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HISTORY: unwrapped – September 2007

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September 26, 2007 – The July Fourth Connection

John Adams, our second president, and Thomas Jefferson, our third, both died on the same day. These two former presidents died on July 4, 1826, on the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Both Jefferson and Adams along with Benjamin Franklin were on the committee that helped draft the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson and Adams, who had worked together in the cause of independence, became bitter political enemies. They differed on nearly every issue and became opponents in the presidential race of 1800 where Jefferson defeated Adams who was running for a second term. The two men reconciled their differences during retirement and became close friends. These two Founding Fathers died within a few hours of each other on this day 180 years ago.

September 25, 2007– Explorer Finally Receives Recognition

Henry Hudson’s voyage came to be regarded as the start of European exploration of New York, but 85 years earlier, Giovanni da Verrazzano sailed into New York Bay. Born and educated in Italy, Verrazzano moved to France where the king provided two ships for the Italian explorer to discover the westward passage to Asia. In 1524, he arrived off the coast of North Carolina and continued northward. He was the first European explorer to name North American discoveries after people and places in the Old World. Verrazzano was raised from obscurity by the Italian Historical Society of America during the 1950s and 60s. Through the Society’s efforts, a number of landmarks have been named for Verrazzano, including a bridge and a ferry.

September 24, 2007 – The “Mick” and the Gospel

Baseball great Mickey Mantle played hard both on and off the field. The belief that he would die young like his father may have led to Mantle’s failure to take care of himself. In the early 1990s, Mantle entered a clinic to combat alcoholism. Several years later, he was hospitalized for cancer. The former New York Yankees slugger had admitted years earlier that there was a void in his life. He had heard the gospel message many times from Christian friends. While in the hospital near the end of his life, he came to Christ while listening to a testimonial tape by NBA Hall of Famer Pete Maravich. A few weeks before his death, Mantle shared with a close friend that he “now trusted Christ as his Lord and Savior.”

September 21, 2007 – The Constitution and the Bible

Using celebrities to endorse products is common practice today. Find some famous sports or movie stars, put them in front of a camera, and watch them do their magic with the new product. Before radio and television, the only way to communicate was through oratory and print media. Then there’s the issue of what’s worth pitching and how to pay for it. In colonial America, British law prohibited Bibles from being printed without permission of the crown. Editions of the Bible in the Indian and German languages were permitted, but English translations were verboten. All printing had to take place in England. This all changed after the success of the War for Independence. In 1791, the year the Bill of Rights was adopted and ratified, John Brown’s Self-Interpreting Bible was published in New York. Editions of Brown’s Bible had sold well in England. It was only natural to bring its publication to America. Brown, a Scottish Presbyterian minister, selected portions from several well-known commentaries, including those of Matthew Henry’s multi-volume set, to help the general reader better understand the text.

Funds were raised for the project through private “subscriptions” (contributions), and the names of the subscribers were listed alphabetically at the beginning of the volume, along with their occupation and the town where they lived. They came from all walks of life: shoemaker, baker, tailor, butcher, minister, lawyer, and many others. The name heading the list is “GEORGE WASHINGTON, Esq. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” The prestige of Washington’s name associated with the Bible’s publication was a fat endorsement that was sure to attract other subscribes and buyers. Also listed as “subscribers” are Henry Knox (Secretary of War), Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury), and John Jay (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), and numerous other notable founders. The Frontispiece offers a perspective on how the Constitution was viewed in light of the Bible. There is an engraving of a female figure holding an open Bible illuminating another female the Constitution rolled up in her hand. Between them stands a woman holding a pole with a Liberty Cap. In the background, the façade of a building includes these words: “Sacred to Liberty, Justice, and Peace.”

September 20, 2007– The Comic Book Police

Dr. Fredric Wertham, a prominent psychiatrist, made his mark in cultural history when he decided to take on the comic book industry in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He claimed there was a direct link between reading “crime comics” and juvenile delinquency. A number of magazines—Reader’s Digest and Scouting—published articles by Wertham and other comic critics warning parents of the dangers of the pulp stories. In the September 1954 issue of Scouting, the official publication of the Boy Scouts, Wertham stated his thesis: “The keynote of crime-comic books is violence and sadism. This is featured in the illustrations and in the text. In one typical crime comic . . . one story alone has ten pictures of girls getting smacked in the face, beaten with a whip, strangled, choked by hand, choked with a scarf. In addition, two men are killed and one man is crippled."

While these articles caught the notice of parents, it was an excerpt from a forthcoming book by Wertham in the November 1953 issue of the Ladies’ Home Journal that put the comic book industry on notice that things were about to change. Early in 1954, he followed up the article with the publication of Seduction of the Innocent, a book-length indictment of the industry. In addition to his attacks on crime and horror comics, Wertham even claimed that Batman and Robin were having a homosexual relationship and Wonder Woman was a lesbian role model!

