SEPTEMBER 16 — 1956 Happy Birthday Magician David Copperfield; 1830 Oliver Wendell Holmes writes Old Ironside; 1862 Siege of Munfordville; 2002 Dr. Phil show begins airing
SEPTEMBER 16
1956 happy birthday illusionist, magician David Copperfield!
Forbes calls him the most commercially successful magician in history. David Kotkin, born on this day in 1956 in Metuchen New Jersey. He started magic at a very young age, already very accomplished by the time he was a teenager. By 18 he was cast to appear on stage in a Chicago musical called The Magic Man, which went on to become the longest running musical in Chicago history. From there, David Copperfield went wi9lder with his tricks, making a jet airplane vanish, then the Statue of Liberty. Walked through the Great Wall of China, vanished a 45 ton Orient Express train car, escaped from Alcatraz, stood bravely in the middle of a 2000 degree Tornado of Fire, and if all that weren’t incredible enough, he even brought ratings to CBS! These days he’s moved onto his private islands in the Bahamas called Musha Cay and the Islands of Copperfield Bay.
If you visit one of the islands, this giant TV appears from seemingly nowhere when you arrive on the beach. He has treasure hunt adventures and a secret village you can only get to by passing an ancient underground passage. Now you see it, now you don’t, and nothing up his sleeve. Happy birthday Dave!
1940 – FDR approves the draft.
….Since the American Revolution, George Washington was on the brink of defeat against the British. Fighting the world’s most powerful army needed manpower, and lots of them. Gen. Washington wanted a draft, and the mere idea of it was controversial from there, begging the question of whether a draft would represent or infringe American citizenship?
During the Civil War, most soldiers were volunteers, but if you didn’t want to fight, you could pay someone to take your place, if you had money that is. Problems began brewing when the lower class couldn’t afford to pay for a substitute if they didn’t want to fight. This problem with substitution erputed in four days of riots in New York in 1863. African-Americans were targetd as being the cause of the war, and many were beaten or lynched. The Emancipation Proclomation opened the door for African-Americans to join the Union army, and 185,000 signed up. So the draft has a long history in America, but today in 1940, FDR approved the draft for WWII.
The US instituted the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register. A draft lottery was used to select men to serve at least one year in the armed forces. Two years later when America officially entered WWII, draft terms were extended throughout the remainder of the war. Black people were again unable to serve due to unfair discrimination. You see, back then it was generally assumed that blacks were inferior and wouldn’t be able to keep up. This changed a year later when a quota was imposed, enlisting up to 10.6 of the African-American population.
By 1945 towards the end of the war, 50 million men between the ages of eighteen and 45 were registered for the draft, and 10 million were actively serving. Those who could prove sincerity of belief in religious teachings combined with a profound moral aversion to war. Were known as Conscientious Objectors. Who mostly consisted of Quakers. The draft would continue throughout Vietnam, and the draft dodgers for that war is a whole ‘nother story I’ll have to get to another time.
1830 – Oliver Wendell Holmes writes Old Ironside. This is the nickname given to the USS Constitution which saw many battles, and earned its name in the War of 1812.This was one of the original six giants of the US Navy, named by President George Washington. In addition tobeing a [poet, Holmes Sr. was also a medical physical. His son would become on of the famous American jurists and Justices of thee United States =Supreme Court. One of Hollmes Senior’s friends and fellow Bostonian Ralph Waldo Emerson compared Holmes to a pear tree. Ithasn’t done anything for ten years, and at last begins to grow great.
1862 – Siege of Munfordville.
…Union Col. John Wilder and Cyrus Dunham V Conf. Maj. Simon Boliver Buckner and Brig. Gen. James Chalmers. The result: Confederate Victory. Three years prior, a railroad that was considered technically advanced for its time, was constructed to link the cities of Nashville and Louisville, about 1200 miles. It went over the Green River just south of Munfordville, KY, and It’s still used to this day.
This railroad was strategically important to Conf. Gen. Braxton Bragg’s 1862 Kentucky Campaign. Wilder commanded the Union garrison at Munfordville, and Chalmers underestimated Wilder’s forces due to bad intel he had received from his cavalry. Chalmers demanded Wilder to surrender, and when he refused, the fight was on. For the first couple days of the battle, the Yankees repulsed the Confederates, who lost nearly 300 men. Bragg in turn marched his men about 30 miles during Sep. 15-16 and arrived to reinforce the Rebels.
Not wanting to injure innocent civilians, the Confederates demanded another surrender from Wilder. This time, Wilder didn’t know what to do. He entered enemy lines, blindfolded under a flag of truce, and asked Buckner, as an honorable soldier, for his guidance. Yup, he asked the enemy for advice. So Buckner agreed, and showed Wilder what the Union was up against: 40 cannon and over 26,000 infantry.
When Wilder saw this, he surrendered. The next day on September 17, the official ceremony of surrender began. The rebels now had control of this railroad hub which badly damaged the Union’s ability for movement for the remainder of the campaign.
1963 – Bob Dylan waked out of rehearsals for the Ed Sullivan sshow after being told he couldn’t play his song Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues du to it mocking the US military and segregation. CBS officials asked Dylan to substitute it for another song, but the single reportedly said No, this is what I want to do. If I can’t play my song, I’d rather not appear on the show.
2002 – The Dr. Phil Show airs.
He’s became famous when Oprah simply willed him to be. Dr. Phil McGraw uses what he calls lift strategies while trying to help other folks. But actual psychotherapists and nonpsyhotherapists have criticized Dr. Phil’s advice, calling it simplistic, if not downright ineffective. He was once even called by the National Alliance Counsel on Mental Illness” unethical and incredibly irresponsible. Phil just explains that he never liked the traditional one-on-one counseling, and that he’s not the “Hush Puppy, pipe and let’s talk about your mother kind of psychologist.”
Nonetheless, most people love his simplicity and his southern accent. In fact Dr. Phil would receive the highest annual earnings TV personality for a male, hauling in more than $88M.