weekend, the president and other proponents of the bill were out plugging it across the country, and the president’s words in particular inspired me to do a little research.

In a speech this weekend at George Mason University, President Obama said that the call for health care reform began with a Republican president, Teddy Roosevelt, which was later echoed by another Republican president, Richard Nixon. I wanted to know if these claims were in fact true, or just an attempt to couch his legislation in a broad sense of bi-partisanship. After a little research, it turns out that there were once actual Republicans who approved of sweeping health care reform.

When Theodore Roosevelt was running for a third term as part of the Progressive “Bull Moose” Party in 1912, national health insurance was a plank in his party’s platform. Health Care was listed as the 11^th issue under “Social and Industrial Justice.” (Politifact.com)  In 1974, Republican President Richard Nixon also advocated major Health Care reform. In his letter to Congress, he advocated a federal program of health care reform that does not look that different from the legislation that was passed yesterday. Read Nixon’s letter to Congress here. 

What are your thoughts on the bill?

[Image via fusewashington]