Thomas Hart Benton's two volume set on 30 years in the Senate. Printed in 1854-56. These are from the library of Congressman Augustus Cutler 1827-1897

Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858)

The spines of the book showing the offical seal of the USA in the 1850's.

The set as it looks on its side.



The face plate


The name plate of Congressman Augustus Cutler

Augustus Cutler (1827-1897) Member of the House 1875-1879



This rare set of books from 1854/1856 is a special piece of history as it was written by Thomas Hart Benton...He saw a great deal of the history from the age Monroe to Filmore. He was Andrew Jackson's Aide De Camp till there was a great deal of trouble between them resulting in Jackson being shot in the arm and shoulder. Benton fought many duels in an age where that was OK. Although he was originally from Tennessee, he moved to the Missouri territory. When Missouri became a state be was one of its first Senators.

He was a peer to Henry Clay, John Q. Adams, Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun. Benton was also present at the terrible explosion of the USS. Princeton in 1844. There were many officials killed and Benton was one of the injured, but was never ill enough to miss a day at the Senate...By the later 1840's he was having an issue with slavery.
With the election of James K.Polk, however, his power began to ebb, and his views diverged from the party's. His career took a distinct downturn with the issue of slavery. Benton, a southerner and slave owner, became increasingly uncomfortable with the topic. He was also at odds with fellow Democrats such as John C. Calhoun, who he thought put their opinions ahead of the Union to a treasonous degree. With troubled conscience, in 1849 he declared himself "against the institution of slavery," putting him against his party and popular opinion in his state.

In April 1850, during heated Senate floor debates over the proposed Compromise of 1850, Benton was nearly shot by pistol-wielding Mississippi Senator Henry S. Foote, who had taken umbrage to Benton's vitriolic sparring with Vice-President Millard Fillmore. Foote was wrestled to the floor where he was disarmed.

After this he was basically a man with out a party. He cheered his son in law John C. Fremont as he ran for President in 1856 as the first Republican candidate ...Fremont lost to James Buchanan. But the times were changing. He lived till 1858, full of years and sure that there soon would be a great change coming.

He wrote his massive autobiography and that is what you see here....It was used and read by many a politician for the next half century. As the copy you see here was from the library of Congressman Augustus Cutler (1827-1897). You can see his name plate in the book. One would guess he took much of his library with him. Specially anything dealing with political matters.

I have just touched a bit on his history. I invite you to study him more.
He died in the later 1850's from intestinal cancer. His son in law and daughter would be involved in politics for much of the rest of the 19th century. One of his descendants became well known as a painter under the name of Thomas Hart Benton.

But the man I speak of who wrote these books was one of the rarer of them all and one of the few mentioned in JFK's Profiles in Courage.
He was unique in that form and this very rare set of books is a window into his political world starting nearly 200 years ago.

The unknown rebel...I have asked many, and each person gives a different answer...Who was he?

I have asked many people...I have received as many answers as there are people. I have asked people in China, Taiwan, USA, Canada, Korea, Japan, etc....Most say that he is dead. Some say he was killed right after the event. Some say that he was killed by firing squad a few weeks later. Some say he died in prison. Some say he died under house arrest. Some say he is alive and hiding.

I would invite all of you who read this to try to figure out the identity of this sole brave young man. It seems no one is really sure....But someone must know. I would imagine he had a family. I would imagine he had friends. I am sure there were people who loved, liked, hated, enjoyed, taught, spoke, studied, worked, lived with him. But amazingly no one has said anything that seems to stick.
In this age of mass communication I would think that if he was around still we would hear from him. As he could at this point be a most powerful leader by his actions.

Here is what is says in Wikipedia as to identity.....

..........

Little is publicly known of the man's identity. Shortly after the incident, British tabloid the Sunday Express named him as Wang Weilin (王维林), a 19-year-old student; however, the veracity of this claim is dubious. Numerous rumours have sprung up as to the man's identity and current whereabouts, but none are backed by hard evidence.

There are several conflicting stories about what happened to him after the demonstration. In a speech to the President's Club in 1999, Bruce Herschensohn — former deputy special assistant to President of the United States Richard Nixon — reported that he was executed 14 days later; other sources say he was killed by firing squad a few months after the Tiananmen Square protests. In Red China Blues: My Long March from Mao to Now, Jan Wong writes that the man is still alive and is hiding in mainland China.

An eyewitness account of the event published in October 2005 by Charlie Cole, a contract photographer for Newsweek magazine at the time, states that the man was arrested on the spot by the Public Security Bureau.

The People's Republic of China government made few statements about the incident or the person involved. In a 1990 interview with Barbara Walters, then-CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin was asked what became of the man. Jiang replied "I think never killed [sic]."[1]

A June 2006 article in the Hong Kong Apple Daily stated that the man is now residing in Taiwan.[2]


.........


So as you can see no one is really sure and now that 18 years has passed by I doubt we ever will.

As far as I am concerned I think the young man who made such an impression on the world is dead. But as you can see his actions will live on in the minds of those who desire and wish for freedom. Some say it was a foolish act, yes it could be looked at that way. But still one has to admire the guts it took to do what he did!

For myself I have found this to be one of the most moving photographs ever taken.

John Adams view on how posterity would view American independence and the revolutionary war

John Adams had no allusions as to how he would be remembered historically. He knew that Jefferson would get the sole credit for the Declaration of Independence. He knew his work to raise funds to make the revolution possible would not be remembered. He knew all of his measures that would make the revolution possible would not be remembered. He felt that Franklin did everything in his power to over shine him. He felt few would remember it was He who nominated George Washington to be General in Chief of the Continental Army. While Adams had a great power for jealousy, he also had a great mind for humor. He was a natural comedian when the times were right.

He wrote down in a humorous fashion one day how the war for independence would be recalled.....


