On this day in 1913, Rosa Parks is born. She is best known for getting arrested when she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Fortunately, the unjust segregation laws that she was protesting would soon come to an end through peaceful acts of civil disobedience such as her own, combined with non-violent protests led by men such as Martin Luther King, Jr. As you know, at that point in history, passengers were segregated aboard buses in places such as

On this day in 1959, musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (“the Big Bopper”) are killed in a plane crash. The terrible tragedy has come to be known as “the Day the Music Died.” None of it would have occurred but for the “Tour from Hell.” Holly, Valens, and Richardson were then on that 24-day concert tour, officially known as the Winter Dance Party Tour. Along with Dion and the Belmonts and Frankie Sardo, they would travel across Wisconsin, Minnesota,

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 49 is published. I know that many readers of this page are working toward an Article V convention for proposing constitutional amendments. This essay is for you. Publius addressed the need for checks and balances in the last paper: The legislative branch can “check” the executive (e.g., its power to impeach), just as the President can “check” the legislature (e.g., his veto power). Some Americans, however, preferred a more complete se

On this day in 1968, a hero engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Nevertheless, Johnny Lee Canley wouldn’t receive that Medal until decades later. Would you believe that he joined the Marines in 1953, when he was only 15 years old? He used his brother’s paperwork to get in. On January 31, 1968, Canley was a Gunnery Sergeant serving with Alpha Company, First Battalion, First Marine Regiment. About 150 Marines from his company would help take back Huế

On this day in 1781, Americans lose the Battle of Cowan’s Ford. They also suffer a devastating incident at nearby Torrence’s Tavern. It was a low point for the Patriot cause. Nevertheless, you’ll love the patriotic heroine who makes an appearance at the end of the story! At this point in the Revolution, British forces led by General Charles Cornwallis were working to establish a base in the South. Cornwallis was then opposed by General Nathanael Greene, commander of the sou

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 48 is published. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) continues his discussion of separation of powers in government. Madison agreed that separation of powers was critical in a free country. If the whole power of two departments falls into the hands of one person, then power can be abused. A President, for example, should not possess the whole power of legislating and the whole power of enforcing the law, simultaneously. But ironically, M

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 47 is published. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) tackles the concept of separation of powers in government. Believe it or not, our Constitution was then being attacked for failing to provide sufficient separation among the legislative, executive, and judicial functions. How interesting that the founding generation was ready to reject the Constitution because of a fear that it violated “separation of powers.” Yet, today, many modern A

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 46 is published. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) discusses which level of government—state or national—will have greater support from the people and which can better defend itself from encroachments by the other. This essay offers a glimpse into how very far we have fallen. Madison seems literally unable to imagine a world in which the national government could encroach too greatly upon the state governments. Indeed, at one point he

On this day in 1943, Mrs. Ruth C. Streeter is commissioned as a Major in the United States Marine Corps. She would serve as the first director of the newly formed Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. Women served in every branch of our military during World War II, but the Marine Corps went a step further: These women didn’t merely serve in some sort of auxiliary service, as women in the Navy, Army, or Coast Guard did. They were full-fledged Marines. The Commandant of the Marine Cor

On this day in 1943, American bombers launch their first attack on German soil. “U.S. Airmen,” newspapers soon reported, “flying Fortress and Liberator bombers—their biggest—dealt the first all-American assault to the German homeland today.” The “heavy aerial wallop,” these reports concluded, kept the American promise to “hit them and hit them hard.” But what had taken so long? After all, it had been more than a year since the United States entered World War II. It’s ea

On this day in 1967, the first manned Apollo mission ends in heartbreak. Apollo 1’s crew had been at Kennedy Space Center, preparing for their upcoming launch. Unfortunately, they never made it into space. Instead, all three astronauts were tragically killed during what should have been a simple launch rehearsal. But, then again, nothing had ever felt quite right about Apollo 1. “[E]very time we’d turn a corner there were things that were left undone or answers that we didn’t

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 45 is published. James Madison spent the past few essays defending each power transferred to the new national government. Now he asks whether the accumulation of all these powers (“the whole mass of them”) could be “dangerous to the portion of authority left in the several States.” Madison still believes that the states retain the bulk of power in the new Constitution. If anything, he thinks the national government is likely to be “to

On this day in 2002, a World War II hero passes away . Rudolph B. Davila has been credited with saving the lives of 130 American soldiers. He received the Medal of Honor for his stunning bravery. He surely never expected to be a hero. He’d enlisted in the Army in 1939, largely because times were tough, and he needed a job. Davila’s heroism came on May 28, 1944, as Americans worked to break though German strongholds in the mountains surrounding Anzio, Italy. Then-Staff Sergean

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 44 is published. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) continues his step-by-step defense of the powers given to the new national government. He’s addressed the first four classes of governmental power (identified in Federalist No. 41). This paper tackles the 5th and 6th classes of powers. First, Madison addresses the restraints placed on the states “from certain injurious acts.” These are fairly uncontroversial and are run through quickly

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 43 is published. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) continues his step-by-step defense of the powers given to the new national government. This essay literally reads like a punch list. In Federalist No. 41, Madison had divided the power granted to the government into six classes. Paper 41 discussed the first of these (national security); Paper 42 discussed the next two classes (foreign commerce and relations among states). Now, Madison

On this day in 1944, Allied forces come ashore in “Operation Shingle,” an amphibious landing near Anzio, Italy. Military leaders were determined to break Nazi Germany’s hold on Italy. It had already been a difficult winter. American and British forces had landed in southern Italy in September, intending to work their way north towards Rome, but the effort had turned into a long, hard slog. Much of the trouble came from a German defense barrier known as the Gustav Line,

On this day in 1832, Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, one of the patriotic women behind the folk hero “Molly Pitcher,” dies in Pennsylvania. Who on earth is Molly Pitcher?! Have you ever heard of her? The story of Molly Pitcher is partly legend, which makes it difficult to tell where the real story ends and the mythology begins. But the legend appears to be based on the stories of two women: Margaret Cochran Corbin and Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley. In 1778, Mary was married to h

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 42 is published. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) engages in a detailed defense of various powers given to the national government. His paper is lengthy! (It’s hard to imagine such a lengthy editorial in any newspaper today, isn’t it?!) Thus, I will focus on just three important points. First, Madison underscores the importance of creating a sound structure for government. When laws don’t make practical sense, officials are forced int

On this day in 1922, a hero is born. William K. Nakamura would go on to serve in World War II as a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. That regiment, as you may know, was composed entirely of “Nisei.” They were Japanese-Americans who’d volunteered to fight for their country. They believed in America, even when some Americans weren’t sure if they could believe in their fellow citizens who just happened to be Japanese-Americans. Indeed, the 442nd worked so hard and

On this day in history, Harry S Truman becomes the second President to be inaugurated on January 20, a date specified in the 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution. “Each period of our national history has had its special challenges,” he noted. He would have been thinking of World War II and America’s place in the world following the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. Indeed, the United States had become a leader in a way that it historically had not