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February 17, 2015 – Segment 1
Marc discusses what happened today in history, including the birthday of Black Panther founder Huey Newton, the day Bedonkohe Apache leader Geronimo passed away, and the day the United States House of Representatives passed the Missouri Compromise.
Transcript of this day in history included below.
I’m Marc Steiner and today is February the 17th.
That’s Tossin’ and Turnin’ by Bobby Lewis, whose birthday is today. He was born in 1933 in Indianapolis. This song was Number 1 for seven weeks in a row on the Billboard charts.
In 1621 Myles Standish is appointed as first commander of Plymouth colony. Yes, that early European settlement known as Plymouth Rock. He led the establishment of the colony by carrying particular brutal attacks on Native villages and astutely mastering the divides between Indian nations.
1801, the aftermath of the 4th Presidential Elections , it was a dead heat in the Electoral College, though Jefferson won the popular vote, between the pro-French de-centralist Thomas Jefferson and his Democrat Republicans and Aaron Burr, from the Federalists, the Party of Washington who was centralization and were pro-British. So they compromised in this heated political battle Jefferson became President and Burr Vice President. An interesting historical not and twist, if slaves, who obviously had no vote, had not been constitutionally counted as3/5th of vote then Jefferson would have lost to Burr.
In 1819 The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise. When the United States make the Louisiana Purchase from the French it became a flashpoint in the continuing battle over slavery in America, so this compromise agreed to by pro and anti slavery factions in everything prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of 36 30 parallel roughly at the border of what is now Arkansas , except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri. The passage of the Missouri Compromise took place during the presidency of James Monroe
1863 – A group of citizens in Geneva founded an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The First Michigan Colored Infantry was formed in 1863 in Detroit Michigan. 845 Black me from Detroit, southern Michigan, and Ontario, Canada, many of whom had escaped slavery trough the Underground Railroad volunteered to not only defeat the Confederacy but were fighting to free family members still held in bondage. On May 23, 1864, the unit was re-designated the 102nd Regiment United States Colored Troops fighting its way throughout South Carolina, eastern Georgia, and Florida during the Civil War defeating every Confederate force it confronted and after the war they served occupation duty until they were disbanded October 17, 1865.
Industry names we all know IBM and Montgomery wards and the men who started those companies share a birthday – A. Montgomery Ward was born in 1843 and Thomas Watson Sr who founded IMB in 1956 was born today in1 874 –
In 1909 Geronimo passed still a prisoner of war never being allowed to return to his people or his home. In 1876 Geronimo began a 10-year war with the United States, after his wife, mother and three children were slaughtered by Mexican troops he vowed to stay free and not be forced on to a reservation. The US sent 5000, one third of US Army and 3000 Mexican soldiers to defeat him after years of victories to stay free. Down to 16 warriors he surrendered. He was tricked and he 250 other Apache were imprisoned in Florida then Alabama many dying of disease. After writing his autobiography he asked Teddy Roosevelt, in whose inauguration he rode, for a pardon to return home. He was denied .. today we remember Geronimo
1942 – Huey P. Newton, American activist who co-founded the Black Panthers (d. 1989)
and Happy Birthday Michael Jordan
And here’s a song for your day, this February the 17th. This jazz artist started playing piano by the age of 6. He became a composer and played the piano in ways that some thought of as unorthodox. Today in 1982, Thelonious Sphere Monk passed away. We remember him today with his song “Well You Needn’t.”
To continue your exploration of this day in history, take a look at some of our favorite sources: Charles H. Wright Museum: Today in Black History; African American Registry; BlackPast; NYTimes on this Day; EyewitnessToHistory.com; The Civil War Trust; Voices in Labor: Today in Labor History; Union Communication Services at The Worker Institute: Today in Labor History; BBC On This Day; The Holocaust History Project; PBS African American World; PBS; Today in Women’s History; South African History Online; This Day In North American Indian History; Jewish Virtual Library; The People History; Wikipedia List of Historical Anniversaries; Yenoba; and This Day in Music
