The March of the Bonus Army
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Thursday, March 27, 2014
The March of the 'Bonus Army'
The burning of
Organizers called it the “Bonus Expeditionary Force Marchers,” but the media called it the “Bonus Army.”
A decorated veteran from the war, who had saved Patton's life during the war, approached him the day after the Army’s action to sway him. Rather than listen to the man whom Patton had personally decorated for his bravery under fire, was coldly rejected, saying "I do not know this man.”
In May 1933, a second demonstration was organized. Roosevelt provided the marchers with a campsite in
In 1936, at the height of the
Depression, Congress overrode President Roosevelt's veto
and paid the veterans their bonus nine years ahead of time.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Hitler's Sudetenland Take-over: Putin's Playbook For The Crimea
Hitler's Sudetenland Takeover:
Putin’s playbook for The Crimea
By Tom Morrow
History can be strangely haunting the way it repeats. As I recently
pointed out concerning the current Crimean controversy, Russia ’s
Vladimir Putin probably studied Adolf Hitler’s 1938 takeover of Czechoslovakia ’s “Sudetenland ”
without firing a shot.
Hitler
made himself the advocate of some 800,000 ethnic Germans living in Czechoslovakia , triggering the "Sudeten Crisis.” On April
24, 1938, a group of Sudeten Germans demanded in an eight-point manifesto for the
equality between them and the Czech people. Two months later,
the Czech government accepted those claims.
But that didn’t satisfy Hitler. He used Sudeten-German demands
as an excuse for taking Czech territory. A Sudetenland area, with a portion known
as Bohemia , was predominately peopled with
residents of German heritage. As you’re aware of today’s news; that argument is
being used by Putin for claiming Ukraine ’s Crimea being mostly Russian heritage.
The 1938 controversy
turned into a crisis threatening war, so on Sept. 15, British Prime
Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler
at Berchtesgaden , his southern Germany mountain retreat. They agreed to the cession of
the Sudetenland ; three days later, French
Prime Minister Édouard Daladier also agreed. No Czechoslovak representative
was invited to those discussions.
The next
week, on Sept. 22, Chamberlain met Hitler in Godesberg, Germany to confirm the agreement. Hitler however, aiming to
use the crisis as a pretext for war, now demanded not only the annexation of
the Sudetenland but the immediate military occupation of the territories,
giving the Czechoslovak army no time to adapt their defense measures to the new
borders.
To achieve a
solution, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini suggested a conference of the major European powers in Munich . On Sept. 29, Hitler, Daladier and Chamberlain met
and agreed to Mussolini's proposal. The infamous agreement actually was prepared
by German Reichmarshal Hermann Goering. It has gone down in history as the “Munich Agreement.” By accepting the pact, Hitler
gained immediate occupation of the Sudetenland .
On Sept. 30, the Czechoslovak government, though not party to the talks, promised
to abide by the decision they had no say in.
The Sudetenland was
relegated to Germany between Oct. 1 and Oct.
10, 1938. The next year on March 1939, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia
was invaded by
Germany, with a portion
being annexed and the remainder turned into the Protectorate
of Bohemia and Moravia. The
Slovak part declared its independence from Czechoslovakia ,
becoming the Slovak Republic, a satellite state and ally of Nazi Germany.
Down through the years, we have all heard the phrase, “It’s
another ‘Munich .’” It refers to that shameful
pact signed in Munich resulting in Britain and France ’s
appeasement to Hitler, which allowed him take over a large portion of Czech
territory. Six months later World War II began.
Upon his return to London ,
British Prime Minister Chamberlain proclaimed the agreement meant “Peace in our
time.” Far from it. The agreement showed the timidity of the Allies, making it
a prelude to World War II. The appeasement made Hitler all the more aggressive
for still more European territory. It was Hitler’s way of testing the resolve
of the Allies war. Their weak stance emboldened the dictator.
Shortly after the Sudetenland annexation, the Jews living in the region
were widely persecuted. As elsewhere in Germany ,
many synagogues were set on fire and numerous leading Jewish citizens were sent to concentration camps. In later years, the Nazis transported up
to 300,000 Czech and Slovak Jews.
Check out my novels at:
Check out my novels at:
Sudetenland -- Putin's Playbook for The Crimea
Sudetenland:
Putin’s playbook for Crimea
By Tom Morrow
History can be strangely haunting the way it repeats. As I recently
pointed out concerning the current Crimean controversy, Russia ’s Vladimir Putin probably studied Adolf
Hitler’s 1938 takeover of Czechoslovakia ’s
“Sudetenland ” without firing a shot.
Hitler
made himself the advocate of some 800,000 ethnic Germans living in Czechoslovakia ,
triggering the "Sudeten Crisis.” On April 24, 1938, a group of Sudeten
Germans demanded in an eight-point manifesto for the equality between them and
the Czech people.