There was such a hue and cry against these graphic comics that Congress got into the act. Hearings were called by the Senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency to look into the matter. Publishers were in a panic. Some comic book publishing houses went out of business. Those that remained joined forces and created the Comics Code Authority that served as a self-censoring agency within the industry. Nearly every book written on the history of comics mentions Frederick Wertham. He was the devil incarnate, the Joe McCarthy of the comic industry.

William M. Gaines, publisher of The Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt, Weird Science, Haunt of Fear, Weird Fantasy, and a humorous comic titled Mad, refused to capitulate to the strong-arm tactics of Wertham and the Senate. Even so, enough bad publicity had been generated that Gaines had to suspend publication of his horror and suspense titles. A late addition to his comic library of titles was Mad. Because it was not singled out by Wertham and the Senate committee, Mad slipped under the radar. Gaines did an end-run around the Comics Code by turning Mad into a magazine. The newly formatted comic became known as Mad Magazine.

There’s one more twist to this story. William Gaines inherited the comic business from his father Max Gaines who died in a tragic boating accident. The elder Gaines drafted a set of guidelines for artists and writers, something his son avoided like the plague and denounced when the Comics Code Authority was established:

“Never show anybody stabbed or shot.”

“Show no torture scenes.”

“Never show a hypodermic needle.”

“Never show a coffin, especially with anybody in it.”

Max Gaines also published Picture Stories from the Bible, Picture Stories from Science, Picture Stories from American History, and Picture Stories from World History.

Most comic book publishers have dropped the Comics Code, and the comics that William Gaines published are now worth a lot of money. I guess he’s having the last laugh on poor Dr. Wertham.

September 19, 2007– Jefferson's Secretary

When President Thomas Jefferson needed a private secretary who could be trusted completely, he chose Captain Meriwether Lewis. Jefferson did not choose Lewis for his secretarial skills. The president had a dream of exploring the land that lay beyond the Mississippi River. Nine years earlier, he had attempted an exploration, and Meriwether Lewis had begged to join. Jefferson refused, thinking Lewis was too young. That expedition was abandoned. Now that he was president, Jefferson was determined to send explorers west, and he hinted to Lewis of his plan. Lewis was prepared to ask a friend, Lieutenant William Clark to join him if the president’s dream became a reality. The Lewis and Clark Expedition would cover 3,700 miles and include lands that would eventually become eleven states.

September 18, 2007– That's Pittsburgh—with an 'H'

Pittsburgh, named after William Pitt, became the largest urban area west of the Allegheny Mountains by 1815 with its plentiful raw materials, natural waterways for transportation, and abundance of laborers. The Industrial Revolution made a dramatic entrance into the city with the growth of the iron industry. The low cost of iron and coke and the abundance of coal in Western Pennsylvania encouraged the building of foundries which produced iron bars, nails, and farm equipment. The first rolling mill for iron powered by the steam engine was built in Pittsburgh. The city soon boasted glass factories, breweries, potteries, a grist mill, a steam engine factory, a nail mill, cotton and woolen factories, and printing offices. By 1830, Pittsburgh’s three rivers were crowded with steamboats transporting manufactured goods. The work ethic of its citizens and their passion for invention made Pittsburgh the richest city of its size by the mid 1800s. Don’t be confused by like-sounding cities. There’s a Pittsburg, California, a Pittsburg, Texas, a Pittsburg, Kansas, a Pittsburg, New Hampshire, a Pittsburg, New York, and even a West Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, but there’s only one Pittsburgh—with an “h”—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

September 17, 2007– Washington's Vanishing Chef

George Washington faced a personal dilemma with political overtones when the nation’s capital moved from New York to Philadelphia. Disappointed with the food served in the new capital, Washington brought Hercules, his Mount Vernon chef. Hercules was accomplished in the culinary art, and he managed Washington’s kitchen with style and discipline. But the black chef posed a problem. Pennsylvania required that slaves be freed after six months of residency. Washington tried to get around this law by returning his household slaves to Virginia just short of the deadline. After several weeks, the slaves would be returned to Philadelphia. The president had vowed never to purchase another slave, but he nearly faced going back on those words when Hercules disappeared. Eventually a white housekeeper, who could also cook, took the place of the runaway chef. The flamboyant Hercules was never heard from again.