"Franklin did this, Franklin did that, Franklin did some other damned thing…Franklin smote the ground and out sprang George Washington, fully-grown and on his horse….Franklin then electrified him with his miraculous lightning rod and the three of them— Franklin, Washington and the horse—conducted the entire Revolution by themselves.”

That is pretty funny!

Sadly few know much of the history of the battle for independence, or the war that resulted from our declaration of that state of being.
John Adams knew in the early 19th century that the history had already been written and the hero's selected.
Most of them were busy campaigning to promote their legacy, while Adams was promoting the country and independence.
They made sure everyone knew much about them and the public followed like in a trance. Adams knew that Franklin,Jefferson, and Washington made sure that they were well known to the people.
The people knew their hero's, and Adams knew he was not one of them.

Amazingly, he is an equal to them all..As he was the spark plug that got us to do what no one else had the nerve to do...Push for independence and become a new nation. I do hope someday for a ADAMS MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON!!! Few deserve it more!

The Simpson's ..A great historical fact that is seen in the phone style of Mr. Burns

Mr Burns who always answers the phone with Hoy Hoy!


Homer Simpson with Edison who invented what we all use on the phone


Mr Burns in the Simpson's always answers the telephone with the salutation "hoy hoy" ..Which was the greeting that Alexander Graham Bell gave originally to the telephone.
Little do we know that Thomas A. Edison came up with the salutation "hello"...Which is used all over the world today. It shows how old Burns is. He learned how to use the phone from Bell!
So Homer Simpson who re-invents the six legged chair and the electric hammer...also uses along with the rest of the world Edison's other invention

""hello""

....Amazing huh?

Funeral Blues..... A touching piece of poetry by W.H. Auden

W.H. Auden

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put Crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my Song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and seep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

Turtle ships from Korea. Did Korea make the first ironclad fighting vessels? .....What ship was the first true and total ironclad?

A life sized model of a Korean turtle ship from the 16th century. At least an idea of what it looked like. It was developed by Admiral Yi from what is said to be an earlier design. Yet there are no contemporary records of the ships. But there seems to be enough of a historic record to say that the first(partially) iron clad ships were indeed Korean. They were used in the many wars that took place between Korea and Japan. In fact it seems that they were always at war with each other for hundreds of years!






A model of the French ship of line La Gloire of 1859...This we can say was the first Iron clad ship.


The British HMS. Warrior of 1860..This was the first British iron clad made within a year of the French. Of course the French and English, like the Japanese and Koreans seemed to have a constant sense of intent dislike for each other. So each developed ironclad ships that could be used to fight against each other. However, they never did.



The Chilean (ex Peruvian) monitor Huascar of 1866. Note how it is very different from the previous two. Below is the reason why.



A woodcut of the USS Monitor of 1862



Now we always hear of the USS. Monitor and the CSS. Virginia as the first Ironclad ships. Well that is very wrong. However, they were the first ironclad ships to duke it out in battle.
It seems that the Koreans used Iron clad ships called turtle ships to fight the Japanese. However the Japanese did not have ironclad ships to fight them. If indeed any of these ships were involved in a battle. There is little information on them.

The French have the credit of coming up with the first "ironclad" ship that was completely ironclad on its sides. The British followed suit in 1860.

Now we come to USS. Monitor. While we can give some credit to the Koreans, French, and British it was really the American ship called the USS. Monitor that was the first true and totally ironclad vessel. The decks and well as its sides were completely clad in armor.
So while the USS. Monitor was not the first, it was the most original of them all.
As all of the others used the design of sailing ships, or the hulks of them as in the case of the CSS. Virginia.
But in the USS. Monitor's design it was totally new. It was developed by John Ericsson, a Swedish inventor who brought about a total change in ship design. One that would have more profound effects than any other design!


The USS. Monitor was the first vessel to have a turret that could turn in the direction of the enemy rather than having the whole ship having to do so. It was a major innovation that is still used today. Also instead of having the high side out of the water like many of the sailing ships of yore, the Monitor had a low free board that had her very low in the water and made her a very difficult target.
She was referred to as a "cheese box on a raft". That is really perhaps the best description of her.
Perhaps the greatest complement to the Monitor was that after its development all of the ironclad ships all over the world were made to her design and style. The age of the Ironclad ship looking like a ship of line was over.

So in closing we can give each group some credit for the innovation of the ironclad. For had not the others done it, perhaps John Ericsson would have never come up with his great improvement.
In time I will go into more detail on John Ericsson. I have found some great information about him written in the 1880's and I will share some of that in a later posting.

Jussi Björling ..(1911-1960) ..Perhaps the greatest operatic tenor of the 20th century

He was a great singer..Maybe great is too weak a word for him..He was an amazingly gifted and unique singer. There have been but few like him. I can only think of two who have a chance at beating him or matching him in the history of the 20th century. In the world of operatic tenors there are 3 greats of the 20th century. Bjorling, Caruso, Corelli...Now there are many near greats Pavarotti, Domingo, and Gigli to name a few.

But as much as I love Caruso and Corelli I am amazed at the beauty, style, and quality of his singing. When he died in 1960 there was a most interesting obituary. It spent a bit of time talking about his singing style. It said and I am paraphrasing....
Bjorling never gulped, grabbed or slid to his notes like a cow on a well polished floor, Like many of his Italian contemporaries.......

He was unique and amazing. But there was a dark side of Jussi. He was a dreadful alcoholic! He was abusive and nasty when drunk, yet lovely and gentle when sober.

I recall Jerome Hines talking about Bjorling one night to me. He said......" One night me and the family went to a restaurant for dinner. The waiter was very upset. I asked him what was wrong and he said to me that last night Bjorling was at the restaurant and treated his family and everyone else so badly that I went home and broke every one of his records". In short he was a VERY nasty drunk.

