Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it
On April 30, 1973, Richard Nixon announced a shocking political purge. As the Watergate scandal spiraled beyond Nixon’s control, he forced the resignations of his two closest aides, H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, beleaguered Attorney General Richard Kleindienst, and (less … Continue reading How We Got Here: The Saturday Night Massacre
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! This week will be another open thread, so feel free to discuss what you will. Today’s picture: Emmett Till was lynched on August 28, 1955. The fourteen year old Till, a Chicago native, was … Continue reading The Outraged Weekly History Thread
Part Six in a series; see Parts One, Two, Three, Four and Five Franklin Roosevelt fumbled his reelection mandate with a disastrous second term. Starting in 1935, the Supreme Court struck down many of his programs, particularly the National Recovery … Continue reading How We Got Here: The Trials of Sedition
August 24 is the generally accepted anniversary date of the catastrophic, 79 AD volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, which lies 5.6 miles (9 km) east of modern Naples (ancient Neapolis) in Campania, Italy. The eruption, which began around one o’clock … Continue reading The Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD
Cats! Does the internet talk about cats enough? Are you sure? Betteridge’s Law dictates that if my question was a headline, that answer would be “no,” so in hopes of fixing that, here’s some trivia about some famous or historical … Continue reading Anonymous Historical Cats
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! The discussion theme is: damnatio memoriae and other historical erasure. In ancient Rome, the practice of damnatio memoriae involved a postmortem condemnation of Roman emperors or elites that could include seizure of property, the eradication of the … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread Has Been Erased
Part Five in a series; see Parts One, Two, Three and Four. Meyer Lansky had every reason to despise fascism. His family had survived pogroms in Tsarist Russia before emigrating to America; Lansky, as a youth in Manhattan, earned his … Continue reading How We Got Here: The Gentle Art of Nazi Punching
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! This week we’ll try having a discussion question for the first time in awhile (though don’t feel bound by it): pieces of historical writing that changed your worldview. Be it a book, an essay, … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread Writes, Strikes and Otherwise Causes Change
Part Four in a series; see Parts One, Two and Three. After Franklin Roosevelt’s reelection, his opponents grew more hysterical and conspiracy-minded. Father Coughlin, abandoning most pretenses of progressivism, now branded Roosevelt’s programs the “Jew Deal,” reproduced Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda … Continue reading How We Got Here: The Mad Legions of America
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! I’ll try coming up with discussion topics for future threads, but let’s again have fun talking about whatever. This week’s picture: On August 7, 1964 both houses of Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread
Part Three in a series; see Parts One and Two. During the 1932 election, Franklin Roosevelt ranked Huey Long as one of the two most dangerous men in America (the other being Douglas MacArthur). As Governor, then Senator from Louisiana, … Continue reading How We Got Here: Little Foxes in Search of a Führer
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! No rules except have fun and don’t gratuitously insult your fellow posters! Today’s image: on this date in 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella decided to celebrate the Reconquest of Spain from Islam by … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread
Part Two in a series; see Part One here. Throughout Herbert Hoover’s reign, corporate America constantly assured the public that economic recovery lay right around the corner. “The fact that we have let nature take its course may augur well … Continue reading How We Got Here: Business Plots
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! No discussion topic, just fun and learning! Today’s picture: On July 24, 1915 the SS Eastland, a passenger ship used for touring Lake Michigan, capsized while docked in Chicago. Exactly what happened is unclear, … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread Capsizes!
Part One of a projected series on the American far right during the Depression and New Deal. Besides inline citations, a bibliographic essay will be provided in the final article. On July 28, 1932, Washington saw the nadir of the Great … Continue reading How We Got Here: March of the Khaki Shirts
Welcome to this week’s history thread. As we’ve done for the past few weeks, I’ll dispense with a discussion question; it doesn’t seem to have seriously inhibited discussion, and it saves me the three brain cells I might otherwise expend … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread
Like many American presidents, Woodrow Wilson harbored contradictory impulses. He enacted progressive economic and labor reforms while racially segregating the Federal government. He spoke stirringly about spreading democracy abroad while suppressing civil liberties and arresting dissidents at home. He advocated … Continue reading How We Got Here: Appointment at Veracruz
History: A blast from the past! Today’s picture: July 10th is the anniversary of the Isshi Incident, a key moment in the early history of Imperial Japan. Soga no Iruka, the scion to the powerful Soga clan, was assassinated by … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread
Throughout the spring of 1850, New Orleans and other southern ports bustled with activity. Two sailing vessels and two ships were purchased and outfitted; a force of about 500 armed men began organizing throughout the Mississippi Valley, awaiting signals to … Continue reading How We Got Here: Narciso Lopez Dreams of Cuba
“General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been with soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know, as well as any one, what soldiers can do. It is … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread Can’t Take That Position
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! At this point, I’m inclined to call it yet another open thread and call it a day. Today’s picture: On June 26, 1975 two FBI Agents, Jack Coler and Ronald Williams, entered the Pine … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread
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