SEPTEMBER 13 — 1759 French and British face off in Quebec; 2014 Strati, first 3D printed electric car is completed in Chicago; 1873 Cooke & Co. shuts down as the Panic of ‘7 sinks economy to new lows; 1848 Phibius Gage survives metal rod through his head, becomes a jerk
SEPTEMBER 13
Cooke & Company shuts down as the Panic of 1873 set in full swing.
Jay Cooke has had more invested in America than most banks. He brokered federal funds for the north during the Civil War and made millions doing so. With his earnings he invested in the Northern Pacific and Union Railroads during the Reconstruction. Meanwhile in Europe, Germany demonetized silver from their currency in 1871, so the deutschmark was based on gold only. Two years later, America did the same thing when President Ulysses Grant signed the Coinage Act of ’73, the Crime of ’73 which I get into on my Feb 12th ep .
This sent the economy into a tailspin, and other nations who invested in international currencies also found themselves in a tailspin. The bank of Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian capital had failed, sending rippling effects throughout Europe. Back at home, a raging fire in Chicago in 1871 and another in Boston in 1872 damaged local economies. Out west, Jay Cooke & Company relied ultimately on accurate speculative. The Northern Railway was funded by over 60 million acres worth of federal land grants, all signed over to Cooke’s firm, which he used as insurance to sell more stock and secure more loans. President Grant’s contraction of the money supply raised interest rates, and investors we no longer concerned in those 60 million acres of railroad land.
Just when Cooke was about to swing a $300M government loan, word was out that his he wasn’t making payments of any kind, and on this day in 1873 declared bankruptcy. The Panic had begun. The shockwave resulted in the New York Stock Exchange closing down for nearly 2 weeks. The Panic would last until 1879. Though Grant made an exceptional war hero, as president he had many scandals. The US economy was thriving before the Civil War, averaging 6% growth, dropped 24% in the years after the Panic.
To stop the bleeding, Secretary of the Treasurer William Richardson decided to exchange $26M in Greenbacks for U.S. bonds, which would lead to major political shakeups within the political parties. The Republican Party had varying views on Reconstruction. Silver, and gold for that matter, was a critical issue in every presidential campaign. The Panic gave rise to the likes of Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, Cyrus McCormick, who would secure interests in holdings and buy out their competitors.
A schism split the workers and the banking and manufacturing owners, leading to a Railroad strike in 1877 which I cover on another ep. Many economists believe the Panic was a precursor to the big ones in 1893 and 1929, to which I say, duh!
1759 In Canadian news, the French and British face off in Quebec.
Known as the Battle of Plains of Abraham, this was a decisive victory for the British as they were able to take the city of Quebec during the French and Indian Wars.
The Seven Years war from 1756-63 had pitted France, Austria, Sweden, Saxony, Russia and Spain against the alliance of Britain, Prussia, and Hanover. It spilled into North America where the British discovered a fight that went against the normal protocols of European battle. They had trouble adjusting to the thick forests in which they had to lug their heavy cannon and faced a different style of fighting from the Indians that included sneak attacks, snipers, and quick withdrawals.
Thanks to the adjustments made by Robert Rogers and his rangers they were able to push the French back to present day upstate New York. Followed by Nova Scotia, ethically cleansing on the way, then took control of the St. Lawrence River. Now they were looking to take the stronghold of New France, which was Quebec. Majoring June 1759 General James Wolfe assembled a force at Louisburg and surprised the French forces led by Marquis de Montcalm, from the south shore of Point Levis, while the Montcalm was expecting an attack from the other side.
Though the fight involved less than 10,000 troops between the two sides, the British victory led to the removal from the French from Canada. Booth Wolfe and Montcalm were mortally wounded during the battle. But Wolfe knew he had won, and his dying words were Now, God be praised, I will die in peace.
Also in the fight was a young col. William Howe, would of course be one of the biggest players in the American Revolution. At face value the battle seemed insignificant but had tremendous consequences. The colonists in North America realized they didn’t need British protection. A proclamation was drawn up to keep the colonists from moving west of the Appalachians, which the British would not be able to enforce.