Robert Merrill mentioned that Bjorling would ask him as they walked together " Come on Bob, let's just have one drink". He was lucky to have people around him who loved him. Merrill would do his best to redirect him away from the bars.

He was a god in world of song, yet he was always a victim to alcohol. I was glad to know several who knew him and all said he was a great artist. He was a great singer and perhaps the only one who gave Caruso a run for his money.
Mrs. Caruso said to him in 1951, that he was the only one worthy to take the crown from her famous husband. In fact she said that Jussi was the singer who sounded the most like her husband.

But all of his harshness to his body caught up with him. He died at the young age of 49. He had for several years a weak heart. He beat up his body such that his heart could go no more, and he died in his sleep of a heart attack in 1960.

But his was a voice that was beyond our understanding. Thanks to recorded sound we can still hear that voice.

So now he has been gone for 47 years. I was just a little boy when he died and do not recall him, but of course from the time I was a child I knew of him. How could you not!!
I remember my music teacher playing Bjorling records for me when I was a boy and thrilling to his voice. I still do.

So I invite you to listen to the voice of this great artist, and enjoy what many have for the last 70 years. It is a great experience...One you will not soon forget.

New York City and its aging interstructure

When one goes to New York City through the Holland Tunnel(1927)..and drives across Manhattan to the Brooklyn Bridge (1883)...You get a sense of the fact that much of New York is from another age. While that is lovely and quaint, it is also terrifying. As the average age of most of New York's bridges and tunnels is 80 years of age.

Most of the bridges are the older part of the equation. As construction of the Brooklyn Bridge started in 1869! Even some of the newer bridges such as the George Washington Bridge, that is 75 years old! The Varazzano Bridge which is a near baby to the rest is only 50 years old. The Tappan Zee Bridge is also young but not in anywhere as good a condition as the older bridges. In fact that is perhaps one of the one's that should get our attention.
The Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges are both at around 100 years old. Even the 59th Street bridge is around the century mark. The tunnels will have a much longer life as they do not go through much of the stresses a bridge goes through.

New York's water system is from the Gilded Age, as is the subway system which started in 1904.
It is a remarkable system for one so old. It has held out well and of course the replacement and improvement of the subway cars has made that subway something that its designers never fathomed.

Given the age of much of the inter structure of New York it is amazing how well it has held up.
But last week there was a massive rupture of a steam pipe on 41st Street. The pipe dated from 1924! One has to wonder when will many of the other systems start fail in wholesale.

Everything has a lifespan, and bridges, tunnels, water systems, roadways, mass transit. All electrical distribution, steam, water, waste all run in pipes underground. The day will come for much of the inter structure to be replaced. To think of what that will do to the city and it's operation is frightening.
But it is a very important point to remember and consider. As it is not a matter of if, but when.
Much of the world's big cities today are running on much more modern inter structures than here in New York City. Not to say that the inter structure of these cites are better than New York. For all systems have a breaking point.
There are many tunnels and bridges that are equally in bad shape in many parts of this country and the world. Some are much worse than that! In time the problems will become very apparent. As I said before it is not a question of if, but when we have some major problems. It gives us pause, to think of what will have to be done in the not too distant future. So my suggestion is look at our inter structure and see what needs repair...Before the term repair becomes replace.

Next time you walk by the New York Public Library..You can imagine that right at that spot was the Croton Reservoir.

The Croton Reservoir was a fixture of old New York for many years. The year 1842 marked what was perhaps one of the greatest forward strides in the city's history....It was ­the general introduction of running water...That must have been an amazing event!

When the reservoir was first completed it had a spacious promenade all around the top of the walls upon which many animated groups constantly gathered. It was the 19th century and the age of the promenade. Of course that is a wonderfully descriptive word for strolling.
It was one of the highest points to be in the city There you could see Long Island and the heights of the Palisades provided a fascinating panorama. It was certainly a delightful spot...

There are many stories of how wonderful it was to walk around the reservoir at night. One could enjoy the view and see the shimmering of the water in the moonlight..(remember this is old New York)... There was not too much light around in those days. It remained a popular attraction till it was decided in the 1890's to build a massive city library right were the much of the reservoir was standing.
The money had come from Samuel Tilden, who left over two million to build a new library for New York. I am not going into the history of building the library here. You can study that in many areas. But What I wanted to express is that hardly a soul knows about the Croton reservoir.

It was one one of the great attractions of New York. I can truly say it was replaced by a tremendously more important structure. So often great things are torn down and are replaced by something less than lovely. In this case it was well done.

So every time I am walking by the Library...My mind wanders off to the 19th century and I picture the massive structure that once stood there. In fact some of it still does. Some of the reservoirs foundations were used for the library!
It was a massive structure as you can see. The area you see here of the reservoir is where the park is behind the library. Where there is now a hidden library under the grass. Yes the library continues underground beneath the park, and that is where the major bulk of their collections lie.
One of the famous lions in front
The library when it was brand new.

Adolph Hitler artist??? In fact he was a quite a good one. One can only wish he had followed that vocation rather than the political one.

One could only wish that Adolph Hitler had followed his dream and became an artist.His ambition was to become an art student but he failed twice to secure entry to the Academy of Fine Arts. He earned a precarious livelihood by painting postcards and advertisements. He also did a massive amount of larger pieces. Here you will see many of his works. Most are from this early period of his life. I have always wished that the Academy of Fine Arts had accepted him. As it led to a chain reaction that would make for horrible results. So here are 8 paintings, drawings, and pastels by Hitler. A man who was quite amazing at first glance, but soon would show such madness, that the world would in time suffer 50 million deaths from his actions.

Lady Bird Johnson 1912-2007...The end of an era .....