Two months later, the Czech government accepted those claims.
But that didn’t satisfy Hitler. He used Sudeten-German demands
as an excuse for taking Czech territory. A Sudetenland area, with a portion
known as Bohemia ,
was predominately peopled with residents of German heritage. As you’re aware of
today’s news; that argument is being used by Putin for claiming Ukraine ’s Crimea
being mostly Russian heritage.
The 1938 controversy
turned into a crisis threatening war, so on Sept. 15, British Prime
Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler
at Berchtesgaden , his southern Germany mountain retreat. They agreed
to the cession of the Sudetenland ;
three days later, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier also agreed. No Czechoslovak representative
was invited to those discussions.
The next
week, on Sept. 22, Chamberlain met Hitler in Godesberg, Germany to confirm the agreement. Hitler however, aiming to
use the crisis as a pretext for war, now demanded not only the annexation of
the Sudetenland but the immediate military occupation of the territories,
giving the Czechoslovak army no time to adapt their defense measures to the new
borders.
To achieve a
solution, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini suggested a conference of the major European powers in Munich . On Sept. 29,
Hitler, Daladier and Chamberlain met and agreed to Mussolini's proposal. The
infamous agreement actually was prepared by Reichmarshal Hermann Goering. It has infamously gone down in history as the “Munich Agreement.” By accepting the pact, Hitler
gained immediate occupation of the Sudetenland .
On Sept. 30, the Czechoslovak government, though not party to the talks, promised
to abide by the decision they had no say.
The Sudetenland was relegated
to Germany
between Oct. 1 and Oct. 10, 1938. The next year on March 1939, the Czech part
of Czechoslovakia was invaded by Germany, with a portion
being annexed and the remainder turned into the Protectorate of
Bohemia and Moravia. The
Slovak part declared its independence from Czechoslovakia ,
becoming the Slovak Republic, a satellite state and ally of Nazi Germany.
Down through the years, we’ve all heard the phrase, “It’s
another ‘Munich .’”
It refers to that shameful pact signed in Munich
resulting in Britain and France ’s
appeasement to Hitler, which allowed him take over a large portion of Czech
territory. Six months later World War II began.
Upon his return to London ,
British Prime Minister Chamberlain proclaimed the agreement meant “Peace in our
time.” Far from it. The agreement showed the timidity of the Allies, making it
a prelude to World War II. The appeasement made Hitler all the more aggressive
for still more European territory. It was Hitler’s way of testing the resolve
of the Allies war. Their weak stance emboldened the dictator.
Shortly after the Sudetenland
annexation, the Jews living in the region were widely persecuted. As elsewhere
in Germany ,
many synagogues were set on fire and numerous leading Jewish citizens were sent to concentration camps. In later years, the Nazis transported up
to 300,000 Czech and Slovak Jews.
Check out my novels at:
Sunday, March 16, 2014
The Teapot Dome
Scandal
Most of us have heard
of the “Teapot Dome” scandal, but what was it, where was it, and what did it
involve?
Teapot Dome was a
scandal over oil leases that occurred in President Warren G. Harding’s administration
during the early 1920s. It was a decade-long scandal that made countless national
headlines.
Teapot Dome is an oil
field in Natrona County, Wyoming. The scandal also involved the Elk Hills oil
field in Kern County, California.
In the early 20th
century, the U.S. Navy began converting warships from coal to oil fuel. To
ensure the Navy would always have enough fuel available in case of war, in
1912, President Howard Taft designated Teapot Dome and Elk Hills as Naval oil
reserve fields.
In 1921, at the
urging of Interior Secretary Albert Fall, President Harding issued an executive
order transferring the two oil fields from the Navy Department to the Interior
Department.
Then in 1922, Fall
issued a lease on the Teapot Dome oil field to Harry F. Sinclair, founder of
Sinclair Oil. Fall also issued a lease on the Elk Hills reserve to legendary
California oil man Edward L. Doheny. Both leases were issued without
competitive bidding, but they were deemed legal under the Mineral Leasing Act
of 1920.
The lease terms were
very favorable to the oil companies. Fall secretly received a $100,000
interest-free loan from Doheny (about $1.5 million in today’s money). He also
received gifts from both Doheny and Sinclair totaling more than $400,000 ($5.5
million in today’s money).
Obviously, it was the
loan and gifts that were illegal. Fall attempted to keep his private dealings
with Doheny and Sinclair a secret, but the sudden improvement in his standard
of living caused concern.
