Professor Walter's History Lessons

The 1920 Wall Street Bombing

As a result of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the hijjacking of another flight, the threat of further terrorist activity is a worry shared by millions of Americans. Despite the fact that these attacks originated with a foreign organization, the United States is at much at risk from those within as from those without. In fact, home-grown terrorism is a greater threat and one that has reared its head on more than one occasion. New York has been a popular target, and In 1920 was the site of one of the worst attacks in history.

It was another clear September day, the 16th this time, in the heart of the city.  At exactly 12:01 p.m., a horse carriage packed with 100 pounds of dynamite and 500 pounds of cast-iron sash weights exploded across the street from the J.P. Morgan Bank headquarters at 23 Wall Street.  The horse and carriage were obliterated instantly and the cast-iron weights became deadly shrapnel, killing 35 and injuring over 100 people, causing over $2MM in damage.

The Bureau of Investigation (BOI), a precurser to our Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), did not originally recognize it as an act of terrorism. They were confused by the large number of innocent people and initially deemed it an accident. They were unable to make the link to its intentional nature because there was no clear target. It caused injury and mayhem, but did not effect any specific group or organization, and even the New York Stock Exchange reopened by 3:30 p.m. that same day. That night cleaning crews worked to clear the area, effectivly removing all evidence.

The day later and a block from the attack , a message was found in a mailbox:

Remember. We will not tolerate any longer. Free the political prisoners or it will be death for all of you. American Anarchist Fighters!"

Suddenly it became clear that this was no accident, but a terrorist attack, and the BOI investigated fully. The Washington Post called it "An act of war":

"The bomb outrage in New York emphasizes the extent to which the alien scum from the cesspools and sewers of the Old World has polluted the clear spring of American democracy

The BOI's investigation stalled when they determined that the wagon driver was not among the victims. For three years they struggled to solve the crime without luck. Their investigation focused on anarchist groups, but without firm conviction that the note was genuine it yeilded no indictments. The next decade brought great success for Wall Street and then the Great Depression. The attack was not forgotten, but it was never solved. In 1944 the FBI reopened the investigation and came to the conclusion that the attack was the result of either Italian anarchists or Italian terrorists.

To this day there has never been a conviction related to the explosion. It is safe to assume that those involved have left this earth of their own accord. We may never know who perpetated this crime.

-Professor Walter

The American Bison

One of the greatest "back from the brink" stories is that of the American Bison.  Conventionally known as buffalo, the bison is an incredibly robust creature with the ability to survive in a wide variety of regions. While many think of the "wild west" when they think of the bison, the animals once thrived throughout the bulk of the United States.  

In the 1500s bison roamed across the United States, from New York down to Florida and across to Texas and into Mexico. They spanned as far west as California and as far north as the Yukon. At that time their numbers were close to fifty million. Native Americans helped to shape the land to encorage the growth of the Buffalo herds as they were used for food, clothing and a variety of other goods. European settlers changed the balance and pushed the herds west as they converted grazing land to farm and displaced bison with their own livestock.

By 1870 the bison had been pushed back to two areas seperated by the intercontinental railroad and their numbers had dropped to 20 million. Unfortunately, two key factors would drive their numbers even lower. First was the fact that bison often damaged railroad tracks. The railroad companies paid rewards for the killing of buffallo to reduce damage. At the same time, William Frederick Cody became known as "Buffalo Bill" for his success in killing 4280 bison. Mostly, though, the massacre of the bison was a result of their value to the Native Americans. A large scale effort to either eliminate or "civilize" the natives led many to the conclusion that the elimination of one would facilitate the elimination of the other. So the slaughter continued, and in 1889 the bison's numbers had been reduced to fewer than 1000.