September 14, 2007– From Slave to Missionary

A revival on the Princeton College campus in 1815 changed the life of young Betsey Stockton, servant of the college president, Ashbel Green. As she matured in the faith, Betsey longed for missionary work but realized that an unmarried black woman had little chance of realizing such a goal. Betsey was treated with affection in the Greene household, where she was included in family prayers and homeschooled by Dr. Greene. Soon after her conversion, Betsey had the opportunity to join a missionary team going to Hawaii. She became the first documented single woman missionary sent beyond the borders of the United States. Betsey taught in the school she organized for lower class children on the islands. After returning to the States, Betsey established schools for Native Americans and black children, inspiring others to become involved in ministry at home and abroad.

September 13, 2007 – The Bee-Keeping Clergyman

Lorenzo Langstroth’s childhood curiosity of observing insects stayed with him as an adult. The Yale graduate, minister, and teacher took up beekeeping as a distraction from his bouts of depression. The beekeeping industry was revolutionized by Langstroth’s moveable frame beehive. Honeycombs could now be removed without enraging the bees. This new method also permitted the beekeeper to observe the health of his bees. Langstroth discovered that hives could be stacked one on top of the other, which turned beekeeping and honey production into a full-scale industry. His book on bee management, published in 1853, is still in use today. “The Father of American Beekeeping” is best remembered for improvements that resulted from keen observation skills of God’s intricate and fascinating creation.

There was a time when wrestling was serious business, deadly serious. Prior to modern Olympic wrestling, combatants often wrestled to the death. Milo of Kroton understood the risks and decided to come out a winner. Born in southern Italy, where Greece had many colonies, Milo won the boys’ wrestling contest in 540 B.C. At more than 40 years old, he continued to wrestle and win titles. In order to gain the advantage over his opponents, he knew that he had to gain weight and strength. There were no Gold’s Gyms, mail order physical fitness programs, barbell companies, or steroids. Weight training—progressive resistance exercise—was not even conceptualized at the time. Even so, Milo understood the principle and applied it in a novel way. Legend has it that he would train in the off years by carrying a newborn calf on his back every day until the Olympics took place. By the time the games were held, he was carrying a four-year-old cow on his back the length of the stadium. The principle is simple. As the calf gained weight, Milo progressively got stronger with each day’s workout. The example of Milo translated into a business venture in the twentieth century with the founding of the Milo Barbell Company in 1902, the first barbell manufacturer in the United States that applied the Milo principle to adjustable barbells. The company was eventually purchased by Bob Hoffman in 1935. Hoffman turned the company into the international fitness conglomerate The York Barbell Company. The principle of steady and incremental persistence over time is a great lesson, but once the goal is achieved, some forget what life was like at the start While the Bible says “power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9), Milo let his strength go to his head. Thinking himself to be the mythical Hercules, Milo was wandering through the forest when he found an old tree trunk with wedges inserted into it. The strongman saw this as an opportunity to test his strength. Milo placed his hands into the cleft of the trunk and tried to split apart the wood. All he succeeded in doing was loosening the wedges. When they fell out, the trunk closed on his hands, trapping him. According to legend, he fell prey to wild beasts. The Bible sums up the end of Milo’s life: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Prov. 16:18).

September 11, 2007– The Other September 11^th

Over 300 years ago, there was another September 11 when the king of Poland, led Christian armies to the Gates of Vienna. The Ottoman Empire had been expanding into Europe. Cities were plundered, churches turned into mosques, free people made slaves, and thousands of Christians were forced to convert to Islam. The Ottomans wanted Vienna, because it would provide the way into Austria and Germany. The Pope recognized the danger posed by the Ottomans and issued a call to all rulers to unite against this common foe. The Polish king answered the Pope’s call to save Vienna. The Turks were starving the city into submission and had begun tunneling under the city walls. King Sobieski arrived on September 11, just in time to rout the Turks and halt the Ottoman tide, causing its long withdrawal from occupied territory.

September 10, 2007 – The Big Pox

The smallpox virus had its greatest impact on the Indian populations in what is now Central and South America. Some historians have theorized that “it was not Cortez’ soldiers but smallpox that conquered the kingdom of the Aztecs in Mexico in 1520.” While this might be an exaggeration, smallpox certainly took its toll. It’s no wonder that the “Aztecs couldn’t believe that such a disease could be considered small and called it the `big pox.’“

The psychological impact of smallpox was also great. Between 1518 and 1531 nearly one-third of the total Indian population died of smallpox while the Spanish remained mysteriously unaffected. The Indians interpreted this to mean that their gods had failed them. In a deeply religious and superstitious society this assessment undermined the will to resist and made it possible for the Spanish to conquer what was left of the well-established pagan Aztec population.

Smallpox was followed by waves of measles, influenza, and typhus. “By the end of the sixteenth century, it is estimated that up to 90 percent of the indigenous populations had died in the successive waves of disease, and the Spanish began importing slaves to meet the labor demands created by catastrophic disease mortality.” The Aztecs contributed to their own demise through human sacrifice. As many as fifty thousand people a year were sacrificed “as a gourmet source of protein for its privileged elites.” But, that’s another story for another time.

