JANUARY 25 — 1871 Happy Anniversary President William and First Lady Ida McKinley; 1832 The Spoils System gets its name; SUPER BOWL: 1981 Raiders beat Eagles in SB XV, 1987 Giants beat Broncos 39-20, 1998 Broncos beat Packers in SB XXXII
JANUARY 25
1832 – The Spoils Systems gets its name.
Senator William Marcy of New York announces “to the victor belongs the spoils.” Otherwise known as the patronage system, the spoils system was the practice in which a political party, in this case the Democratic-Republican, after winning an election gives civil service to jobs to its supporters, friends and family as a reward for working toward victory. If they are not victorious they are removed from office.
The term spoils system was used loosely going all the way back to 1812, but by Andrew Jackson’s presidency it was so rampant Jackson’s picture was drawn eating plunder while sitting on a pig of bribery, fraud and spoils, depicted in Harper’s Weekly in 1877 during its reform period. The argument in favor of the Spoils System was merely the organization of government. Whether you’re a friend with a special interest or a family member who just needs a job, it all strives for a common goal for the government’s direction, not to mention fulfilling campaign promises.
On the other hand, it would be placing folks in position based on loyalty and not merit. Jackson of course would use it to punish his enemies and appoint John Stanton Secretary of War, which is another scandal I cover March 27, and Martin Van Buren Vice President, a man who would help Jackson kill the central bank. All these events and more finally got its name on this day in 1832 when Marcy delivered his speech, to the victor belongs the spoils. The spoil system continued for decades until after the Civil War was over.
However reform attempts didn’t gain a ton of momentum until the Pendleton Federal Civil Service Act of 1883, where office holders would be appointed upon merit.
1995 – The Black Brant scare. Boris Yeltzin almost committed Armageddon on this day in 1995. It started out as a normal day like any other. The United States and Norway were conducting an experiment with a Black Brant four-stage sounding rocket. It launched off Spitzbergen, the northwestern coast of Norway, with the purposes of studying the aurora borealis. That’s all it was doing. Norway told 35 countries, including Russia, that this experiment would be taking place. But for some reason the Russian Defense Ministry didn’t pass the memo to the on-duty radar technicians at the early-warning center of the launch. Russian president Boris Yeltsin, his defense minister and chief of staff were informed of the missile launch and out came the nuclear briefcase.
The nuclear briefcase is literally a briefcase that somehow authorizes the use of nuclear weapons. Yeltsin’s finger was on the proverbial button my friends, this was definitely it! The worlds going up in flames now. As Russia had 4700 missiles ready to go. Luckily for everyone and everything on planet earth, the Norwegian rocket fell back to the ground, outside of Russia. That was close. The incident marks the only time in history the briefcase was rolled out.
1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental telephone Company. It would be licensed to sell telephones in other countries such as Greece, Turkey, India, Japan, China and more. Countries receiving phones would have 3-digit numbers, which changed to 4, 5, and then finally 7. In 1858 G.D. Dows invented and operated the first marble soda fountain, which he patented on January 25, 1863.
1863 – Burnside relieved of command. Burnside was assigned command of the army of the Potomac after General George McLellan was unable to catch up with Robert El. Lee of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Burnside boldly attempted to go after Lee’s army in Richmond but dragged his feet and soundly lost the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, along with 13,000 men compared to Lee’s 5000 fallen. President Lincoln decided to give Burnside a second chance, and Burnside and his troops attempted to go after Lee in what would become the Mud March, during which Burnside’s m men slopped their way while Lee’s troops heckled at them from across the Rappahannock River. Lincoln relieved Burnside of duty and appointed General Joseph Hooker to take command.
1981 – Raiders beat Eagles 27-10 in Super Bowl XV. The Eagles were favored by three before the game, but after the first quarter is was 14-0 Oakland, and the Eagles couldn’t catch up. Helen O’Connell sang the National Anthem and Jim Skinner productions presented the Mardi Gras Festival for the halftime. In 1987 the Giants beat the Broncos 39-20 in Pasadena, CA. Neil Diamond sang the National anthem. The first half was tight, with the Broncos winning 10-9, but in the 2nd half Giants QB Phil Simms and the Big Blue Wrecking Crew unleashed fury on the Broncos, holding them to two net yards for the third quarter.
1998 The Denver Broncos would make their comeback and defeat the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXii. John Elway v Brett Favre. The packers had just won the big dance the year before and were 11 point favorites coming into this game. And what a game! Jewel sang the national anthem. The Halftime show was performed by Boys II Men, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Martha Reeves, and Queen Latifah. The game was close almost the whole time, but Broncos RB Terrel Davis, who had to si out much of the second quarter due to a migraine, was the game MVP with a Super Bowl record three rushing touchdowns. The game was played at Qualcomm stadium and was refereed by Bronco favorite Ed Hocholi. Not that I’m bitter or anything.