by Michael Hart
Wallace and “The Duke”
In September 1968 while Alabama Governor George Wallace was running for President as a third party candidate on the Segregationist American Party, he began scrambling to find a running mate. His first choice was FBI Director
J Edgar Hoover who declined. His next choice was John Wayne. Yep none other than the “Duke” himself. Wayne also declined, telling Wallace he “was a Nixon man.” However Wayne did like Wallace's positions presumably telling Wallace during a phone conversation, “You and I think the same way about what's happening to this country.” The Duke would go on to send Wallace campaign contributions where on one of the checks memo lines he inscribed, “Sock it to 'em George.”
Did you know...
The leader of the US House of Representatives, known as the “Speaker of the House” does not have to be an elected member of the body. Representatives are free to choose whomever they wish to lead the lower house. Although this has never occurred in US history it is in fact legal.
A bit of assassination irony
On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln signed legislation creating the US Secret Service. In perhaps an odd twist of irony, Lincoln would be assassinated later that same evening at Ford’s Theater.
However even if the Secret Service had been established earlier, it wouldn’t have prevented Lincoln's death. The original mission of the agency was to combat widespread currency counterfeiting. It was not until 1901, after the killing of two other Presidents, Garfield and McKinley, that the Secret Service established a security detachment assigned to protect the commander-in-chief as well as other dignitaries.
The first female “President”
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson was the second wife of the 28th President, Woodrow Wilson. She served as First Lady from 1915 to 1921. After the President suffered a severe stroke, the First Lady took the Presidential reigns.
At end of World War 1, President Wilson traveled to Europe to participate in the negotiations and signing of the Versailles Treaty and present his vision of a League of Nations, predecessor to the United Nations. Shortly after returning to the US he suffered the massive stroke and it was apparent to Mrs. Wilson that he would not be able to fully function as the nations leader.
Her first move in establishing what she called her “stewardship,” was to mislead the entire nation. Personally vetting the carefully crafted medical bulletins that were released to the public, the First Lady hid the truth of her husbands condition. When Cabinet members came to confer with the President, they got no further than the First Lady. If they had policy papers or pending decisions for him to review, edit or approve, she would first look over the material herself.
If she deemed the matter pressing enough, she took the paperwork into her husband’s room where she would read all the necessary documents to him.
Mrs. Wilson “served” as the de facto President from October of 1919 until March of 1921. Until her death in 1961, the former First Lady insisted that she never assumed the full power of the Presidency. Claiming that at best she used some of its prerogatives on behalf of her husband. But some historians dispute this claim, insisting Woodrow was is such bad condition that Edith was in fact running the show or in this case, the country.
The first female Senator
Rebecca Felton was the United States first female Senator. Born in Decatur Georgia, Rebecca was an invaluable asset to her husband’s political career in the House of Representatives. A sharp and efficient woman, she deftly ran his campaigns and helped him write speeches and draft legislation. She was a passionate advocate for women’s suffrage, equal pay, prison reform, and educational opportunities for the poor.
In 1922, when Senator Thomas Watson died suddenly, Georgia Governor Thomas Hardwick appointed 87-year-old Felton as a stand-in pending a special election. Thought to be a non threat to the Governor who was seeking the office himself, she was appointed with no intention of being sworn in when the Senate reconvened. However the Governor lost to a man named Walter George.
As a slap in the face to the vanquished Governor, Felton was allowed to be sworn in by the incoming Senator George with the understanding she would step down immediately. On November 21st Rebecca Felton was sworn in as the first female United States Senator, her “career” lasting only 24 hours. She stepped down the following day when George was officially sworn in. But the end result of these political shenanigans is Rebecca Felton is officially the first woman senator in the US and is still the only woman to have ever served as a senator from Georgia. (As of publication date)
Felton also holds the distinction of having the shortest political career at the Federal level in US history.
Edward M. House - The King Maker
House is a very curious figure in US Political History. He was known as “Colonel” House – which was merely a courtesy title since House had no military experience. But he had political experience in spades. During the early 20th century House played an important role as a campaign strategist and intra-party peacemaker and deserves part of the credit for getting Woodrow Wilson the Presidential nomination and then the Presidency. Although the principal person responsible for Wilson’s election was Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt's insatiable appetite for power led him to bolt the Republican Party and run as a Progressive Party (Bull Moose) candidate, thereby splitting the opposition vote with the popular sitting President Howard Taft all but ensuring a Democratic victory.
It is thought by many historians that Colonel House's primary role pre-election was to help get Wilson elected since he would be more receptive than Howard Taft to the idea of a Centralized Bank, which Taft opposed. Wilson's victory did in fact pave the way for the creation of the Federal Reserve Act, allowing for the creation of the Federal Reserve Bank. The “Fed” is mostly privately owned and controlled, some claim by then associates of House and foreign interests favorable to House's “friends.”