September 7, 2007 – A City in Ruins

Yerba Buena was a tiny village of sand dunes and small oaks populated with fleas that tormented the few people who lived there. The Gold Rush transformed the sleepy town into the booming city of San Francisco. This cosmopolitan center was jolted awake on the morning of April 18, 1906 as an earthquake hit the city. People were in bed as buildings were leveled and streets rose and fell. Fires broke out, causing more destruction than the earthquake. Four square miles of the city was destroyed by fire and the death toll was 4,000. This was not the first time San Francisco had survived a disaster. The city had burned to the ground six times previously. The mythical bird that is reborn from its ashes, the Phoenix, was adopted as the city’s symbol. Did San Francisco survive only to fall victim to a future earthquake? Only time will tell.

September 6, 2007– The First American College—Almost

The Virginia colony was the first to charter a college at Henrico, Virginia, in 1619, nineteen years before Harvard and seventy-four years before the College of William and Mary. Like all the colonial colleges, Henricus College was to be designed around the precepts of the Christian faith, “for the training and bringing up of infidels’ children to the true knowledge of God and understanding of righteousness.” The college never succeeded, and no further attempts were made to establish a college in Virginia until 1695, when Rev. James Blair, the representative of the Church of England in Virginia, and his superior, the Bishop of London, were granted a charter by King William and Queen Mary. Like all the New England colonial colleges, William and Mary was designed to further the gospel of Christ in all disciplines. The founders of these early educational institutions understood the relationship between a sound education based upon biblical absolutes and the future of the nation. Putting the Bible in the hands of the people was an essential step toward religious and political freedom. “From the very beginnings, the expressed purpose of colonial education had been to preserve society against barbarism, and, so far as possible, against sin. The inculcation of a saving truth was primarily the responsibility of the churches, but schools were necessary to protect the written means of revelation.”

September 5, 2007 – Fact or Myth?

After Marco Polo returned home from his extensive tour of the East, he enlisted in the Venetian army in Venice’s battle against Genoa in 1298. During a sea battle, he was captured and imprisoned in Genoa, Italy. While Marco was serving time, he did not waste time. Instead, he collaborated with another prisoner, a scribe named Rusticiano of Pisa, to write the story of his travels in the East. The book was an immediate hit, but it was also discredited by some who claimed that it was full of lies. Marco Polo had written a million tall tales, they said, and that is how the book became known in Italian as Il Milione (“The Million”). Despite the outlandish descriptions of his adventures, later travelers confirmed many of Polo's stories about a "salt-water lake" (the Caspian Sea), strange fat-tailed sheep, the Order of Assassins in Persia, the burning of "black stones" (coal), tattooing, the rhinoceros, and the crocodile. It is surprising that Marco Polo did not mention the Great Wall of China, but China's a large country.

September 4, 2007 – The Accidental Entertainers

If you’re looking for a sweet, peaceful tale to help you drift off to slumberland, don’t choose one of the stories from Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The stories collected by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 1800s often paint a cruel life as many generations of central Europeans knew it. In collecting and writing down the Germanic folktales, the brothers were attempting to preserve a part of German history. They had no idea that their stories would entertain so many future generations. Grimm’s Fairy Tales contains over 209 stories including “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Hansel and Gretel,” and “Rapunzel.”  

When the brothers saw the delight their tales gave young readers, they along with editors began tweaking their stories. The tales became sweeter and moral, but the heart of the stories was never removed. Jakob and Wilhelm studied the law and held university positions. But they will always be remembered for the tales that have produced a few goose bumps in all of us.

September 3, 2007 – The Second Josiah

During the reign of Henry III’s young son, Edward VI (1547–1553), England made long strides toward Protestantism. Protestant tutors were put in charge of Edward’s education, and at an early age Edward became familiar with the works of John Calvin and those of the Strasbourg Reformer Martin Bucer. At Edward’s coronation, Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556) referred to him as the second Josiah, as a king who would restore England to the true religion. (It was under Josiah’s reign in Judah that the “book of the law” was found in the temple—2 Kings 22). Under Edward’s leadership, a number of important changes took place: religious services were conducted in English; the Catholic Mass was abolished; clergy were permitted to marry; and English Bibles were freely printed. Not everyone was happy with these changes, however. Henry’s brand of Catholicism was still very popular, as future Reformers soon discovered. Edward, sickly and frail from birth with chronic tuberculosis, reigned for only six years. On July 6, 1553, the young king died, praying, “My Lord and God, save this realm from popery, and maintain it in true religion.” He was sixteen.