Dave Does History

We have this… myth… in our heads. It’s born from a combination of Manifest Destiny and the desire to see ourselves in a certain light, but the truth is that the Constitution of the United States was highly radical, highly controversial and absolutely not universally proclaimed as the best way of governing ourselves in 1787.

Not only were there vicious and lengthy diatribes in newspapers and town meetings, even the conventions called in twelve of the States were divided and contentious. But one State in particular, held itself so against the Constitution and its ratification, that when a group of citizens gathered at a BBQ to celebrate the ratification of the Constitution by a neighboring State, it called out a brigade of militia troops to stop the celebration. At. Gun. Point.

The story of tiny Rhode Island’s road to ratification is both amusing and at the same time, a little unnerving. It’s not something that we today like to think about and we never talk about it. The idea that the smallest State in the Union could cause so much havoc and debate is a matter of history. One that we have, for the most part, forgotten.

Among the memories I have from my time in New London, CT, at US Navy Submarine School, is a few moments on a bright but very cold January afternoon, listening to an audio tape. The problem with such memories is that I remember the sounds more than I recall the technical details. We were told that this was a highly classified recording of the direct loss of USS Scorpion on May 22, 1968.

For all I know, it was a tape of a powered screwdriver spinning. I was very young and easily influenced, and the instructors were trying to impress upon us the dangers involved with what we were training to do. In the subsequent years, I have come to believe that no such tape actually existed, but on that day, it was a sobering reminder that the ocean – and everything in it (including the Soviets) was trying to kill me.

The year 1968 was a very bad year for submarines. The Soviets, the French, the Israelis and the United States all lost boats in those months. The French and Israeli boats would not be found for many years, and in both cases would be seen as accidents. Bu to this day, the Soviet K-129 and the American Scorpion are believed by many to have been pawns in the greater spy game that started with John Walker stealing the US operational codes, the North Koreans stealing the USS Pueblo to get the decoding machines and the alleged attempt by rogue units in the KGB to start a nuclear war between the United States and Communist China.

That tape we heard, was supposedly the end of the third act of that complex and frightening story…

NOTE: At no point in this discussion will CLASSIFIED materials be discussed. All information discussed is sourced to public domain material and all opinions are those of the host ONLY. The United States Navy has not reviewed or approved any materials discussed in this program and will not comment on the contents of this program. The program host acknowledges that he was exposed to some level of CLASSIFIED materials regarding the events discussed in this program, but that at no point will he discuss any materials which he knows to be CLASSIFIED. All opinions are his alone, and all materials are sourced from publicly available information found in open sources.

Around three in the morning on May 13, 1862, the lookouts aboard a Union Naval vessel blockading Charleston Harbor was surprised to see a vessel bearing down upon his ship. Sounding the alarm, the gun ports were opened and all was brought to preparation to open fire. It was then that the lookout noticed that the ship approaching wasn’t coming on too fast and flying from it’s mast appeared to be a white… bed sheet?

When the vessel came up to the Union ship, it was clear that it intended to surrender. What became clear at that moment was the incredible man piloting the vessel was not your average Confederate looking to get away. It was a black man – in fact an escaped slave –  who had escaped, along with his entire crew, their families and this valuable vessel.

And that was really only the beginning of the story…

Transcripts are provided as a courtesy and not official, nor guaranteed to be accurate

Perhaps the most prescient act of the framers of the US Constitution was the establishment of an amendment process by which the document could be modified. Not in some instant, light and transient way, but with involvement of the peoples representatives, the States and the people themselves. It’s not easy to do, and, in fact, it should not be. As George Washington himself once said, any amendment can only be performed by an “authentic and explicit act” of the American people.

Twenty-seven times the constitution has been amended*. There remain countless other attempts which failed to pass Congress. Six further times amendments were proposed and passed by not ratified by the requisite number of States. Each and every time Congress gathers there are proposals and calls for amendments, most of which are little more than attention gimmicks, bound to go nowhere except a few interviews on media and garner campaign funding.

Why is it so difficult to get an amendment passed and ratified? Well… first off all, it should be difficult. We do not, by definition, change our government for “light and transient” reasons. Moreover, the incredible amount of “buy in” that has to be gained to pass an amendment requires that the amendment protect majoritarian rights.

Then there are questions about who exactly can and even should propose amendments.  Does the Court have any role in the matter? Are there any examples of all of this coming together in a concrete example of the system working as proposed?

Funny you should ask, as ton this day, May 7, 1992, that the 27th – and as of today the last – amendment to the Constitution was ratified. The surprising part is that it was among the first amendments ever proposed…

Today, we embark on a journey back to the dawn of the American experiment. Our spotlight shines on the first presidential term of George Washington, a time when the nation’s destiny hung in the balance. On April 30, 1789, amidst the grandeur of Federal Hall in New York City, Washington stepped onto a second-floor balcony to take the oath of office. His inaugural address, delivered with humility and vision, set the tone for a young republic grappling with its identity, its Constitution, and the promise of liberty. Join us as we explore the echoes of that historic moment—the birth of a presidency, the forging of a nation, and the enduring legacy of George Washington’s words…

On April 24, 1183bce (as determined by Eratosthenes the Beta), the City of Troy fell to the Greeks after nine years of devastating siege and bloody war. Few people today realize how many of our cultural values have been inculcated into us by the events of that day. The defeated Trojans would wander west and finally resettle in another city, this time one with seven hills. The Greeks would soon find trouble enough because of the moral compromises they had made to achieve their victory.