Lady Bird Johnson looks over as her husband takes the oath of office on Air Force One after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. To the left of Johnson is the shocked and blood spattered Jackie Kennedy. Lady Bird was the last survivor of this dreadful and historic scene.

Lady Bird Johnson when in the White House
Lady Bird in 2002....

It is the end of an age and an era. Lady Bird Johnson is no more. She was the wife of Lyndon Johnson, the 36th President of the United States. For many of you it may seem to be ancient history as Johnson was President from 1963 till 1969. I remember him well. I remember the day that he became President as his wife Lady Bird stood quietly and solemnly at his side. Today, Lady Bird rejoins her husband 34 years after his death.

She was famous for her beautification of America programs which cleaned up highways and took away so many terrible roadway signs. She married Lyndon Johnson in 1934 and was his greatest supporter till his death in 1973.

Her public works after his death were many. She never gave up on her projects to make America beautiful. She became in time the last touch of an era that is so very far away now.

Thank you Lady Bird Johnson. Rest in peace, and thank you for the great work and services that you did to make everything just a little nicer.

203 years ago today Hamilton and Burr had their most famous duel

Yes it was July 11, 1804 when the two politicians had a fight to the death. Alexander Hamilton, who few liked. Aaron Burr who was nearly as equally disliked as Hamilton, but not quite as much. But once Burr shot Hamilton it was all over for Burr and Hamilton became a Martyr. To think of how many lives Hamilton destroyed it makes one wonder why no one did it earlier to him.

Sadly Burr has for the last 200 plus years been cast as a villain and has been the scapegoat for much historical malpractice. Sadly many of his papers were lost at sea and he had few defenders in his last days. So the cast was made and he has suffered historically ever since.
Hamilton's integrity is never even called into question as he is a Martyr. Well, maybe he is, but had it not been Burr...I am sure someone else would have had a desire to do the same to Hamilton.

Dueling was a stupid practice but one that was very common at this time in our history. Hamilton's son was killed in a duel as well. Andrew Jackson had duels, Thomas Hart Benton, even Lincoln was challenged to a duel once.
As fortune would have it dueling died out and has now been replaced by lawyers to protect and preserve one's honor.

President John F. Kennedy's warm and lovely letter to a little boy in 1961

Think as you may of JFK, and there are more things said of him in a positive and negative way than perhaps any President of the last 50 years.
But be that as it may, Jack Kennedy had an abiding love for children. He was often seen writing little letters to children.
Once when his new born son was in the hospital he went by the room where two very sick children were and he wrote little notes to them. There was no press there, it was just his way with children. Sadly his little son Patrick would die.

With that being said I wanted to show this transcript of a letter that was written by Kennedy to the son of Professor J. K. Galbraith of Harvard.
He had selected Galbraith to the post of the American Ambassador to India. Galbraith's son Peter was none to happy to leave his home, friends and school.
Despite his own busy schedule he took the time to explain the parallel in Peter's new experience with his own background as the son of, and part of the family of an ambassador.

I find it one of the most beautiful letters ever written from the desk of a President to a little boy.

A larger picture of the letter

Howard Pyle 1853-1911...was an American illustrator and writer, primarily of books for young audiences.Here's a series of his from Harpers Jan. 1902

This is a very late cover made long after both Twain and Pyle were dead. Before we get to the Harper's pictures here are a few of his illustrations...

Howard Pyle was a most popular illustrator in the late 19th and early 20th century. His work was often in magazines and many books. He did the work for Peter Pan and King Arthur in some of the early versions of these books. It has been said that he never let historic fact influence his art. So there was a lot of things that some have had issues with. But none the less he had quite an impact on his times and several books in which he worked on are amazingly still in print. I just happened to be browsing through a Harper's book I have and found some of these really interesting pieces from Pyle in 1901. They were issued in the January 1902 Harper's magazine. Jan 1902

Samuel Morse..1791-1872...We have always known of his work with the telegraph, but he was quite an amazing artist as well.

Morse at the end of his life wearing his many medals
The Gallery of the Louvre 1832
John Adams 1816

House of Representatives 1822

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Although we think of Morse mainly with the invention of the telegraph and what we call "Morse code" .....He was quite an accomplished artist who was not only successful in the United States, but in Europe as well.

By the 1830's his efforts became more involved in what would become the telegraph. He worked with Leonard Gale who was a friend of Joseph Henry who was an early supporter of Morse. His work with Alfred Vail who was there with money and ability brought the telegraph along at a good pace.

In fact Vail did a good deal of the work while Morse took all the credit. This was the later days of Morse but his work as an artist was his greatest moments of solo work.

It is hard to really give all the total credit to the telegraph to Morse, as those who worked with him did a great deal. But he was the one who had the dream mainly. So to the dreamer goes the prize!

But Morse did dabble in many different money making fields including photography. But today he best known for his work with the telegraph, but I kind of like to think of him as an artist of very good quality.

His paintings are in galleries all over the world. Perhaps one may say of his art, work and life what was said in the first official telegraph message sent in 1844 in the presence of Dolly Madison.."What hath God Wrought."....

What if.........?

I often think of how history and life itself works.....Just one small move and it all changes. So with that in mind I wish to offer to you a group of "what if's"......Had they become what happened, or if they were possible the world would be very different today. I am only listing a handful, as there are thousands of what if's that can be talked about...Think of some of your own....have some fun.

So I will let you think of the things that might have been, or could have been, or maybe can be, or perhaps never will be ...But who knows ...that might be only a small "if" away......



What if Moses was not picked up as a baby from the river?

What if the library of Alexandria did not burn down?

What if Jesus was not crucified?

What if Mohammad did not find his Mecca?

What if Martin Luther was killed?

What if Caesar was not killed?

What if Napoleon was never Emperor?

