JANUARY 14 — 1968 Wallace gives Segregation Forever Speech in Alabama Governor Inaugural; 1875 Specie Resumption Act turns paper money into gold; Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox go on display in Bemidjii, MN; Dion Lewis runs, catches and kick returns in same game
JANUARY 14
1963 – Wallace gives inaugural speech as new Alabama governor. And I quote: It is very appropriate that from this cradle of the Confederacy, this very heart of the great Anglo-Saxon Southland, that today we sound the drum for freedom as have our generations of forbears before us time and again down through history.
In the name of the greatest people that have every trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. George Wallace changed his political stripes several times during his long political care, but this made him most famous of all. He was a lawyer known as the Little Fighter due his early boxing abilities. In 1958 he ran for governor of Alabama and was actually endorsed by the NAACP.
His opponent on the other hand was endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan and walloped Wallace in the election. So George changed his tune for the next one and became the Incredible Racist Man, which won him the election in 1962. On January 14 1963 he delivered his famous segregation speech and followed up with his words. That same year Wallace led the Stand In the Schoolhouse Door to physically block two African American students from getting into the University of Alabama. JFK send federal troops to have Wallace removed.
Segregation over. Wallace became more moderate as time went on, becoming to date the only person who’s served four terms as Alabama governor, but losing presidential elections. His last term as governor saw a striking turnaround for Wallace as he apologized for his previous segregation comments, and began winning the hearts of black voters. He made more African American political appointments than any other figure in Alabama history. He retired in 1986, with another speech radically different from the 60’s. In it he said, Climb on, climb on to higher heights, climb on till you reach the very peak. Then look back and wave at me. I too will still be climbing. He died in 1998.
1875 – Specie Resumption Act turns Greenback paper money into gold, quite figuratively.
During the Civil War, US President Abraham Lincoln authorized the treasury to issue around $450M in paper money known as Greenbacks that was NOT backed by specie such as gold or silver, to finance the war effort.
This worked very well for farmers as well as folks in debt, who wanted new greenback notes to cause an inflation to give them a break. After the war, the Funding Act of 1866 expired many greenbacks, but in 1872 President Ulysses Grant would veto an Inflation Bill which would bring in new greenbacks. The Panic of 1873 brought down the value of our paper money from35M to 5M, tensions brewed between loaners and debtors, and hard money advocates argued the constitutionality for how paper money is used. Interestingly enough, around this time, greenbacks covered half of the nation’s entire spending.
And on this day in 1875, Congress allowed the US Treasury to buy back 25% of greenbacks from the public and exchange it for gold at the current rate. The act would not go into effect until 1879, the bill also limited greenback circulation to $300M and that paper coins were removed from circulation and replaced with silver.
Yet the greenback would survive, and according to moneyfactory.gov, $130K out of $347M outstanding greenbacks was exchanged for redemption. The greenback, my friends, was clearly here to stay,
1798 – David Wilkinson of Rhode Island patents a nut & bolt machine. He would also create a lathe for cutting screw threads, whi was really useful in the early 1800s.
1784 – Continental Congress ratifies the treaty of Paris. The United States were recognized by the British and were free to go as far as the Mississippi, as well as fish off the coast of Canada and other details about reparations. Wikipedia says it happened in 1783, but I’m lama looking at americanlibrary.gov and they’re saying 1784 so I’ll o with that. The Revolution was officially over.
1937 – Paul Bunyan and Babe the Big Blue Ox finally go on display in Bemidji MN.
This famous folklore, or fakelore as some call it, has roots that are pretty tough to trace, but he’s generally believed to actually be French Canadian. Paul has stories dating back to the early 19th century when as a baby, it took 5 large storks to carry him to Maine. His ax created the Grand Canyon, though it’s also generally believed that one day Chuck Norris entered a sand castle making contest. His roundhouse kicked a mountain and that created the Grand Canyon. Babe, the Big Blue Ox left giant footprints through Minnesota which flooded and became the 10,000 lakes. N
ot to be outdone, the first giraffe was created when Chuck Norris upper-cutted a horse. According to Legends of Paul Bunyan, Lumberjack” by K. Bernice Stewart & Homer A Watt, Bunyan was a powerful giant, seven feet tall and with a stride of seven feet.
He was famous throughout the lumberjack districts for his great physical strength.
Meanwhile, Chuck Norris doesn’t do pushups. He does earth downs.
Paul Bunyan’s appetite was so huge, he had a stove the size of an acre. His hotcake griddle was so large it’s greased by men using sides of bacon for skates, says the encyclopedia. He was around in stories that were told in PA, Wisconsin, Maine, several other places until James MacGilivray published “The Round River Drive” in 1910, which began featuring Paul Bunyan stories.
Within 15 years, the legendary tales rose to just plain silliness. Finally on this day a statue was built in his honor in Bemidji. He has other statues along with Babe in Klamath California, Ossineke Mich, and a giant 31-foot tall statue of him in Bangor Maine.
2002 — Barry bonds agrees to a 5-year $90Million deal with San Francisco. 1972 – Miami ends with a perfect season beating the Redskins 1`4-0 in Super Bowl VII. Safety Jack Scott caught two of three Dolphins interceptions and was the MVP and the only undefeated team in NFL history. 1968 Green Bay Packers slap the Raiders 33-14 in Super Bowl II. 1966 – Philadelphia 76ers win the 2nd of 36 consecutive home games, a record that would remain in Philadelphia until the Celtics broke that record 21 years later. 1954 Joe DiMaggio marries Marilyn Monroe and stayed married for 274 days. After a bitter divorce they remained friends until she died in 1962. After her death, DiMaggio had flowers sent to her grave several times a week until he died in 1999.
2017 – Dion Lewis runs, catches, and kick returns in the same game.
Yeah, Dale Sayers did that in 1965, and Tyreek Hill in 20 16, but Dion’s the first one do to so in a post season game.
How many different ways can a running back from New England score? As the Houston Texans found out, way too many, after losing 31-16 in that game.