Many historians believe this was actually the chief reason behind the desire to get Wilson elected. After Wilson's victory House played a more important role. Some believed House so powerful that he hand selected the majority of Wilson's cabinet members. Several Wilson hadn't even met prior to their appointment because the president-elect had little interest in the nuts and bolts of politics.
Prior to Wilson's election, House penned a book called Philip Dru, Administrator which pretty much detailed the forthcoming plan to “seize” the office and govern vicariously through Wilson. Although House telegraphed his strategy in the pages of “Dru,” apparently no one picked up on the published plan. His agenda hiding in plain site.
The Pioneers of Woman's Suffrage
The framers of the US Constitution left it up to the individual states to determine their own voter qualifications. Some states imposed religious requirements on their citizens (although this pretty much ended by 1790). Others decided who had the right to vote based on property ownership. And then there was New Jersey.
The men who drew up the state of New Jersey’s Constitution didn’t have a problem with women voters provided they met the rather low property ownership requirement. When every other new state deliberately kept women from voting, New Jersey legislators embraced the radical idea that not only should ladies be members of the political community, but free blacks and aliens (non citizens) as well.
This led to an unusual circumstance. According to the laws of the time, when a woman married, all her property became her husband’s. Since a married woman owned nothing of her own in a legal sense, wives couldn’t vote as they no longer met the property ownership requirement. However, no such bar existed for single women and widows.
Although women did not vote in great numbers, its seems the Garden State did in fact embrace woman's suffrage much earlier than the remaining states that were compelled by the 19th Amendment.
Tag! You're the POTUS
Known as the Designated Survivor - one person in the Presidential line of succession, is always kept at a secure, and undisclosed location w
hen the President and the country's other top leaders are gathered at a single location. Such as during the State of the Union Address and Presidential Inaugurations. This is intended to guarantee continuation of government in the event of a catastrophic occurrence that kills the President and others in the presidential line of succession. If such an event occurred, the surviving official would become the acting President of the US under the Presidential Succession Act.
What's in a Codename?
For many years the US Secret Service has issued code names to high ranking elected officials, their family members, Presidential candidates and their running mates and even some politically significant celebrities. In some cases these code names were suggested by the recipient themselves. The following list is just a few of the more interesting and odd. Some make perfect sense while others seem entirely random.
In no particular order or significance:
* Eleanor Roosevelt – Rover
This may have been due to her fondness for dogs.
* Richard Nixon – Searchlight
Kind of ironic when you consider Watergate.
* Lyndon B. Johnson – Volunteer
* Al Gore – Sawhorse.
Gore used the codename Sawhorse throughout his vice presidency and allegedly also went by the name Sundance.
* Happy Rockefeller (Wife of Nelson Rockefeller) – Star Dust
* Nelson Rockefeller – Sandstorm
* Henry Kissinger – Woodcutter
Apparently he had a love of carpentry.
* Sarah Palin – Denali
A reference to Denali National Park in Alaska.
* John F. Kennedy – Lancer
* Jackie Kennedy – Lace
Jackie was known for her elegance, grace and appreciation of fashion. The former first lady wore a white lace gown to her husband's inauguration so this could have been the inspiration for this one.
* Frank Sinatra – Napoleon
Old Blue Eyes certainly had friends in high places, ranging from presidents to mobsters. He was given the secret service codename Napoleon per Richard Nixon’s request. Nixon’s purpose for establishing a relationship with Sinatra was to get information on organized crime leaders since Sinatra had links to mobster Lucky Luciano and others.
* Barack Obama – Renegade
Obama allegedly chose this name himself and used this codename during his entire campaign as well as while in office.
* Michelle Obama – Renaissance
Presumably for many of the same reasons Jackie O was given Lace.
* Betty Ford – Pinafore
The name refers to a specific style of woman's dress which was appropriate for the former actress and writer.
* Gerald Ford – Pass Key
Ford was so protected that the secret codename he used throughout his presidency was Pass Key.
* Ronald Reagan – Rawhide
Seems appropriate considering Reagan's penchant for the cowboy way.
* Nancy Reagan – Rainbow
Nancy used the secret service codename rainbow throughout her husband’s presidency. It was thought the name was chosen because of her bright personality and charm. Of course rainbows follow storms and Nancy could certainly be “stormy” at times. Especially when it came to protecting Ronnie.
* Dick Cheney - Angler
Cheney was an outdoorsman, which is why he was given the secret service codename Angler. He was also known as Back Seat.
* Barbara Bush – Snowbank
Maybe because of the hair? Who knows, but it seems to fit.