What if King Louis the XVI was not executed?

What if George Washington had been killed in the Revolutionary war?

What if William Devere was proved to be Shakespeare?

What if Lincoln had not been killed?

What if the Titanic did not hit the iceberg?

What if JFK had not been killed?

What if Nixon had not been caught in Watergate?

What if We lost the war of 1812?

What if we did not join WWI?

What if we had joined the league of Nations?

What if the South won the civil war?

What if Hitler invaded England before invading Russia?

What if Apollo 11 was a disaster?

What if Albert Einstein was killed by the Nazis?

What if the Germans got the Atomic bomb first?

What if the Japanese were caught before Pearl Harbor?

What if the Lusitania was not torpedoed?

What if FDR did not die in office?

What if we listened to MacArthur and invaded China in 1951?

What if Russia did not back down in the Cuban missile crisis?

What if McKinley was not killed?

What if God was proved to be real?

What if Theodore Roosevelt was killed in Cuba?

What if the Maine did not blow up in Havana harbor?

What if Hamilton killed Burr?

What if flight 93 was successful in its attack?

What if the Twin Towers fell sideways?

What if God was proved to be fiction?

What if France refused to help America during the revolution?

What if Hal Holbrook really knew what Mark Twain sounded like?

What if Ronald Reagan died after being shot?

What if North Korea won over the South?

What if D Day failed?

What if the spirit world really existed?

What if Tesla was successful in his electric transmission?

What if Rome did not die?

What if Custer won his battle of little Bighorn?

What if aliens from another world were proved to be real?

What if aliens from another world admit they made us?

What if religion was proved to be a falsehood?

What if Caruso died in San Francisco in 1906?

What if the monarchy of England was abolished?

What if Enrico Fermi died of caner 20 years earlier than he did?

What if Japan had hit all of our carriers in Pearl Harbor?

What if England lost to Germany in 1940?

What if we did not bother the American Indian?

What if we did not drop the atomic bomb?

What if gold was not discovered in California?

What if Hitler was accepted into art school?

What if Langley was successful with his aeroplane?

What if the German commander of the Nazis in Paris did as he was told and destroyed the city at the end of German occupation?

What if the Compromise of 1850 did not work?

What if Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and they used them on us?

What if Kennedy was able to kill Castro?

What if Hitler destroyed Russia?

What if the Hindenburg did not crash?

What if Churchill was killed in WW2?

What if France defeated England?

What if the Spanish Armada defeated Drake's English navy?

What if Killer bees became used to cooler weather?

What if Atlantis proves to be real?

What if there is life after death?

What if the Declaration of independence was a failure?

What if Mao was killed in World War Two?

What if Andrew Johnson was impeached?

What if one of the two assassins did kill President Gerald Ford?

What if the bullet fired at Jack Benny didn't miss in World War Two?

What if John Quincy Adams lost the Amistad trial?

What if the first World Trade Center attack was more successful?

What if Marilyn Monroe did not die?

What if an atomic bomb goes off in the United States?

What if Global Warming goes faster than we thought?

What if Global Warming is proved to be false?

What if Hitler listened to his generals?

What if princess Diana did not die?

What if Religion was outlawed?

What if religion became part of the government?

What if Eisenhower died in 1956?

What if Theodore Roosevelt won the election in 1912?

What if Germany won World War Two?

What if Robert Kennedy lived?

What if Lenin did not die when he did?

What if Harry S. Truman's assassins were successful?

What if England invaded the United States during its civil war?

What if a meteor hits this world soon?

What if Arron Burr was listened too?

What if we had listened to Godard?

What if we stayed in Viet Nam?

What if we stopped thinking?

What if we let others think for us?

What if we loose the understanding to wonder what if?






What if? ......What if? There is so much to ponder......So much to guess.....So much is just chance.....But just think ...WHAT IF????????? It may truly scare the hell out of you if you do!

John Bunny...1863-1915...The first great silent film comedian

Two pictures of John Bunny...The first great comedian in the movies

I remember my grandfather talking about going to see one of Bunny's films when he was a boy. Well My grandfather was a teenager right in that special period of time when movies really took off in 1912-1915. The industry was changing rapidly and the old scenes of watching streetcars going down the street were very much of Edison's early films.

By the time we reached the beginnings of the second decade of the 20th century John Bunny was one of the most famous men in the world. In the United States and in Europe as silent pictures did not have to deal with language barriers. He was the first major star before Charlie Chaplin started his great rise to fame.

Many theaters were made with bunnies in their facade and he was the king till his death in April 1915. His movies were often called Bunnyfinches for many of his movies were made with Flora Finch.

The movie industry grew so fast after his death he became almost forgotten in a short period of time. But I always will remember finding a story about John Bunny in my grandfathers book and asking him about it. I am glad I did.

07-07-07 Quite a day We will never see that date again

So one of those most unique dates we get on our calender. People were getting married, gamblers were betting up a storm, and some of us just looked in amazement at it all.
I recall when I bought a book one day I inscribed it "A most unique day, 01-02-03" It is fun to look at our dates and see some fun in them. Of course last years 06-06-06 was a rough one to beat. But next year will be 08-08-08 and so forth.

Funny how we are so influenced by dates and numbers.

Adolph Hitler.His book Mein Kampf (My struggle) was written in 1924, yet no one read it! First complete version in the USA not printed till 1939!

This is the first complete version of Mein Kampf made in the United States. Not printed till 1939! In fact the publishers apologise for some mistakes that may exist as they rushed it along.
There were several versions of the book in a condensed scale but never was there a complete version of the book till the outbreak of hostilities. As you see in this book. This was done in 1939 and France was still....France.