A complaint about the
Teapot Dome lease by a small Wyoming oil producer triggered an investigation. By
1924, no evidence of wrongdoing had been uncovered, but the last-minute
discovery of Fall’s acceptance of money was his undoing. Probers uncovered critical
evidence that Fall had forgotten to cover up: Doheny's $100,000 loan.
The scandal broke wide open,
triggering a number of civil and criminal suites. In 1927 the Supreme Court ruled the oil
leases had been fraudulently obtained. The Court invalidated both the Elk Hills
and Teapot Dome leases. The reserves were returned to the Navy Department.
In 1929, Secretary Fall
was found guilty of bribery, fined $100,000 and sentenced to one year in
prison, making him the first Presidential cabinet member to go to
prison for his actions in office.
Sinclair, who refused to
cooperate with investigators, was charged with contempt, fined $100,000, and
received a short sentence of six months for jury tampering Doheny was acquitted of bribery in 1930.
One of the most significant
outcomes of the scandal was a Supreme Court ruling explicitly giving Congress the power to compel
testimony. For those of us today who wonder just how much power the Congress
has when calling people to testify, that high-court ruling speaks volumes.
Teapot Dome was one of
the primary scandals that, historically, has saddled President Harding’s legacy
as having a corrupt administration.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Ukraine: Once Again History Repeating Itself
Ukraine: doormat of Eastern
Europe
By Tom Morrow
Once again history is repeating
itself. The world’s eyes are upon eastern Europe’s Ukraine, one of the most
coveted piece of real estate in the world.
Next to Poland, Ukraine arguably
is the doormat of warring nations because of its strategic location separating
Russia from Western Europe as well as being rich in natural resources and being
one of the world’s great producer of grain. For these reasons, Ukraine is
important – particularly to Russia.
Ukraine is most often associated
as being linked to Russia. During most of the 20th century, Ukraine
was one of the Soviet Republics – one of the more valuable states because of
the oil, natural gas, and food produced there. While a good percentage of that
country’s population is ethnic Russian, that doesn’t mean there is or has been
a lot of love for their giant neighbor to the east.
One of the best examples of
distain Ukrainians have for Russia took place back in 1941, when Germany
invaded the Soviet Union. During the early days of the invasion, German troops
were welcomed and cheered by many Ukrainians. Although the majority of
Ukrainians fought against the Nazis alongside the Red Army and Soviet resistance, in
1942, some elements of the Ukrainian underground created an anti-Soviet nationalist
resistance known as the “Ukrainian Insurgent Army.”
At times the insurgent army
allied itself with the Nazi forces. But there was a very dark side of that movement. It
also carried out the massacres of ethnic
Poles, and, after the war, continued to fight the
USSR. Using guerrilla tactics, the insurgents targeted for assassination
and terror those who they perceived as representing, or cooperating at any
level with the Soviet Ukrainian government.
If you don’t believe history
repeats itself, go back and read about the Crimean War, which took place in 1853
to 1856. The war pitted Russia against an alliance of France, Britain, the
Ottoman Empire (Turkey), Austria, and Sardinia.
First, Russia and the Ottoman Empire
went to war over Russia's rights to protect Orthodox Christians in what today
is the Ukraine. Russia gained the upper hand after destroying the
Ottoman fleet at the Black Sea port
of Sinope. To stop Russia, France and Britain entered the
war in 1854.
Most of the fighting was for
control of the Black Sea, with land battles on the Crimean peninsula in
what was then southern Russia. The Russians held their great fortress at Sevastopol
on what today is the Crimean peninsula for more than a year. The results
when the war ended were that the Black Sea was neutralized and Russia would not
have any warships there.
Today, the port of Sevastopol,
with its key access to the Black Sea, is at the very top of the list of Russia’s
demands. It is vital that Russia has that warm-water port, which gives its navy access to the Mediterranean and the rest of the world's oceans.
The Russians say they’re protecting ethnic brothers living in Ukraine’s
Crimean peninsula and much of eastern Ukraine, but, in reality it is more about
regaining this former Soviet territory, which is rich in food production.
For the average American, the only mention of
that 19th century Crimean War that might strike a chord of memory
would be Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem, “Charge of the Light Brigade.”
Some of us learned those fateful words of
Tennyson’s in English literature:
“Half a league, half a league, half a
league onward,
All in the Valley of Death rode the six hundred.
‘Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!’ he said: Into the Valley of Death rode the six hundred.”
All in the Valley of Death rode the six hundred.
‘Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!’ he said: Into the Valley of Death rode the six hundred.”
Let us hope that part of
history isn’t repeated.
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Friday, February 28, 2014
The Legend of Jean Lafitte
scoundrel -- or both?
By Tom Morrow
One of the more interesting biographical profiles in American history has to be that of Jean Lafitte, (pronounced "La-Feet,").
