JUNE 30 — 1970 Congress restricts deployment of troops to Vietnam;1864 Salmon Chase resigns from the Treasury; 1968 Happy Birthday Phil Anselmo, metal screamer; 1962 Koufax throws first no-hitter; 1985 Happy birthday Michael Phelps, Olympic swimmer
JUNE 30
1970 – The Cooper-Church Amendment is passed in the Senate.
…The bill marked the first time that Congress had restricted the deployment of troops during a war against the intentions of the president.
The amendment barred funds to retain US troops in Cambodia after July 1 or to supply military advisers, mercenaries, or to conduct any combat activity in the air above Cambodia in direct support of Cambodian forces without the approval of Congress. According to David Schmitz in The United States and Right wing dictatorships 1965-1989, the amendment was a landmark in the history of opposition to the war, congressional initiatives to bring the fighting to an end, and efforts to control executive power in foreign policy’s
1985 – We lose a great American man. James Alexander Dewar,
…a baker for the Continental Baking Company. The company went through several mergers before winding up with Hostess. Dewar invented the Twinkie! He came up with the name from a billboard in St. Louis for Twinkie Toe Shoes. The reason why he came up with the Twinkie was because he noticed that machines used to make cream-filled strawberry shortcakes for the Schiller Park bakery were idle when strawberries weren’t in season.
So Dewar came up with a pound cake filled with banana cream. But during WWII bananas were rationed and the company had to switch to vanilla cream.
Paula Dean has a yummy Twinkie pie recipe by the way.
The shelf life for a Twinkie, despite urban legend, actually only has a shelf life of 45 days, instead of 45 years. James Alexander Dewar, who was born on February 5, 1897, became VP of Hostess and held that position until 1972, then died at age 88 on June 30, 1985.
1864 – Chase resigns from the Treasury.
Salmon Chase, U.S. Senator, governor of Ohio, and Supreme Court chief justice of the US Treasurer for Abraham Lincoln is one of those guys who’s not really famous by name but you still know who he is. He coined the phrase In God We Trust, among others for the Free Soil Party. There’s a chance you do banking at his eponymous Chase bank.
Born January 13 1808 in Cornish, New Hampshire graduated from Dartmouth in 1826 and eventually settled in Cincinnati to practice law. He became famous for his passion when defending several abolitionists, earning the nickname “attorney general for escaped slaves.” Chase had a thing for switching political parties. He skillfully led the Liberty party to form a hybrid antislavery Democrats and Whigs to form the free Soil party, where Chase famously made his rallying cry: “Free Soil, Free Labor, and Free Men.” He was elected Senator of Ohio and opposed the Compromise of 1850.and the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854.
Chase’s main goal in life was to someday become president, but didn’t have a large political base outside of Ohio, so he lost to Lincoln in the 1860 election. Lincoln appointed him Secretary of the Treasury in 1861. Having the job of funding the military at the outbreak of a major Civil War is a real tricky job, but Chase accomplished two major landmarks: establishing a national banking system, and the issue of paper money, putting him on the $10,000 bill incidentally.
Put the words In God We Trust on all the bills, too. That’s a story for another time, though.
This allowed the funding of millions of dollars in bonds for the war. He would also establish the prototype of what would become the IRS. But despite all his great accomplishments, Salmon Chase was not a happy man. He married three times and all three of his wife’s died within just a few years of marriage, along with most of their children. So he wasn’t exactly a big hit at parties, if you know what I mean.
Besides, he just wanted to be president, and his relationship with Lincoln was almost always on edge as he considered himself to be smarter than Lincoln. He continuously threated to resign, knowing full well that would cause problems between Lincoln and the Radical Republicans, to which Lincoln would reject.
Finally, after the fourth resignation threat, Lincoln called his bluff on the basis that he didn’t need him for Treasurer anymore, on this day in 1864 Chase packed his stuff and left. But then right after that, Chief Justice Roger Taney passed away, and Lincoln needed Chase to take his spot, which he did so reluctantly. As Chief Justice, Chase presided over some of the biggest post-Civil War issues, including the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson.
But Chase just wanted to be president, switched parties just to have the chance, and ran unsuccessfully for the Democrats in 1868, then the Liberal Republicans in 1872. He would die a year later.
As I mentioned up front, if you do your banking at Chase National, used to be JPMorgan/Chase, yeah it was named in his honor.
1900 – Hoboken Docks fire.
On June 30, a fire began on the New Jersey at the foot of 3rd and 4th streets in Hoboken, across the north side of the Hudson River. The fire began when cotton bales stored on the Nordeutscher Lloyd sipping company’s southernmost wharf caught fire, and winds blew it in the direction of some flammable liquids.
The whole area was 90% wood. It is estimated that some 360 people died that day, many of them caught in lower decks, unable to escape through portholes only 9 inches wide. All ships after the fire were required to have portholes at least 11×13 inches.
1968 – Happy birthday Phil Anselmo!
…One of the original cowboys from hell. Phil was lead singer of Pantera and currently the singer of Down.
1962 – Sandy Koufax strikes out 13 batters
…and walks five to lead the Brooklyn Dodgers to victory over the New York Mets 5-0 with his first career no-hitter. That was his first of three no hitters for his career.
1985 – Happy Birthday Michael Phelps,
…American swimmer from Baltimore Maryland, regardless of what you may think about his personal life, he does have 16 more Olympic medals than all of us combined