JFK MEETS WITH NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

August 31, 1961


JFK MEETS WITH NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy met with the National Security Council this morning at the White House.


The topic of the meeting was the recent decision by the Soviet Union to resume nuclear testing.


Government officials expressed the view that the action by the USSR represents "atomic blackmail" with the intention of "substituting terrorism for reason."*


*JFK activated 75,000 NATO reserves with ships & aircraft to safeguard nuclear weapons in NATO member nations.

      JFK & National Security Council


August 31, 1961


JFK ATTENDS CEREMONY HONORING 1ST WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION LAW


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President Kennedy attended a ceremony today to introduce a new United States Post Office Commemorative stamp on the 50th anniversary (tomorrow) of the 1st Workmen's Compensation Law.

         JFK & Senator Alexander Wiley 
               Photo by Robert Knudsen
                     JFK Library Photo




JFK also took the opportunity to talk about the need for the US government to address the problem of medical care for the elderly.

August 31, 1962


JFK SIGNS COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE ACT


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President Kennedy signed today the Communications Satellite Act which calls for cooperation between government & industry to create a satellite system to transmit television signals around the globe.


JFK said:


"The result will be to encourage world trade, education, entertainment & many kinds of professional, political & personal discourse."

           
                       Satellite in Orbit
          Animation by Brandir (2006)


Later, the President traveled to Newport, Rhode Island to welcome Mrs. Kennedy & Caroline back from their 3 week vacation in Italy.  The First Family will spend the Labor Day weekend at the Hammersmith Farm.


August 31, 1951


JUSTICE DOUGLAS CALLS FOR RECOGNITION OF COMMUNIST CHINA


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas issued a statement today calling for the United States government to officially recognize the People's Republic of China.


Justice Douglas, who has spent most of the summer hiking & mountain climbing in the Soviet Union & China, expressed the belief that such recognition would benefit the United States.*


*The US had not recognized the communist government of mainland China under Mao Zedong & Republicans in Congress were still blaming President Truman for having "lost" China to the communists in 1949.

            Justice William O. Douglas


August 31, 1935


FDR SIGNS NEUTRALITY ACT OF 1935


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Act of 1935 today at the White House.


The act calls for an "expression of the desire to avoid any action which might involve the United States in war."


The Neutrality Act will require American ships to be licensed to carry arms, restrict American citizens from sailing on ships of nations at war & impose an embargo on the sale of arms to such nations.

         President Franklin D. Roosevelt

HOT LINE IS "HOT"

August 30, 1963


HOT LINE IS "HOT"


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The telephone "hot line" between the Pentagon & the Kremlin was activated for the 1st time today.


Earlier in June, the hot line agreement was signed by representatives of the United States & USSR.


The agreement came in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 when the world came close to nuclear war.


The White House issued a statement today saying the hotline will "help reduce the risk of war occurring by accident or miscalculation."


The 1st test message sent over the wires today from Washington was: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog's back 1234567890."

                       Kennedy Hotline


August 30, 1965


METS MANAGER CASEY STENGEL RETIRES


New York City (JFK+50) Long-time major league baseball player & manager Casey Stengel announced his retirement today ending a 56 year career.


Stengel, 75 years old, replaced Joe McCarthy as manager of the New York Yankees in 1949.  He went on to post a record of 1149 wins & 696 losses over 12 seasons while winning 10 American League pennants & 7 World Series.


Stengel was fired as manager of the Yankees at the age of 70 because they thought he was "too old" to manage. 


Stengel, in his classic style, said: "I'll never make the mistake of being 70 again."*


*In 1960 at the Al Smith Dinner in New York, JFK said "The worst news for the Republicans this week was that Casey Stengel had been fired.  It just shows past experience doesn't count." (Nixon was saying in the campaign that JFK lacked the experience to be President).

                   Casey Stengel
New York Yankees Manager (1953)


August 30, 1969


HO CHI MINH RESPONDS TO NIXON'S LETTER


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Ho Chi Minh responded to President Richard M. Nixon's letter of July 15 today.


In the reply, the leader of North Vietnam accuses the United States of fighting "a war of aggression" & is "violating our fundamental national rights."


Ho demands in the letter that the US withdraw its forces from Vietnam & allow his people "self-determination".*


*Nixon does not reveal the contents of the letter until November 3.

                 Ho Chi Minh (1946)


August 30, 1983


BLUFORD BECOMES FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN  IN SPACE


Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) Lt. Col. Guion S. Bluford of the United States Air Force became the 1st African-American to be launched into outer space today.


