Benjamin Rush - Founding Father

Benjamin Rush of Pennsylvania is one of the lesser known signers of the Declaration of Independence and Founding Fathers.  He was a crusader of political, social, and medical causes.  He was a prolific writer and founder in all three areas.  He signed the Declaration of Independence and supported the U.S. Constitution; he founded the first anti-slavery society and the first free medical clinic in America.  He wrote one of the first studies of mental illness and demonstrated his devotion to medicine by repeatedly risking his life caring for the sick during epidemics in Philadelphia.

Having studied on both sides of the Atlantic, Rush was on of the best educated physicians in America.  By the 1770s he had won a place in Philadelphia as a teacher and a patriot as well as a physician.  He was a friend of John Adams, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson, and like them, an ardent champion of independence.

On This Day In History - Nov. 18, 1883

At exactly noon on this day in 1883, American and Canadian railroads began using four continental time zones to end the confusion of dealing with thousands of local times.

The need for continental time zones stemmed directly from the problems of moving passengers and freight over the thousands of miles of rail line that covered North America by the 1880's.  Most towns in the U.S. had their own local time, generally based on "high noon", or the time when the sun was at its highest point in the sky.  The time differences were a scheduling nightmare.

Rather than turning to the federal governments of the United States and Canada to create a North American system of time zones, the powerful railroad companies took it upon themselves to create a new time code system.  The companies agreed to divide the continent into four time zones; the dividing lines adopted were very close to the ones we still use today.

Veterans Day

The temporary cessation of hostilities during "The Great War", World War I, ceased between the Allied Nations and Germany on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.  For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as Armistice Day.

On May 13, 1938 an Act was passed by the government making the 11th of November of each year a legal holiday - a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated as "Armistice Day."  Armistice day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and Airmen in the Nation's history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organization, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place "Veterans."  With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, November 11 became the day to honor American Veterans of all wars.

Today take the time to thank all your family members, friends, and co-workers who served in the Armed Forces of the United States.  My personal thanks go to my father, Ted Francis Sullins, who served in the South Pacific during World War II.

Nov. 10, 1775 - Birth of The United States Marine Corps

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that "two battalions of Marines be raised" for service as landing forces for the recently formed Continental Navy.  The resolution, drafted by future U.S. President John Adams and adopted in Philadelphia on November 10, 1775 is now observed as the birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

Serving on land and at sea, the original U.S. Marines distinguished themselves in a number of important operations during the Revolutionary War.  The first Marine landing on a hostile shore occurred when a force of Marines under Captain Samuel Nicholas captured New Province Island in the Bahamas from the British in March 1776.  Nicholas was the first commissioned officer in the Continental Marines and is celebrated as the first Marine commandant.

On This Day In History

On June 12, 1987 President Ronald Reagan made a speech in Germany telling Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall".  The wall being the Berlin Wall which violently divided Germany into two parts; East and West Germany . 

Two years later on November 9, 1989 at 06:53 pm a member of the new East German government was asked at a press conference when the new East German travel law comes into force.  He answered:  "Well, as far as I can see, ...straightaway, immediately."  Thousands of East Berliners went to the border crossings.  At Bornholmer Strasse the people demanded to open the border and at 10:30 pm the border was opened.  That moment meant the end of the Berlin Wall.  Soon other border crossing points opened the gates to the West.  In that night the deadly border was opened by East Germans peacefully.

James Wilson

"The best form of government which has ever been offered to the world," James Wilson called the U.S. Constitution, which he helped draft and later signed.  He also signed the Declaration of Independence and served as Associate Justice of the first U.S. Supreme Court.

Although born and educated in Scotland, Wilson became a leader of the patriots as a young Pennsylvania lawyer.  He studied law under John Dickinson in Philadelphia - and the two served in the Continental Congress together.  In 1774, before he was elected to Congress, Wilson wrote a carefully reasoned pamphlet, Considerations on ...the Legislative Authority of the British Parliament, which boldly concluded that Parliament had no authority over the Colonies.  In Congress he was one of three Pennsylvania members to vote for independence. -The Book of The Founding Fathers, Pg. 76,  By Vincent Wilson, Jr.

November 2, 2010

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Election Day - Why Tuesday?

For much of our history, America was predominantly an agrarian society.  Law makers took into account that November was perhaps the most convenient month because the fall harvest was in, and the majority of the nation's weather was still mild enough to permit travel over unimproved roads.

Since most residents of rural America had to travel a significant distance to the county seat in order to vote, Monday was not considered reasonable since many people would need to begin travel on Sunday.  This would have conflicted with church services and Sunday worship.

Why the first Tuesday after the first Monday?  Lawmakers wanted to prevent election day from falling on the first of November for two reasons.  First, November 1st is "All Saints Day", a holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics.  Second, most merchants were in the habit of doing their books from the preceding month on the 1st.  Apparently, Congress was worried that the economic success or failure of the previous month might prove an undue influence on the vote!