Nine years of war, and all over… what, exactly? What if what we are told were the reasons – the necessary and moral imperatives for the war – were not only untrue, but little more than propaganda?

And what lessons are there for us today, more than three thousand years later, as we gaze on the beach where the Trojan Horse waited that fateful morning….

The ocean is a dangerous place. I have always said to you that the ocean is always trying to kill you. And if you let your guard down, even for a second, it will.

This week in 1900, the US Navy began its experience in challenging some of those dangers, as the USS Holland SS-1 was commissioned as the first submarine in the US Navy. It’s why we celebrate numerous Submarine Balls this week – to recall that legacy and what it established. The Holland was simply an amazing boat, with innovations and technological leaps that are still in use today.

But April also reminds us that going to sea in a submarine is a dangerous business. Holland’s legacy would be seen as the US Navy’s newest submarine began a test dive on the morning of April 11, 1963. She would never surface.

In recent years, we’ve seen other incidents and frightening close calls. And the truth is that it will happen – someday – that anther boat will not surface. But we’ve been going into the depths since 1900. This week we celebrate the US Navy Submarine Service… 124 years old this year… and we perpetuate the memory of our shipmates who gave their lives in the performance of their duties while serving their country; that their dedication, deeds and supreme sacrifice will be a constant source of motivation to even greater accomplishments…

On the evening of April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson stood before an excited Congress and Gallery, and asked that the nation declare war on Imperial Germany. In a strange way, this was the penultimate Wilson moment. He would ask – already knowing the answer – the nation to follow his leadership into a war to make the world safe for democracy.

We are told that he had spent the night before in a small office of the east Wing, pouring out his soul to a friend who also happened to be a newspaper reporter. He was terrified for the nation, that he believed that he war would destroy the United States as a free nation. That the Constitution would be shredded to pieces and the very freedoms on which it had been founded and stood would be erased.

Standing before Congress, and the nation, he showed no signs of such concerns or fears. To thunderous applause and joyous acclaim, he would tell the Congress that “We are the champions of the rights of mankind.” The nation would rally behind his words and would go “over there.” There would be some resistance, but in the end, it was his vision and his call for action that sent things forward. Or… was it his vision?

In any case, almost half a million American would never come home.

LINKS

What Price Glory (1926 – Full Film)

What Price Glory (1957 Full Film)

Phillip Dru: Administrator (Full book)

What if… we had a President who disagreed with Congress on everything? And when I say, “everything,” I mean… “everything?” What if the Congress passed a law that was so important to the national development of our society that it was deemed in many places, and a “new birth of freedom,” and the President, vetoed it? What would the reaction be? If this were to happen, how would it change the course of the nation? What would be the result of a direct conflict between the power and authority of the executive and the power of Congress to make law?

And… if this were to ever happen, what could Congress do to make sure that the President couldn’t even try to do it again?

This week on Dave Does History on Bill Mick Live, we’re going to take a look into one of the most controversial acts of the Reconstruction era: President Andrew Johnson’s veto of the 1866 Civil Rights Act.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the United States found itself at a crossroads, grappling with the challenges of reintegrating the Southern states and defining the status of freed slaves. It was a time of bold ideas, fierce debates, and monumental legislation that aimed to redefine the fabric of American society.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 emerged as a cornerstone, promising to grant African Americans the rights of citizenship denied to them for centuries. However, it faced opposition from an unexpected quarter: the President of the United States. Andrew Johnson, who ascended to the presidency after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, vetoed the Act, setting the stage for a historic clash with Congress.

Why did Johnson veto this groundbreaking legislation? What were the implications of his actions, both immediate and long-term? And how did Congress respond? In this episode we will explore these questions and more, shedding light on a tumultuous period in American history that continues to resonate today.

Many people say that they “hate” Daylight Savings Time. Is that actually the case? Or is what they actually hate the twice a year fiddling with digital clocks in their cars?

So it was that on March 19, 1918, the United States enacted the Standard Time Act, much of which remains on our law books today. But, was it just a war measure designed to held beat the Huns? Or was it a vast conspiracy by US Farmers to… to… to… well… to do something that would benefit their business at the expense of your sleep? Did it actually help anything in 1974 when the energy crises hit? Did it actually “save” anything? Did it help to win the war? And why exactly do people blame Benjamin Franklin for this?

Let’s stop getting our history from Nicholas Cage flicks and see if we can figure out why Daylight Savings Time is still a thing…