No one listened to Hitler till it was too late. He gave us several warning cries...but we did not listen. We are not listening now...There are many cries going on today that are just as frightening as Hitler, maybe more so!
I would like to issue this page as a warning. That we should listen to what our enemies say. As Winston Churchill once said that if there ever was a war that was preventable, it was World War Two. Hitler was telling in the 1920's what he wanted to do.

But we all put our heads in the sand.

I have often written here that it is 1938 all over again in this world. Listen to what others are saying, and take those warnings seriously! The world of 10 years from now will be very different from today!....Stop, Look, and Listen. The world is on the verge of a great conflict. I do not see it as it was in 1939, but now the toys have changed, the rules have changed.

History teaches us to see the folly of man. If mankind is wise he will learn from the foolishness of his nature. But sadly history teaches us that we are creatures of habit and routine. Read what others write....Listen to what others say....They are not saying what they do for enjoyment...It is part of the human animal, a warning cry!

When did the United States really become Independent? It was not July 4, 1776!!!

The American Delegates to the Treaty of Paris which included John Adams, John Jay, and Benj. Franklin. The British Delegates refused to pose for this picture of this most historic event and the picture remained as you see it...Unfinished.




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I know we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Of course as I have mentioned before that did not happen that day.

But in reality the Declaration of Independence did not give us independence. It just expressed our desire to gain it!

We fought an amazingly successful revolution, and compared to the French revolution, a rather bloodless one.

Many great and noble men were killed fighting for our independence, but compared to most revolutions it was most successful and without many riots, murders, and class warfare.

Even though it was not commanded well at times. It was through chance, Benj. Franklin, the French, George Washington, great and noble young and old men, John Adams, the Dutch, and the help of many foreign nationals that made it a success.

The final battles were fought in 1781, and yet we were not independent, we were still part of England.

It was not till September 3, 1783 that we gained our independence from England.

So remember that day too, for that was the day that the United States of America became a reality!

July 4, 1826....The two people who had the most to do with American Independence.. One the architect, the other the writer, died..Amazing!!

John Adams in his last portrait in 1824 The old house where Adams died on July 4, 1826
Thomas Jefferson in later life somewhat stylised

Monticello where Jefferson died on July 4, 1826

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On the morning of July 4, 1826 there were 3 surviving signers of the Declaration of Independence. By that evening there would be just one. Thomas Jefferson who was the youngest of the three had been in rather poor health for a while. He was broke, he was sickly, he was living off the kindness of others. He always lived beyond his means.

John Adams was the oldest of the three. He was amazingly robust for his age, but at the age of 90 time had indeed taken its toll. He had been careful in his finance, lived within his means in a simple and quiet life.

Yet as the forth of July approached both of these men were ready for life's final journey. Jefferson had been in a bad way for a few years.

Jefferson had come in and out of a coma in the last days asking here and there what day is was....He wanted to die on the 4th ...He got his wish, he did. By the very early afternoon one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence was no more.

Adams who had slowly grown so old and lame that by his near 91st year he was basically just living in his library with his books. But by the 3rd of July it was seen he was failing fast. By the forth it was noticed that he would not live out the day.

He commented on how great the this day was. And mentioned that his friend, once foe..Thomas Jefferson still survives. Yet by the time that these words were leaving the lips of the dying sage, Jefferson was already dead.

By early evening his strong heart finally stopped. Another author of the Declaration of Independence and it's architect was dead.

It is most amazing that the two people who had the most to do with the Declaration of Independence died on the 50th anniversary of its announcement.

I know you are wondering...who was the third one that was still alive? That was Charles Carroll, who while not at the voting of the Declaration was allowed to sign it. He would be the last signer to survive and die at the advanced age of 95 in 1832..

Playing cards from the early days of the Lusitania and Mauretania circa 1907 They show the Lusitania in her first color style.

RMS Lusitania 1907-1915 ...This famous liner was sunk by the Germans on May 7, 1915. Note that the bow of the liner is painted black like all of the hull. Now look at the pictures below and see how the Lusitania might have looked. But in this picture she arrives on her maiden voyage. Only on her trials was she ever painted with a white bow. So these cards depict her right from her beginnings before the Mauretania was in service.

Playing cards showing the Lusitania in her original colors and layout. That makes me think they are very early. If you look at the card below you will see that the ship on top is the Lusitania as she had originally her top deck of the bow painted white like other ships before and after her. It was very becoming. But the Cunard Line decided against that and painted all of her bow black as you can see in the first photograph of her. So that makes me think that these cards are very early. Obviously before 1915. Look at the card below and you will see the many qualities of the Cunard ships...Speed, safety, luxury, and comfort. These cards could have easily have been on her and I would not be surprised to find that they were. But I can never quite prove it.
Here you will see the Lusitania on her trials. You can see the white painted bow. How nice it looked. I have always wished they had kept her that way. What a beautiful ship she was.

Roswell, 60 years later. What did happen? No one seems to have the complete story for 60 years, nor do they yet.

Are there such things as UFO's? Are there beings from another world now amongst us? Did a alien spacecraft crash is Roswell, New Mexico?
In the space of the last 60 years there have been some amazing facts, fallacies, fakes, pictures, forgeries, movies, books by the yard, experts, doubters, and a mixed bag of others who have something to do with it all.
Honestly, I do not know. I am not sure if many people really know. I think to many it has been an area that many have made a fast buck! There are people who really want to believe in whatever it is they think they believe in. That is why religion and UFO's have been so good for many to make money with. You have a core of many people who love to be told what to think!

I am inclined to think that if I had to look at the law of averages, I would think that there must be life on other planets. The universe is vast and ever expanding. So who and what exists I am not sure. But maybe we are the only life existent now, maybe not?
UFO's have taken the place to what other's once used religion for. The more I think of that the more I agree with that thought. It has the mystery and wonder that makes people get really into it. Look how crazy people get over religion! Why not UFO's. But there are people who really get into it. They are convinced that they exist. Maybe they are right, I do not know.