As more British would move into New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, their stronghold on the colonies became strangers, setting the stage for an independence from Great Britain.
1814—Francis Scott Key pins The Star Spangled Banner. And why not, he is after all, F Scott Fitzgerald’s great great great great grandfather. Something like that. It has four stanzas, you should check it out. We sing only the first one typically. During the War of 1812, the British came into America’s capitol and burned down the capital building as well as Library of Congress. Their next target was Baltimore. Key, on September 12, attempted to negotiate the release of Dr. Williams Beanes, who had been taken prisoner by the British. But Key had interrupted Beane’s captures dinner and overheard British plans to invade Baltimore they had to keep Keys prisoner until the siege was over, although they did agree to release Beanes as requested. He was to spend the night on the British ship while the British would attack Mt. McHenry. Francis Scott Key watched all night long the rocket’s red glare and the bombs bursting in air, all night long.
But in the end, well, we know the next line. In the morning the bombing stopped, and our flag was still there. Like a boss! Key wrote down his stanzas, and later on was sung to the tune of an old British drinking song called To Anacreon in Heaven. On March 3, 1931, that song would become our national anthem. These days you can see that flag, or what’s left of it, at the Smithsonean.
1898 — Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film. He was an Episcopal priest at he House of Prayer Episcopal Church and Rectory in New Jersey, and he made a transparent, flexible roll film out of nitrocellulose film base, which was used in Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope.
2014 – Strati, first 3D printed electric car is completed at Chicago’s International Manufacturing Technology Show.
Several months prior to this, Local Motors organized a contest to see who could come up with the best 3D printed car. After 200 submissions came pouring in from all over the world a handful was selected as finalists, and Italian car designer Michele Anoe won a pat prize of $85K, and of course, bragging rights to the first 3d printed car. It took 44 hours to print, 1 day to mill, and 2 days to assemble.
The car goes up to 40 miles per hour and can go about 100-120 miles depending on how the battery packs are used. Back in 2010 another semi 3-D car was printed called the Urbee, but only the body was printed and not the internal structure. In the case of the Strati, everything with the exception of the battery, motors, wiring and suspension were outsource but installed by Local Motors.
1971—The Attica Prison Riots, the worst in US history, end. The Attica Correctional Facility was a maximum security prison in western New York near Buffalo. It was a very crowded place, and inmates had been asking for reforms. Mainly more water for showers and more toilet paper, as well as less censorship when it came to incoming and outgoing mail. The inmates at the time got one bucket of water to last the week to wash themselves, and one roll of toilet paper per month. Things came to a head on September 9, when inmates caused an uprising. They took guards and other prison workers hostage and gained control of the nerve system of the facility. Negotiations began.
New York governor Nelson Rockefeller was asked to appear at the scene, but refused to, finally ordering the prison to be taken by force. Helicopters dropped tear gas, and then guns started firing. In the violence, 10hostages and 29 inmates were killed and another 80 seriously wounded. Rockefeller, who was hoping to run for Republican president, drew a hardline when it came to criminals, could only helplessly listen over the telephone as the situation got worse. And the worse it got, so did Rockefeller’s political career. The aftermath wasn’t that great either. Some inmates were allegedly tortured by guards. When the investigation was over, it was discovered that all deaths were caused by gunfire from the police. Later in a class action trial, $12 million would be paid out to the inmates families who were harmed or killed during the riot.
1857 – happy birthday Milton Hershey!
Chocolate lovers unite! Born on this day 1857 in Derry Township area in Pennsylvania to Henry and Veronica Snavely Hershey, Milton failed at a lot of things early on in life, and school was one of them. He dropped out at age 14, got to work at a newspaper, and didn’t like that, so moved to candy. Confections, as they were called. The way I eat chocolate it there’s usually a confession after the confection. But I digress.
