MARCH 5 — 1770 Boston Massacre; ;1804 New Orleans Gov. Calvo warns New Spain about Lewis and Clarke; 2011 Patriotic concert at Madison Square Garden
MARCH 5
1770 – The Boston Massacre.
Back in 1765 when the Stamp Act was enforced into the American colonies, Americans began getting upset about the whole taxation without representation thing and began objecting to British rule in America. In 1768 British troops were sent to America to stop that rebellion rubbish, and that didn’t end well for neither the British, nor the Americans.
Patriots of the Sons of Liberty were outside the Customs house on March 5, 1770, and began to goad the British soldiers, led by Captain Thomas Preston, into a fight. When the British walked outside he Customs House with their bayonets affixed, they met a barrage of snowballs and rocks and sticks being thrown at them. One of the guards, possibly Private Hugh Montgomery, shot his gun off, which was followed by more gunshots from the British,, and killed three Americans and fatally wounded others
The ones to die first are considered to be the first casualties of the American Revolution. An African American sailor named Crispus Attucks, as well as Patrick Carr, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, and James Caldwell were their names.
Captain Preston and his men would be sent to trial for manslaughter. They were defended by John Adams and Josiah Quincy, which as you can imagine got a few booes from the gallery. John Adams was supposed to be on the side of the American cause, so why is he defending the British?
But those who understood Adams knew that Adams needed to show support for the American colonial system. That was only fair., not at the time not many recognized he was actually doing the right thing.
The British soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter and had their thumbs branded with an M for Murder. The Boston massacre led directly to the Royal Governor, who evacuated the army from Boston.
This was one of the pivital events that led to the Revolution.
1804 – New Orleans Gov. Calvo warns Interior Province of Chihuahua in New Spain about Lewis and Clarke.
At the end of the American Revolution, border lines were clearly drawn in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, and those borders ended at the Mississippi River. But American settlers began going past west of the Mississippi piling on the already heavily used port of New Orleans, all controlled by Spain. By 1790 Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson was negotiating with Madrid about usage of the area.
In 1795, Thomas Pinckney’s Treaty was signed, assuring American usage to the port. But in 1800, Spain gave up the areas of the Louisiana Territory to the French, and Long Tom Jefferson, the Apostle of the Constitution and Pen of the Revolution, now President of the United States, was about to take it all from Napoleon Bonaparte for $15M, or 3 cents per acre. Why the discount? For details on that check out my April 11th ep.
The deal was made somewhat in haste, and the new American border lines weren’t nearly as clear as they were in 1783, the US assumed the new border lines from the Gulf of Mexico in the south and into Canada to the north and all the way from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains in the west, and naturally Spain had a big problem with that. That’s when President Jefferson sent out Merriweather Lewis and William Clark and the Corp of Discovery to a quote unquote scientific journey across the Great Plains, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. On the way, the team would befriend the Native American Indians, and uh, maybe set up, you know, military outposts along the way to help the Spanish from reclaiming their own land.
So on this day in 1804, sitting in as temporary Spanish governor of New Orleans, Sebastian Calvo de la Puerta y O’Farril, marqués de Casa Calvo, sent a letter to Commandant General of the Interior Provinces in Chihuahua, New Spain, these days Mexico, Nemesio Salcedo, warning that Lewis and Clark is having a lot more than just a science expedition. Salcedi right away sent troops to intercept, but missed the Corps of Discovery everytime.
On May 3rd, Salcedo ordered a force of over 50 Spanish settlers, military and Indians to go after Lewis and Clarke, and by August 1st he got his force. Pedro Vial and José Jarvet and their militia left Santa Fe, New Mexico a month later and headed to Nebraska, where they found out the the white folks already came and went. Meanwhile, Lewis and Clarke, unaware they were being hunted by Spanish troops, were already way up north in the Missouri Terrirotiy, over a hundred miles away.
Not giving up very easilyi, Vial and Jarvet tried again, this time heading to the Arklansas River in what would be a disaster as they would be attacked by local Indian tribes. Salcedo had had enough and dispatched yet another team from Santa Fe, but were also repulsed.The Manifest Destiny would’ve continued whether or not the Spanish had a problem with it. Lewis and Clarke weren’t the only exploreres at that time. US Army Lt Zebulon Montgomery Pike and was dispatched to discover the Rocky Mountains, which I cover in detail on my July 15th ep, and Army Cap. Richard Sparks was checking out the Red River back in New Mexico.
The Manifest Destiny, or the belief that settlement of the western United States, specifically by the white man, was justified and inevitable, and Lewis and Clarke would lead the Corps of Discovery to its destiny.
1977 – Dial-a-President airs.
This idea was formed by CBS and Walter Cronkite, who broadcasted on CBS until 1981. Officially called Ask mr. President, this program invited callers throughout the country to call the CBS studios in New York, with audio links to the Oval Office where President carter was standing by to take questions. Say what you will about the Peanut Farmer but this was a great show and unfortunately only aired once. Carter was happy to answer questions of the American public ranging from events of genocide in Uganda to the GI Bill to the reason his grandson lived at the White House at taxpayer expense. Carter explained about the last question that all his families laundry and food were taken care of out of Carter’s own pocket and that he is not mooching onff the government. Ah, the old days. Although the show only airded once, it was a big success as 9 million calls flooded the CBS studios.
2008 Gilroy Gardens is purchased by its city.
It’s a theme park in Gilroy, California, built by Michel and Claudia Bonfante after selling their ire Mob Hill food supermarket. Its 75 acres of a nature preserve containing spectacular gardens, and includes some downright whacky ones like the ones that arborsculptures, or trees, which are oddly shaped because of their grafting, bending and pruning. These really cool shapes gives the park features like the basket tree and the four legged giant that is truly impressive. And if that’s too boring, don’t forget the thrill rides.
2001, Concerts at Madison Square Garden and the RFK stadium in Washington were expected to raise millions in funds for the victims of the Sept 11th attacks. Stars who appeared included Michael Jackson, Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, and The Who