Today, thanks to recovery efforts, there are around 200,000 bison. They are raised for the same purposes as cattle. Their hearty nature and leaner meat makes them a better choice than traditional cattle in many ways, with herds as far flung as Haiwaii. There is still one wild herd and many others in captivity. Most of the bison today are the offspring of 77 buffalo in five different herds. The Bronx Zoo was instrumental in the recovery because many of their exhibits came from a variety of herds. Luckily the animals were already on the road to rapid recovery by 1900 which allowed them to escape the risk of problems arising from inbreeding.

Today many fine restaraunts carry buffallo steaks. Eating one is a bittersweet experience, knowing that they were nearly wiped off the face of the earth, yet understanding that with every steak sold thier survival is ensured.

-Professor Walter

This baby's primed and ready to fire! Now let's have some breakfast!

In 1901, Alexander P. Anderson became the Curator of the Herbarium at Columbia University, a position which allowed him time to pursue a hobby: scientific experimentation. One of his goals was to increase the digestibility of starches. Furthering that goal, he traveled to Munich, Germany to witness a new cooking technique, where they were heating rice in a test tube until the grains cooked. The scientists warned Anderson to be careful when experimenting with the technique, because sealing the tube would cause intense pressure and the contents would explode. It's unclear whether Anderson simply forgot their guidance, but the end result was that, sure enough, the tube exploded. What he found would change the world -- or at least how the world ate breakfast.

Among the shards of glass, he discovered puffed rice. The high pressure heat and sudden release caused the rice to expand to ten times its original size. It turns out a tiny amount of water was flashed into steam causing the "puffed" effect. He patented the approach immediately and set about perfecting the process. Through a series of dangerous experiments, he worked to perfect a way to make the puffed rice, without the inclusion of broken glass. At one point an explosion damaged the floor of his workshop and workers refused to enter it again while he was working on the problem. The solution came in an unusual form: a surplus Spanish-American War cannon.

Anderson found that when he fired rice from the canon, the sudden pressure and release would puff it properly. After some tweaking, he partnered with Quaker Oats to develop puffed rice and wheat products through the Anderson Puffed Rice Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quaker Oats. At the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 puffed rice made its debut. Eight bronze cannons exploded puffed rice over the heads of the crowd and breakfast was never the same again.

-Professor Walter

A return to Constitutionalism

John Kasper was a Columbia University educated man who worked to organize protesters against the integration of Clinton High School in Clinton, Tennessee. During that time he was arrested but later acquitted, becomming the focal point of many protests. In 1957 he served eight months in jail for conspiracy. Once released, he called for a return to constitutionalism and created a third party, opposed to integration.

His new party promised to deport African-Americans back to Africa and strip Jews of their citizenship. Kasper allegedly promised to create a new flag and monetary system once he seized power. He was unsuccessful in his campaign, and attracted just 6,434 votes -- in Kentucky and Arkansas.  Lyndon B. Johnson won the election with 43,127,041 votes, and Kasper faded into obscurity, his dreams of a return to Constitutionalsm and ethnic cleansing were dashed.

-Professor Walter

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses with a minimum IQ

As a country founded on immigration and the merging of many faiths, it is easy to think that immigration to the United States was simple until recent times. While this was true early on, by the end of the 1800s there was a strong push to limit immigration. In response to this, immigration services began to filter out the "less desirable" immigrants and send them back. In 1913 intelligence tests were introduced, which included simple arithmetic, counting backwards from twenty and completing a puzzle in a minimum amount of time. 12,000 people a year were rejected and sent back as "mental defectives." Families where one parent may fail would find themselves admitted to the United States, minus the "less intelligent" member. Sometimes, if both parents failed, children would enter the country alone.