Milton borrowed $150 from his aunt; a substantial amount at the time, and tried selling candy in Lancaster. Right in the heart of Philly. He gave it his all, but his candy shop in the middle of Philly didn’t work out. Henry moved away from the family when Milton was young, but Milton caught up with him and moved in with him in Denver, where he discovered the magic of caramel made out of fresh Colorado milk. BTW, these days Hershey caramels are not made out of fresh milk. Just so you know. How can you not fall in love with that taste? He tried to sell it in New Orleans, then Chicago, then in New York City, and Milton failed again and again.
He got back up again, and in 1883 went back home and formed the Lancaster Caramel Company. He hit the jackpot instantly. A giant candy maker in England supposedly loved Milton’s caramels so much, he ordered enough to help Milton pay off all his bank loans and have some cash left over to put back into his business. Next thing he knew, he had expanded operations to 1300 employees in two factories, pumping out America’s best caramels. This was a candy made for the rich, until Milton changed the whole game. At the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Milton Hershey found milk chocolate, and purchased two German milk chocolate making machines and had them transported to Lancaster. Caramel, meet chocolate. Angels started coming from the sky trying to get some of this yummy sweetness! The Swiss didn’t know what to do!
In 1900, Milton sold Lancaster Caramel Company for a million buckaroonies, about $27M today, and used his fortunes to start the Hershey Company we know today. Back in the Derry Township, it wasn’t enough for Milton just to have factories pumping out candy. The thousands of folks who worked for them had families and lives, and Milton saw to it everyone was comfortable. Milton used the profits from his company to build housing, schools, libraries, and transportation systems.
Then in 1907 Cupid wanted part of the action and shot that arrow into what would become the beloved Hershey’s Kiss, with the foil being added in 1924. Those kisses would light up the lampposts on the streets of this chocolate centered town, enriched in the capitalistic belief that taking care of your workers is the same things as taking care of your company in so many ways. In 1898, Milton married his auburn-haired sugar squeeze Catherine Sweeney. According to the company website, although the Hershey’s never had children, they established a boarding school for orphan boys and came to think of the boys as their family. The Hershey Industrial School for orphan boys, today called the Milton Hershey School, now educates nearly 2,000 underprivileged boys and girls. In 1912, Milton and Kitty were scheduled to ride the Titanic, but had to cancel their reservations.
During World War II, special Hershey bars, called Ration Bars or Tropical Chocolate bars, were made for durability, and over 3 billion bars would be made for the troops. Kitty passed away, leaving Milton to supposedly carry her picture with her for the rest of his days. He worked hard until his mid-80s, and died on October 13, 1945. He learned how to fail before he learned how to succeed. Just like his company’s website says, He used his wits and instincts to become one of America’s wealthiest individuals, a successful entrepreneur and a generous philanthropist who touched countless lives.
1848 — Phibeus Gage survives metal rod through his head, and turned into a jerk.
While working on the raiolroad in Vermont, Gage had a serious accident. He and his crew were blasting rock and a tamping iron to smooth out the sand or clay. Somehow the charged metal iron sparked against a little bit of powder and boom! 13 inch rod right through Gage’s cheek below the eye to the top of the skull. Miraculously, Gage survived, and was actually speaking on his way to the hospital. For twelve years, Gage lived as his evil twin. ++
Mr. Congeniality turned in No Fun. Said his physician John Martin Harlow, “He is fitful, irreverent, indulging at times in the grossest profanity which was not previously his custom.” His friends said he wasn’t the same Gage. Even the folks at the Rutland and Burlington Railroad company, where Gage had were oneo f the finer foramen, now got rid of him. You know what they say; I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
Gage had lost much of his frontal lobe, and his behaviors became a curiosity in the sword of neuroscience, which considered Phibeus Gage to be their most famous patient. However, the reality is there’s not a lot of documentation on Gage’s personality before or after the accident, so in many cases, the study of neuroscience has theorized how the brain path of the tamping iron affects behavior. As time went on, Gage’s mental disabilities appeared to go away. He spent some time as a stagecoach in Chile, where he supposedly has a good personality and was able to focus on his job.
He died of a seizure in 1860 at age 36, a dozen years after his accident. He has a memorial in Cavendish, Vermont.