* George Herbert Walker Bush – Timberwolf
* Dwight Eisenhower – Scorecard
* Ted Kennedy – Sunburn
During his Presidential campaign in 1980, he used this rather odd codename.
* Edith Wilson – Grandma
Not very flattering but even in her younger years Edith was grandmotherly in appearance.
* Meghan McCain – Peter Sellers
Senator John McCain’s daughter Meghan McCain is a columnist, blogger and author. She used the secret service codename Peter Sellers during her father’s 2008 campaign.
* Walter Mondale – Dragon
Former Vice President Walter Mondale was given the secret service codename Dragon during his time in office.
* Ben Carson – Eli
During his 2016 presidential campaign, Carson went by the codename Eli. Whether or not this is a biblical reference is unknown, but some believe it has something to do with his love of NFL quarterback Eli Manning.
* Jesse Jackson – Thunder
This was Jackson's codename when was running for president in 1984.
* Alexander Haig – Clawhammer
Haig served as Richard Nixon’s Chief of Staff, and was given the codename Clawhammer.
* Bill Clinton – Eagle
Clinton used the codename Eagle throughout his presidency from 1993 to 2001.
* Hillary Clinton – Evergreen
The Clinton’s had the letter “E” assigned to their family name.
* George W. Bush – Trailblazer
Throughout his 2000 campaign and presidency, Bush was known as Trailblazer.
* Bernie Sanders - Intrepid
Sanders chose the name himself.
* Jimmy Carter – Deacon
This one seems to make perfect sense.
* Rosalynn Carter – Dancer
* Mike Pence – Hoosier
An obvious reference to his home state of Indiana.
* Karen Pence – Hummingbird
* Donald Trump – Mogul
Another one that seems to make perfect sense.
* Ivanka Trump – Marvel
Ivanka is, as of this writing, the only one of Trump’s children to have received a full-time security detail — however, all five of the Trump children receive protection when traveling with their father.
* Melania Trump – Muse
Following the “M” family secret service letter, The Donald suggested that Melania should be called “Model,” because “she was a very, very successful model.”
MYTH BUSTER ALERT!
The myth of the Bixby Boys
Towards the opening of the movie, Saving Private Ryan, starring Matt Damon, General George Marshall played by Harve Presnell, is seen reading aloud to his staff, a letter written by Abraham Lincoln in November 1864 to Lydia Parker Bixby. Bixby was a widow living in Boston Massachusetts, who was thought to have lost five sons that we're serving in the Union Army during the Civil War.
The General uses Lincoln's letter to Bixby as justification to send a special detail to find and return James Ryan to his home during World War II after the General learns that Ryan's three brothers had died in battle. And so hoping to save Momma Ryan from the same despair Mrs. Bixby presumably endured, the dangerous task of locating and returning the youngest Ryan son begins. While certainly a moving and appropriate gesture on the part of the General, the circumstances surrounding Lydia Bixby are not quite as patriotic as the movie and history would have us believe.
The letter of condolence was delivered to Lydia Bixby on November 25, 1864 and was printed in the Boston Evening Transcript and Boston Evening Traveller that afternoon. The following is the text of the letter as first published:
Executive Mansion,
Washington, 21st November, 1864.
Dear Madam,
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so co
stly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.
Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln.
While Bixby did indeed have five sons, two, Arthur and Henry, and possibly a third, George, are known to have survived the war.
While both Charles and Oliver Bixby did die in battle, Arthur deserted from Fort Richardson in Virginia in 1862. Trying to secure a discharge for her son, Mrs. Bixby claimed he enlisted under age. Henry died in Massachusetts in 1871. As for George, some military records indicate he may have deserted to join the Confederate Army. It has also been widely speculated, and with good cause, that Lydia Bixby had Confederate sympathies and so despised Lincoln that after receiving the letter she ripped it to shreds. Although a touching story indeed and one worthy of patriotic lore, it seems the Bixby story is just that, a story.
Our Muslim Ally – Setting the record straight
For several years the debate over whether or not westernized Judeo/Christian culture can coexist with Middle Eastern Islamic culture has been hotly debated. As predictable as discovering sand on a beach, whenever this subject comes up, discussion of the Barbary Wars are sure to follow. While true the young America did have problems with Muslim Barbary Pirates and we did engage in battles with them, early American leaders did not consider all Muslim sects and/or countries a threat to Western civilization. And in fact the disputes were not so much along ideological or theological lines and much as economic (They we're Pirates).
The practice of state-supported piracy and ransoming of captives was not unusual in this time. Many European states commissioned privateers to attack each others’ ships and also participated in the transatlantic slave trade. The two major European powers, Great Britain and France, found it expedient to encourage the Barbary States’ policy and pay tribute to them. In other words they used these pirates as economic mercenaries.