Who was he? The first moniker that comes to mind for those who have studied his life is "pirate." That's the primary label given to him. He preferred to consider himself a "privateer," Privateers were sea captains given license by the various nation to capture enemy merchant ships. The U.S. government issued "Letters of Marque" to private armed vessels to help the small U.S. Navy against the powerful British navy, the largest in the world. Lafitte maintained he had one of these U.S. letters, which gave him license to attack British merchant vessels and sell the captured goods. He expanded his prey to Spanish vessels, but, reportedly, never attacked a U.S. vessel. That, of course, is disputed by historians.
Lafitte is believed to have been born around 1776, in France or in the French colony of Saint-Dominque. He died around 1823, trying to capture a Spanish vessel. That location also is very debatable -- take your pick: Yucatan, the Gulf of Mexico, Illinois, South Carolina, Leon, Nicaragua, or Sao Miguel Island in the Azores. If you're a resident of Louisiana or a student of Gulf and bayou history, stories are legion of Lafitte's escapades. If you're a fan of U.S. history, Lafitte was the hero alongside Gen. Andrew Jackson during the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. They led U.S. troops, civilians, and pirates in defeating the British to keep New Orleans free. It was the last battle in the War of 1812. Lafitte's service was mercenary. He was promised a pardon for him and his men if they fought alongside the Americans against the British.
A side note to the Battle of New Orleans:
Because communications took weeks to send a message by ship from Europe to America, the War of 1812 had ended three months prior to the famed battle. The Treaty of Ghent (Belgium) ended the war between the United States and Great Britain.
Jean Lafitte worked with his brother, Pierre, in dispersing goods they obtained from piracy, primarily in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. When the U.S. passed the Embargo Act of 1807, the Lafitte brothers moved their operations from New Orleans to Barataria Bay, near the city, but hidden and protected by the bayous of the Mississippi River delta. After the war, the Lafittes moved to Galveston Island, Texas, and became spies for the Spanish during the Mexican war for independence (1821). While at Galveston Island, Lafitte developed a pirate colony called "Campeche." The two brothers continued attacking merchant ships along the gulf coast and throughout the Caribbean.
Historians have argued about various details of Jean Lafitte's life. A controversial character, he was a scoundrel to many, a hero to others.
If you'd like to learn more about Jean Lafitte, try to find a copy of "Lafitte the Pirate" by Lyle Saxon. Three Hollywood movies have been filmed, loosely based on the pirates role in the Battle of New Orleans: "The Bucaneer," (1938), starring Fredric March; "The Last of the Buccaneers," (1950, starring Paul Henreid. "The Bucaneer," (1958), a remake of the 1938 version), starring Yul Brynner as Lafitte, and Charlton Heston as Gen. Andrew Jackson.
If you enjoy these nuggets of history I periodically send out, share them with a young person. My goal is to encourage history and geography education, two important subjects which are being given less emphasis in elementary and high school education.
For my historical novel, "Nebraska Doppelganger," go to the below link for free shipping:
www.tomorrowsnovels.com
Saturday, February 15, 2014
The Real Monument Men of World War II
The Real Monument Men & Women Saved
The Art & Archives of Western Civilization
By Tom Morrow
Some 350 military and civilians worked
feverishly during the closing days of World War II to save the irreplaceable
art treasures that the Nazis had plundered from museums, galleries, and private
citizens across Western Europe.
The recovery program was a joint Allied
effort, primarily made up of American, French, British, and Dutch, Belgium art,
archive, and architectural experts. Many of those men and women were middle-aged and older — years
beyond serving in the military, yet they eagerly put on a uniform, even took a
few weeks of basic training before embarking on their quest. They followed the
Allied forces, locating art treasures before the Germans had a chance to
destroy them.
From the U.S., experts and curators of
the National Gallery, the Metropolitan Art Gallery, and the New York City
Ballet, plus British and French historians and museum curators, all joined in
the quest for the Nazi plunder. Some 1,000 or more troves and hideaways of art
and sculpture was recovered in many high-ranking German officer’ and officials’
residences. Reichmarshall Herman Goering’s home had one of the largest
collections of paintings. A total of more than 5 million pieces of priceless
archives, art, books, sculptures, and other fine-art pieces were recovered.
While the Museum, Fine Arts and Archives
Unit was disbanded in 1946, treasures continue to be recovered to this day.
One of the great mysteries of World War
II is: what happened to the Amber Room? I’ll have more on this priceless art
piece, which the Germans looted from Peter the Great’s palace in St.
Petersburg, taking it back to Germany.
Be sure and see the current George
Clooney film, “Monument Men,” now playing in theatres. It’ll give
you a microscopic look at what this effort was all about.
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Quote of
the Day:
“Nowadays, the illiterates can read and write!” — Alberto Moravia
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