Category: Historical Tidbits

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The Truth about the Movie 1776

It’s a masterpiece I say! They will cheer every word, every letter!

from “The Egg”
Adams, Franklin, Jefferson waiting for the chirp, chirp, chirp of an eaglet being born. Photo from Columbia Pictures.

Yep, the movie is full of historical inaccuracies. But as the Columbia Companion to American Film says, “few are very troubling.” The musical 1776 was produced in 1969, during the Vietnam War and the Nixon administration, although it wasn’t especially anti-war or preachy. (Other than the song “Cool Considerate Men,” which was clearly aimed at Republicans, or at least Nixon thought so because he pressured the producer, his friend Jack Warner, to cut it from the cinema version. Warner tried to have the negative destroyed, but someone saved it, and you can see them minuet ever to the right in the restored version. And the anti-slavery part… Anyway…)

The movie was politely applauded at the time, and now it has a cult following. We watch it every year for the holiday. The original musical was more enthusiastically greeted, as it won the Tony for Best Musical, even though the idea of staging the story of Congressional debate over the wording of a political document seemed foolhardy. Where was the romance? Where was the action?

It comes from the moment John Adams bangs open the door to Independence Hall and yells at his colleagues: I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and that three or more become a Congress! To which they respond:

Sit down, John
Sit down, John
For God’s sake, John
Sit down!

Samuel Chase:
Someone ought to open up a window!

It’s dramatic, it’s bold, it’s operatic, with Congressmen singing back and forth at each other, immediately debating hotly whether or not to let in the flies. Is that historically accurate? Surely, it must be! That’s the beauty of the film. Even if there isn’t proof for every single thing that happens–from Hopkins bullying the aide McNair to bring him rum or the delegates rushing outside when a fire wagon goes by or the stiff argument over about “unalienable” vs. “inalienable” –surely, most of these things happened.

Continue reading “The Truth about the Movie 1776”
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Medal Counts & Manifest Destiny

The first U.S. Olympic team—a ragtag group of fourteen men, mostly Ivey Leaguers, with little support from the country—stood at the top of the podium for an amazing eleven events at the inaugural modern Games in 1896. Their unexpected triumphs caused a swell of national pride and paved the way for generations of U.S. Olympians.

Jacket copy from Igniting the Flame: America’s First Olymic Team

America has always positioned itself as the underdog, even at the Olympics, even when it earns medals by the fistful. Why is that? What is it about our national psyche that caused our athletic leaders to ask the International Olympic Committee in 1908 to establish a “point system,” so we can tell who wins?

Want to find out? Join me in a class this August...

The very first TEAM USA, 1896, Athens.

American Olympic athletes have dazzled the world, starting with the very first games in Athens, 1896. But their performances have always had a subtext. It might be validating capitalism, promoting democracy, or even confirming American exceptionalism. We will explore these subtexts, the history behind the history, starting with how an upstart nation sought a foothold with Europeans in the sporting world and to prove itself as a world power.

Medal Counts & Manifest Destiny:
Team USA at the Olympics

I’ll be teaching this end-of-summer class, Thursday afternoons in August, online through OLLI at Cal State East Bay.

OLLI (scholarolli.com) stands for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. That’s shorthand for no papers, no exams, no homework. All the interesting bits of your favorite history class, without the outside work that causes all the stress.

OLLI classes are discounted for seniors, but this program allows all ages to participate. And because it’s online, you don’t have to live in northern California.

If you’re interested, or if you know someone who might be interested, check out the link to sign up for the class here.

And here’s a PDF you can download that will tell you more:

USA Olympic Class (pdf)Download

Hope to see you there! But don’t delay–the class may only be available for sign-up for a few more weeks.

Zeus is waiting!

Statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the original ancient wonders.
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Happy Birthday Title IX! Keep on Fighting.

Donna deVarona, who had no college swim programs to attend after the Olympics.

They learned the hard way that even groundbreaking civil rights laws are not self-executing.

Kelly Belanger. Invisible Seasons

Considering that an earthquake of legislation was enacted on June 23, 1972, you wouldn’t know it by looking at the newspaper archives. Title IX isn’t mentioned in the NY Times story on June 24, which references Nixon signing the “School Aid Bill.” The president’s major gripe about the bill is the lack of restriction on school busing. A tiny note towards the bottom mentions that colleges would lose funding if they discriminated against women in admission policies.

Front page of the NYT when Title IX is signed; most of the discussion about the Higher Education bill is about busing.
Title IX, almost a footnote at the time. Photo from NYTimes.com.

On that day, Kissinger was in talks with “Peking.” The Hurricane Agnes flood was devastating Pennsylvania. The president held a press conference on Domestic Matters, whose first question was about what the administration knew about the break-in at the Democratic Headquarters the previous week. Nixon said, “I know nothing.”

Looking back now, you’d think there was a switch flipped somehow (by Nixon) and voila! Megan Rapinoe and the WNBA burst like fireworks on to the scene. But that’s misleading. Title IX was a slow burn. People at the time didn’t see the fire kindled and, when they did, tried various endeavors to stamp it out. Those pushing for it were political animals, jockeying for position. No one thought about women playing sports. Some of the best ideas come as unintended consequences.

Continue reading “Happy Birthday Title IX! Keep on Fighting.”