Lt. Col Bluford, a mission specialist, was launched with his fellow astronauts aboard the space shuttle Challenger from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 2:32 a.m.


Bluford holds a PhD in the philosophy of Aeronautical Engineering from the US Air Force Institute of Technology.*

              Lt. Col. Guion S. Bluford
                          NASA Photo


August 30, 1918


LENIN SHOT BY SOCIAL REVOLUTIONARY


Moscow, USSR (JFK+50) Leader of the Communist revolution in Russia, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, was shot here in Moscow today after giving a speech at a factory.


The shooter has been identified as Fanya Kaplan, a member of the Social Revolutionary Party.


Lenin is reported to be seriously wounded but is expected to survive.*


*The retaliations for the attack on Lenin will be called "the Red Terror".

                    Vladimir Llyich Lenin


August 30, 30 B.C.


CLEOPATRA, QUEEN OF EGYPT, DEAD BY SUICIDE


Alexandria, Egypt (JFK+50) Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, committed suicide today following the defeat of her forces against Octavian.*


*It is believed Cleopatra died by the bite of an asp (Egyptian Cobra) & symbol of divine royalty.  In 27 BC, Octavian became Augustus, ruling Egypt until his death in 14 A.D.

                 "Death of Cleopatra"
                   by Reginald Arthur

JFK GIVES VIEW OF THE MONROE DOCTRINE

August 29, 1962


JFK GIVES VIEW OF THE MONROE DOCTRINE

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy was asked the following question at his news conference at the State Department today:

"Mr. President:  Sir, would you tell us what the Monroe Doctrine means to you today in light of conditions...in Cuba?"

The President, who has received daily briefings for several weeks about an increasing Soviet presence in Cuba, responded:

"The Monroe Doctrine means....that we would oppose a foreign power extending its power to the Western Hemisphere & that is why we oppose what is happening in Cuba today.  That is why we have cut off our trade.  That is why we will continue to give a good deal of our effort & attention to it."*

*The Monroe Doctrine (1823) stated that efforts by European nations to colonize or interfere in the Western Hemisphere would be viewed by the United States as acts of aggression.

JFK would be shown U2 photographs in October 1962 that proved the Soviets were in the process of placing nuclear missiles in Cuba which was the beginning of the "Missile Crisis".

                   The Monroe Doctrine
                                   Page 1
          National Archives Document
                   Online Public Access

August 29, 1962

ROBERT FROST OFF ON GOODWILL TOUR OF SOVIET UNION

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) New England poet Robert Frost left the United States today for a goodwill tour of the Soviet Union sponsored by the State Department.

Mr. Frost, who recited a poem at JFK's Inauguration, will give poetry readings, interviews & lectures while touring the USSR.*

*During the tour, Frost came down with "nervous indigestion" but was still able to meet with Premier Nikita Khrushchev for 90 minutes.  Mr. Frost told Khrushchev: "A great nation makes great poetry & great poetry makes a nation."

  Robert Frost (left) on USSR Tour

August 29, 1968

HUMPHREY WINS DEMO NOMINATION

Chicago, Illinois (JFK+50) Vice President Hubert Horatio Humphrey was nominated by the delegates of the 1968 Democratic National Convention today here in Chicago.

The convention has been one of the most divisive & violent in history over the war in Vietnam.

Vice-President Humphrey supports President Lyndon B. Johnson's policy in Vietnam while others in the party oppose it.

Student protesters have let their voices be heard on the streets of Chicago while Mayor Richard Daley, a Humphrey supporter, has used the Chicago police force to attempt to control them.

Before becoming LBJs Vice-President in 1965, Humphrey had been a senator from Minnesota since 1948.  Senator Humphrey was an advocate of civil rights, arms control, a nuclear test ban & foreign aid.  He was known as "the Happy Warrior."*

*3 years before JFK proposed the Peace Corps, Humphrey introduced a bill to create just such an agency.  In 1960, he competed against JFK for the Democratic nomination for President.  


Hubert Humphrey died in 1978.

Two of my favorite Hubert Humphrey quotations:

"Compassion is not weakness & concern for the unfortunate is not socialism."

"It was once said that the moral test of government is how government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly, & those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy & the handicapped."

                    Hubert H. Humphrey

                   "The Happy Warrior"

August 29, 1975

EAMON DE VALERA DIES AT AGE OF 92

Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland (JFK+50) The former President of Ireland (1959-1973) & head of the government of the Irish Free State as well as the leader of Ireland's struggle for independence from Great Britain, Eamon de Valera died today at the age of 92.