So 60 years later, no officials from space have dropped by at the Capital, or the White House. Or any major government of this planet.
Nor have they contacted news programs, shown themselves at massive gatherings. They seem to often go to where there are just a few folks here and there.

I find that troubling in proving their existence. For if they are of great intellect, would they not try to communicate? Or are we so stupid that we scare the daylights out of the aliens?

So are there such things? I do not know. But as for now I am very much doubting it.
But I will always keep an open mind.

But till the day I see such things, it will still be to me what I think is the arena of fantasy.

The space age is ready for an AARP card....Amazingly it was 50 years ago this year that Sputnik 1 started the space age. Oct. 4, 1957

The Russian and American Space Program seals.

The battle to launch a satellite first between two agencies ...It all started with a press conference by the United States in July of 1955.

July 29, 1955. Announcement of plans for the building and launching of the world's first man-made satellite.
The then Presidential press secretary James Hagerty is shown with five scientists during the meeting at which announcement of President Eisenhower's approval of the plan was made.
Front, left to right, are: Dr. Alan T. Waterman, Hagerty, Dr. S. Douglas Cornell and Dr. Alan Shapley. Standing, left to right: Dr. J. Wallace Joyce and Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus.
Announcement of intention to launch an earth satellite during the IGY by the Soviets. At the Legation of the USSR, Copenhagen, Denmark, during the 6th IAF, August 1955, shortly after the Americans announced their intentions to launch a satellite.
Left to right: Vereschetin, Mr. Sannikov-Soviet State Security; Professor Kyrill F. Ogorodikov, Astronomy, Leningrad University; Leonid Ivanovich Sedov, Specialist in mechanics, USSR Academy of Sciences.
The winner.....Russia........ Sputnik 1. The world's first satellite

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Now I have a fun way of talking about the space age. I was born one day before it began.

I consider myself one of the last of the pre -space age models.

The world I was born into on the 3rd of October was not the world that would be on the 4th. The entire world changed that day.

For those who were born before and saw Sputnik (it was quite visible in space) saw a new age emerge. There was a strong desire by both the Russians and the Americans to be the first to be in space. It was part of the heat caused by the Cold War. Instead of battles on the earth, the scientists became warriors in another world, that of space.

Of course there was a lot of panic in the United States over this. It was the height of the cold war and everyone was talking about atomic bombs and space. When the idea of a space satellite became a reality people just started to freak out!

The United States was shocked by Sputnik, and Russians were obviously elated. It was one of the great surprises in history.

By 1958 the USA was able to send a satellite into space but it's punch had been greatly diminished.

It was not till the USA sent men to the moon that the score was equaled. So now as you read this, and I would imagine a good deal of you who do read this have grown up in the space age. It has now gone on for 50 years. What will the next 50 years bring, and where will we go?

Of course now the Russians and Americans do it together. I do hope that there will be a big celebration for the first 50 years of the space age. There should be. It has changed every aspect of our lives and will continue too! Congratulations to Sputnik and the space program from one who started out at the same time. Amazing how fast time flies!

July 2, 1776..The date we voted for independence. It was Richard Henry Lee's resolution that would become the basis for the document

Here above is the record of the vote on independence of July 2, 1776. Below you will see Lee's resolution enlarged. (Nat'l Archives)
The first printing of Declaration available on July 5, 1776...It was made by the printer John Dunlap during the evening of July 4th.
The Declaration we know. It was not made or signed till August 2, 1776 and signed by others till 1781. The is a view of a wet ink process made in 1820's. While it did make a good copy of the document, it damaged the original tremendously.

"The Second Day of July 1776 will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. . . . It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."

This is what John Adams wrote to his wife on the 3rd of July after the vote for independence was approved.

However, the 4th became the day of days as the first print which was not fancy was signed by the President (John Hancock) and the Secretary of the Congress.

The first copies of the Declaration were available on the 5th of July. It was read around the colonies for weeks afterward.

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It is interesting to note that the official document that we know of that is in the National Archives was not signed by the delegates till August 2, 1776. However there were others still signing it till 1781!

There was no major signing of the declaration till August 2. As the document we know of was not ready till then. The only persons who signed on July 4 were John Hancock and Thompson the secretary of Congress.

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So while we talk of July 4th as the date we declared Independence, you will see that it was really the 2nd, and that the document we always associate with the signing on July 4th, was not signed till the following month and in some cases years.

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So in a way the 2nd is correct. But to everyone, including Adams and Jefferson. The 4th became the date to honor their great work.

So much so that each pushed themselves to stay alive to die on that day.........Fifty years after it was announced.

May I end this with the words of John Adams on July 4, 1826, as he lay dying......

"Is it the 4th? It is great day, it is a good day" Indeed it is!

The Amistad Speech before the Supreme Court by John Quincy Adams. As we reflect on liberty let us reflect on the wonder of this great man

Pictures of Adams
His grave in Quincy, Mass

The Amistad Speech before the Supreme Court by John Quincy Adams was perhaps one of the greatest ever by an American speaking for liberty. It took many hours. In it he reflected on the greatest want of man, Liberty.

As we reach the 4th of July and celebrate the birth of this nation. Let us not forget the trials of the great who made this country what it is ....

I would hope someday to see the name John Quincy Adams next too others who fought for equality and just for all.
He beat out the powerhouses of the day and won freedom for the Amistad slaves. I often find that he is totally under rated and under respected. Next to posters of Frederick Douglas should be that of John Quincy Adams.
The man who killed the "gag rule" in Congress. If you do not know what that means...It meant that you could not bring up matters of slavery in Congress!!! Adams fought and won a victory over all forms of slavery...He did indeed light the match that started the civil war......He killed the gag rule and then it could be talked about...and it lead to civil war and the end of that horror called slavery.