-Professor Walter

Twain's little mummy joke

A well known "fact," as reported by the BBC as well as other reputable news sources at one time or another, is that Egyptians used mummies to fuel their trains in the 1800s. Mummies were, in fact, available by the truckload, but it is quite unreasonable to assume that they would be used for such a purpose. The origins of this "fact" can be traced back to the classic story teller, Mark Twain. In his book, "The New Pilgrims' Progress," he states,

"...I shall not speak of the railway [in Cairo], for it is like any other railway--I shall only say that the fuel they use for the locomotive is composed of mummies three thousand years old, purchased by the ton or by the graveyard for that purpose, and that sometimes one hears the profane engineer call out pettishly, 'D--n these plebians, they don't burn worth a cent--pass out a King;'"

And from this little verse, the belief entered our collective consciousness as fact. I am quite certain Twain would find it immensely humorous that so many still believe his tale, especially when he attached the following footnote to the previous statement.

"Stated to me for a fact. I only tell it as I got it. I am willing to believe it. I can believe anything."

-Professor Walter

A scathing political satire of 1880 published by Anonymous

In 1880 a novel was published called "Democracy."  It was a satire of the corrupt political systems of the time, where a New York legislature seat was auctioned off to the highest bidder and members of Presidents Grant's cabinet, including his secretary, were indicted. In this classic tale, fictional politicians run through their corrupt lives, their identities thiny veiled examples of the real characters on which they were based. The story was very pessimistic, stating that the course the United States was on would make it the most corrupt country in history within 100 years.

The author of the notorious work remained anonymous until his death, when the publisher revealed whom had written the popular tale. It was a man who had seen the politics of Washington first hand and had grown to know them all too well. It was the grandson of John Adams, second president of the United States, and son of John Quincy Adams, 6th president of the United States, Henry Brooks Adams.

The enduring quality of the story persists, and in January 2005 the Washington National Opera premeired "Democracy: An American Comedy," an opera written by Scott Wheeler and Romulus Linney that was based on Adams' book.

-Professor Walter

A fractional currency curiosity

During the Civil War there was hoarding of gold, silver, and other precious metals. This impacted the ability of the United States to stamp coins. In 1864, Congress authorized fractional currency notes in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 cents. Spencer M. Clark was the first superintendent of the National Currency bureau, now known as the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, at the time and his office was given the task of creating the notes.

A controversy erupted when the third issue of the 5 cent note was released and Spencer M. Clark's face was on it. Different theories came about to explain how he ended up on the note, including one that states Clark, known for being part of the famous duo Lewis & Clark, was supposed to be there. Regardless of the reason, Congress was furious. A law was immediately passed, retiring the 5 cent note from circulation as well as forbidding any living person from appearing on federal coins or currency. Clark nearly lost his job over the incident, but continued to serve in the role until 1868.

The Act of April 7, 1866 outlined the rules for persons to be placed on notes.

Portraits on bonds or notes: living persons,--No portrait shall be placed upon any of the bonds, securities, notes, fractional or postal currency of the United States.

-Professor Walter

September 26th 2010, WWI finally reached it's end

WWI ended abruptly for the soldiers in the field. Many Germans, including Adolph Hitler, felt that they had been sold out when the Treaty of Versailles had been signed. They believed this for many reasons, one was the fact that German soil had not been attacked, another was the crippling terms of the surrender. Among those terms was Germany's acceptance of blame for the war and reparations of 226 billion Reichsmarks to France and Belgium.  The sum was so large that, even when it was reduced to 132 billion, it exceeded the ability of the nation to pay. When the Great Depression hit a financially crippled Germany would find itself looking to new options for leadership which included the 3rd Reich. Once in power Hitler stopped payments.

After WWII, as Germany rebuilt itself the debt still loomed.  On September 26th, 2010 the last payment was due and WWI was officially, financially complete.

-Professor Walter

A genius on the battlefield tells stories powered by tickles

General Robert E. Lee was one of the greatest generals in the Civil War, and arguably in the history of the United States. There are vast tales of his prowess on the battlefield guiding his soldiers in victorious battles and defeats. Yet many do not know of him as a loving father. Before the war, he would hop into his childrens' bed to read them stories with one rule: one of them must tickle his feet while he read to them. If a child became tired and stopped, Lee would announce, "No tickling, no story." Then another child would take over and the story would continue.

-Professor Walter