MARCH 1 — 1833 Pres. Jackson and South Carolina come to a head in the Nullification Crisis; 1964 Comic character Winter Soldier is killed; 1803 Ohio joins Union as 17th state; SPORTS: 1996 Lenny Wilkins sets NBA record, 1986 Earle “The Pearl” retires, 1978 John Drew sets NBA record
MARCH 1
1833 – President Jackson begins the process of using military force against South Carolina, and the Nullification Crisis comes to a head.
It all started with the 1798 passage of thevirginaia and Kentucky Resolutions by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson that recognized that the United States was union of sovereign states and the federal government was its agent with very specific powers and delegations. The states would have the power to decide if and when the federal government exceeded its powers, and could declare certain acts to be void and of no force within their boundaries. We use these principles to this day whether we are debating about gun control or legalization of marijuana.
So fast forward now to 1828, where President Andrew Old Hickory Jackson passed a Tariff Act which gave a 38% tax increase to goods imported to the South, while helping the industrialization of the north. Southerners turned to Jackson’s vice president, John Calhoun from South Carolina, to represent their oppositions to the so-called Tariff of Abominations.
Henry Clay proposed a much lighter tax in the Tariff of 1832 to replace the Tariff of Abominations, and while it did please more people in the south, it didn’t please enough. Especially South Carolina, who later who be the first state to officially split from the Union anyway.
Hard liners during this considered a confederate union of their own, realizing that the majority in the North would control agriculture in the south. Calhoun asked for cooler heads to prevail, and proposed the Nullification doctrine to simply null and void the law and therefore the tax. On November 24 1832, the folks in Vice President Calhoun’s home state gave their proverbial middle finger to the President and passed the Ordinance of Nullification, thereby making the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 “null, void, and no law nor binding upon this State, its officers or citizens.”
South Carolina threatened secession if the Federal Government tried anything funny to collect on that, but when other states were asked to join the opposition, South Carolina found it stood alone, and prepared to use military force on the government if needed.
But Old Hickory doesn’t back down from fights. On December 10 1832, Jackson sent a Proclamation to the People of South Carolina, more of a warning, “disunion by armed forces is treason.” Meanwhile Henry Clay got back to work immediately and came up with the Compromise of 1833 South Carolina would be sure accept. Hopefully.
On this day in 1833, Old Hickory got the congressional approval he needed through the Force Bill to use military force on South Carolina. The new compromise was proposed; South Carolina accepted it and backed down. Within a few days, South Carolina reconvened and repealed its Nullification Ordinance, but also nullified the federal government’s Force Bill. The crisis was over, for the time being. It was one of the greatest moments in Old Hickory’s presidency, and it made him a hero.
He saved the country from disunion. But to the South, it was a reminder that the Northern majority still had too much control.
1917 – American public finds out about the Zimmerman telegram.
Between 1914 and 1917, Europe was inflamed in a full blown war and Americans wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson was elected to his second term as president, mainly by using the campaign slogan “He kept us out of war.” Diplomatic ties however with Germany were broken as Germany insisted upon the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare and continued attacks on American ships. The in January 1917, British cryptographers intercepted and decoded a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to German minister Count Johnann von Bernstorff in Mexico.
The telegram offered a deal to Mexico: enter the war as a German ally, and if victorious, Germany would give Mexico cash as well as the Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. Folks, it’s hard to find a telegram that has changed the course of history so dramatically. In fact,
David Kahn, author of The Codebreakers, did some research on that and couldn’t find a single instance in history when a telegram made such a difference in the world. On February 26, British intelligence informed the new of the telegram to President Wilson, and on the 27th Wilson authorized the State Department to make it public.
It appeared on headlines throughout America, and overnight public opinion about entering the war changed, and a month later, America would declare war on Germany.
1964 The Winter Soldier is killed.
Don’t cry nerds, Marvel brought him back 37 years later.
Of course 37 years is a long time. It’s easier just to see the movie I guess. Yes, Captain America’s best friend disappeared at the end of World War II but replaced by a double who took his identity, Bucky Barnes was last seen in Avengers #56, Goliath, Wasp, Black Panther, Hawkeye, and Captain America. Where they use Dr. Doom’s time machine to see what really happened.
That was it for Bucky.
He wouldn’t appear in the comics until Captain America Vol 4 issue 1 in 2005, where Ed Brubaker would reintroduce him as the Winter Soldier. Yes 37 years is a very long time for a fictional character to not show up in a comic, and it remains the longest time period of any character to be gone.
1938 – Siegel and Shuster sell Superman.
Two very shy high school boys named Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuser originally made this legendary American icon a bald evil dude, then turned him around and made him a superhero with a meek and mild alter ego named Clark Kent, obviously, who had a crush on a girl named Lois Lane who thought Clark was a moron. OK I guess we all knew this background. Seigel and Shuster tried selling Superman to publication after publication and were rejected.
Finally they made their way to Detective Comics via National Allied and sold it all. I don’t know if they talked to a really bad attorney named Lex Luthor before selling Superman or just thought the whole thing was Kryptonite and wanted to get rid of it. When the two young men got in return was $130, or $2,200 today. Their names were even spelled wrong on the check and had to be cancelled.
That cancelled check was sold at an auction a few years about for nearly a quarter million dollars. And faster than a speding bullet, Superman would of course earn billions of dollars and became the blueprint or all superheroes. Siegel and Shuster would spend years in court trying to get some compensation. It’s a bird it’s a plane! It’s a litigation nightmare that lasted until the 1970s when Warner leaped to Superman franchise ownership in a single bound. Siegel and Shuster would be awarded up to 30,000 for the rest of their short lives.
Ah yes, truth justice and the American way indeed.
1803 – Ohio joins the Union as the 17th state.
Kinda. See, Presient Thomas Jefferson had signed an act of Congress approving Ohio as a state, but Congress never actually passed a resolution in favor formally admitting Ohio. Shees details details! That mistake wasn’t discovered until 1953. In other Ohio news: it was the first state to have a traffic light, ambulance, and professional baseball team. That would be the Cinci Reds. You know you’re from Ohio when you know what game is playing when the Mud Hens take on the Clippers. Or if south to you means Kentucky. Or if Or if you root for college teams even though you’ve never taken a class at those colleges.
1996 Lenny Wilkins becomes the first coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games
1986 NY Knicks retire #15 – Earl “The Pearl” Monroe
1978 John Drew of Atlanta sets a NBA record with 14 turnovers vs. New Jersey
1969 Mickey Mantle announces his retirement – .298 average, 536 HRs, 1,509 RBI, 3 time MVP, 16 time All-Star
1954 Ted Williams fractures his collarbone in the 1st game of spring training