May his named forever be blessed. For he gave his all for freedom.


I mention him today as we talk of freedom and independence. I am not a great fan of Thomas Jefferson as I find him to be a terrible hypocrite. John Quincy Adams risked all to make a difference.

He received daily death threats, yet he went on.

Watch the movie Amistad and see the greatness of this amazing man. I have added here a transcript from the movie of Adams speech before the Supreme Court. Many were a group of Southern men who were under the influence of Chief Justice Taney, who would later write the Dred Scott decision. Yet Adams beat them with intellect and magnificence in oral arguments.


Here are the words from the movie in which Adams speaks before the court.......




Adams:

Your Honors, I derive much consolation from the fact that my colleague, Mr. Baldwin, here, has argued the case in so able and so complete a manner as to leave me scarcely anything to say.
However, why are we here? How is it that a simple, plain property issue should now find itself so ennobled as to be argued before the Supreme Court of the United States of America? I mean, do we fear the lower courts, which found for us easily, somehow missed the truth? Is that it? Or is it, rather, our great and consuming fear of civil war that has allowed us to heap symbolism upon a simple case that never asked for it and now would have us disregard truth, even as it stands before us, tall and proud as a mountain? The truth, in truth, has been driven from this case like a slave, flogged from court to court, wretched and destitute. And not by any great legal acumen on the part of the opposition, I might add, but through the long, powerful arm of the Executive Office.
Yea, this is no mere property case, gentlemen. I put it to you thus: This is the most important case ever to come before this court. Because what it, in fact, concerns is the very nature of man.
These are transcriptions of letters written between our Secretary of State, John Forsyth, and the Queen of Spain, Isabella the Second. Now, I ask that you accept their perusal as part of your deliberations.
Thank you, sir. [to court officer]
I would not touch on them now except to notice a curious phrase which is much repeated. The queen again and again refers to our incompetent courts. Now what, I wonder, would be more to her liking? Huh? A court that finds against the Africans? Well, I think not. And here is the fine point of it: What her majesty wants is a court that behaves just like her courts, the courts this eleven year-old child plays with in her magical kingdom called Spain, a court that will do what it is told, a court that can be toyed with like a doll, a court -- as it happens -- of which our own President, Martin Van Buren, would be most proud.
Thank you. [takes document from Baldwin]
This is a publication of the Office of the President. It's called the Executive Review, and I'm sure you all read it. At least I'm sure the President hopes you all read it. This is a recent issue, and there's an article in here written by a "keen mind of the South," who is my former Vice President, John Calhoun, perhaps -- Could it be? -- who asserts that:
"There has never existed a civilized society in which one segment did not thrive upon the labor of another. As far back as one chooses to look -- to ancient times, to biblical times -- history bears this out. In Eden, where only two were created, even there one was pronounced subordinate to the other. Slavery has always been with us and is neither sinful nor immoral. Rather, as war and antagonism are the natural states of man, so, too, slavery, as natural as it is inevitable."
Now, gentlemen, I must say I differ with the keen minds of the South, and with our president, who apparently shares their views, offering that the natural state of mankind is instead -- and I know this is a controversial idea -- is freedom. Is freedom. And the proof is the length to which a man, woman, or child will go to regain it, once taken. He will break loose his chains, He will decimate his enemies. He will try and try and try against all odds, against all prejudices, to get home.
Cinque, would you stand up, if you would, so everyone can see you. This man is black. We can all see that. But can we also see as easily that which is equally true -- that he is the only true hero in this room.
Now, if he were white, he wouldn't be standing before this court fighting for his life. If he were white and his enslavers were British, he wouldn't be able to stand, so heavy the weight of the medals and honors we would bestow upon him. Songs would be written about him. The great authors of our times would fill books about him. His story would be told and retold in our classrooms. Our children, because we would make sure of it, would know his name as well as they know Patrick Henry's.
Yet, if the South is right, what are we to do with that embarrassing, annoying document, "The Declaration of Independence?" What of its conceits? "All men...created equal," "inalienable rights," "life," "liberty," and so on and so forth? What on earth are we to do with this?

I have a modest suggestion. [tears up the Executive Review]

The other night I was talking with my friend, Cinque. He was over at my place, and we were out in the greenhouse together. And he was explaining to me how when a member of the Mende -- that's his people -- how when a member of the Mende encounters a situation where there appears no hope at all, he invokes his ancestors. It's a tradition. See, the Mende believe that if one can summon the spirits of one's ancestors, then they have never left, and the wisdom and strength they fathered and inspired will come to his aid.


James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Adams: We've long resisted asking you for guidance. Perhaps we have feared in doing so we might acknowledge that our individuality which we so, so revere is not entirely our own. Perhaps we've feared an appeal to you might be taken for weakness. But, we've come to understand, finally, that this is not so.

We understand now, we've been made to understand, and to embrace the understanding that who we are is who we were.

We desperately need your strength and wisdom to triumph over our fears, our prejudices, our-selves. Give us the courage to do what is right.


And if it means civil war, then let it come. And when it does, may it be, finally, the last battle of the American Revolution.

That's all I have to say.




That is just a bit of the great words of Old man eloquent as he was known. So as you think of liberty, justice, fairness, remember the great master of these ideals ..... John Q. Adams.

The author of the Monroe Doctrine, 6th President of the United States, member of Congress 1830-1848, Ambassador for George Washington, Secretary for his father John Adams (1777- 1780), Secretary of State, Arbitrator for peace with England for the War of 1812, Abolitionist, Philosopher, author, Lastly the man who started the chain of events that started the civil war, and above all a man who believed in liberty and the rights of man.

History thanks you sir