                   Eamon de Valera

                         (1882-1975)

De Valera, born in New York City in 1882, was brought to Ireland at the age of 2 by his uncle.

De Valera was host for President John F. Kennedy's state visit to Ireland in June 1963.

Mr. De Valera will be buried in Dublin's Glasnevin Cemetery.

            Grave of Eamon de Valera

                       Dublin, Ireland

August 29, 1949

USSR EXPLODES A BOMB

Semipalatinsk, USSR (JFK+50) It has been said the only thing worse than one nation having the atomic bomb is two nations having it.  

Today, the Soviet Union became the 2nd nation to have the atomic bomb.  At a remote test site here in Semipalatinsk, the Soviets successfully detonated their 1st atomic bomb.

The explosion, rated at 20 kilotons, is roughly equal to that of the "Trinity" test explosion by the United States.*

*An American spy plane flying off the coast of Siberia picked up the 1st evidence of radioactivity from the explosion on September 3.

     Soviets explode their 1st atomic bomb

MARCH ON WASHINGTON ENDS WITH A DREAM

August 28, 1963


MARCH ON WASHINGTON ENDS WITH A DREAM


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The "March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom", attended by 250,000 people who gathered around the Lincoln Memorial, concluded today with an emotional & stirring address by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Bayard Rustin & Cleveland Robinson
   March on Washington organizers
                    August 7, 1963
         Library of Congress Photo


Dr. King said:


"Even though we face...difficulties, I still have a dream...that one day this nation will rise up & live out the true meaning of its creed 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal'.


When we allow freedom (to) ring....we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children....will...join hands & sing....'Free at last,  free at last, thank God Almighty, we're free at last.'"


After the event, civil rights leaders, including Dr. King & Roy Wilkins, met with President Kennedy at the White House who greeted them with the words: "I have a dream."*


*The March on Washington was initiated by A. Philip Randolph who had planned an earlier march in 1941.

Dr. King Gives "I Have a Dream" Speech


August 28, 1963



MAHALIA JACKSON ADVISES KING TO "TELL THEM ABOUT THE DREAM"


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked the Queen of Gospel Music to sing "I've Been Buked & I've Been Scorned" before he spoke at the March on Washington today at the Lincoln Memorial.


Before she sang, however, Miss Jackson said to Dr. King: "Martin, tell them about the dream".*


*Dr. King had included the "I have a dream" theme in previous speeches & sermons but it was not included in his March on Washington address.  He followed Mahalia Jackson's advice & ended his remarks with "I have a dream...".

                   Mahalia Jackson
             Queen of Gospel Music
Photo by Carl Van Vechten (1962)


August 28, 1955


EMMETT TILL MURDERED IN MISSISSIPPI


Money, Mississippi (JFK+50) Emmett Till, African-American teenager from Chicago, Illinois, was brutally murdered in Money, Mississippi today & his body was dumped into the Tallahatchie River.


Till was in Mississippi visiting relatives & while at Bryan's Grocery & Meat Market in Money, according to witnesses, "flirted" with the store owner's wife who is white.*


*Emmett Till's corpse was recovered 3 days later & returned by the request of his mother to Chicago for burial.  On September 23 an all-white jury found accused murderers J.W. Milam & Roy Bryant not guilty.

            Remains of Bryant's Grocery 
                     Money, Mississippi
          Photo by WhisperToMe (2009)




"Twas down in Mississippi, not so long ago
 When a young boy from Chicago 
 walked through a Southern door
 This boy's fateful tragedy you should remember well
 The color of his skin was black
 and his name was Emmett Till


 If you can't speak out against this kind of thing
 A crime that's so unjust
 Your eyes are filled with dead man's dirt
 Your mind is filled with dust
 Your arms & legs they must be in shackles  & chains
 And your blood it must refuse to flow
 For you to let this human race
 fall down so God-awful low."


"The Ballad of Emmett Till"
             by Bob Dylan


August 28, 1961


JFK WELCOMES 1ST PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy welcomed the 1st group of Peace Corps volunteers to the White House today.


The President told the young men & women:


"You will be the personification of a special group of young Americans & if you can impress (with) your commitment to freedom (and) to your pride in your country....the influence may be far-reaching."


These 1st Peace Corps volunteers will go to Ghana & Tanganyika to teach high school students.

JFK Greets Peace Corps Volunteers


August 28, 1968


ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS & POLICE CLASH IN CHICAGO


Chicago, Illinois (JFK+50) Thousands of anti-Vietnam War protesters massed today in downtown Chicago as the 1968 Democratic National Convention is in session in the city.


Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, a supporter of Vice-President Hubert Humphrey, sent in police to restore order.


The police, however, used clubs & tear gas to get the job done.  Many protesters were beaten, arrested & taken to jail.


All of this was broadcast on television while the protesters chanted: "The whole world is watching."*


*This event has been described as a "turning point in the cold war" as more & more Americans reject the necessity for fighting in Southeast Asia.

       Police Use Clubs on Protesters
              Chicago, Illinois (1968)


August 28, 1917


SUFFRAGISTS ARRESTED AT THE WHITE HOUSE


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Women suffragists gathered in front of the White House today in support of a constitutional amendment which would give women the right to vote.


President Woodrow Wilson, who has opposed such an amendment, drove out of the gates of the mansion today & tipped his hat to the suffragists.


Later, however, an altercation broke out between the suffragists & some bystanders who apparently resented the women's signs opposing the war (WWI).


Some of the suffragists were arrested & taken to jail.

Suffragists at the White House Gate
                      January 1917

HOUSE VOTES FOR AMENDMENT TO BAN POLL TAX

August 27, 1962


HOUSE VOTES FOR AMENDMENT TO BAN POLL TAX


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The United States House of Representatives today voted for a constitutional amendment that would forbid the poll tax as a prerequisite to vote in federal elections.


5 states require a poll tax.  They are Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas & Virginia.


The vote in favor of the amendment was 295 to 86.


President Kennedy expressed approval for today's vote.  JFK said:


"This culminates a legislative effort of many years to bring about the end of this artificial bar to the right to vote in some of our states.

             Receipt for Poll Tax Payment


August 27, 1963


JFK REMINDS STUDENTS OF DEFINITION OF HAPPINESS BY THE GREEKS


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy spoke to about 5000 students today on the South Lawn of the White House.


The students are in town to attend a government seminar.


The President urged the students to pursue a career in government service.
He said it would be a career that would offer them "happiness" as defined by the Greeks as:


"the full use of your powers along lines of excellence."


August 27, 1952


NEW YORK TIMES FRONT PAGE DOMINATED BY RED SCARE


New York City (JFK+50) The New York Times today carried no less than 3 articles on its front page on the impact the "Red Scare" will have on the upcoming elections.


In one article, the Times reports that the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, dominated by Republicans, has charged the Radio Writers Guild is dominated by a "small group of communists".


Another article reports the American Legion is demanding, for the 3rd year in a row, that President Truman fire his Secretary of State Dean Acheson for a "lack of vigor" in fighting communism.


The 3rd article quotes Democratic presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson as being critical of the use of "patriotism" by Senator Joe McCarthy in attacking "good Americans" such as Acheson & General George C. Marshall.

August 27, 1908


LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON BORN IN TEXAS


Stonewall, Texas (JFK+50) Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr. & Rebekah Baines Johnson announced today the birth of their son, Lyndon Baines Johnson, here in Stonewall, Texas.*


*LBJ will graduate from Southwestern Texas State Teachers College in 1930. He taught at Pearsall High School & Sam Houston High School before entering politics.

  LBJ at Home in Stonewall, Texas
           LBJ Library Photo (1915)


August 27, 1776


WASHINGTON LOSES AT BROOKLYN HEIGHTS


Brooklyn Heights, New York (JFK+50) Continental forces under General George Washington were defeated here today at the Battle of Brooklyn Heights.


The Continentals suffered more than a thousand casualties while the British, under General William Howe & his brother Admiral Richard Howe, lost 400.


The good news for the Americans, however, was that Washington was able to retreat with his forces* to Manhattan by boat.**


*In one of my US history classes I was talking about Lee retreating back to Virginia after the Battle of Antietam when a girl with a puzzled look on her face asked:  "But why didn't Lee's men retreat with him?"


**The British captured New York City on September 15 & would hold it until the war's end.

August 27, 1979


MOUNTBATTEN KILLED IN BOMB BLAST BY IRA


London, England (JFK+50) Lord Louis Mountbatten was killed today when Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorists set off a 50 pound bomb hidden aboard his fishing vessel.


The 79 year old Mountbatten, the 2nd cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was enjoying the day with his family off Ireland's northwest coast when the bomb exploded.


He was commander of the 5th destroyer flotilla in WWII & in 1942 was appointed chief of operations & eventually became Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia.*


*This was the 1st attack by the IRA on the British Royal Family.

             Lord Louis Mountbatten
       Photo by Allan Warren (1976)