This Day In History: "Dump the Tea Into the Sea!"

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W.D. Cooper. "Boston Tea Party.", The History of North America. London: E. Newberry, 1789. Engraving. Plate opposite p. 58. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress.

The Boston Tea Party, initially referred to by John Adams with the less catchy title: “The Destruction of The Tea in Boston,” was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty (a “secret society” created to protect the rights of colonists and protest taxation by the British) in Boston, MA, on this day in 1773.  The colonists were unhappy about the passage of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, as they believed it violated their rights as British citizens to “no taxation without representation.” 

On the evening of December 16th, 30 to 130 men boarded three ships in Boston Harbor, some disguised as Mohawk warriors. Over the course of three hours, they dumped all 342 chests of tea into the water—a shipment worth £9,000 at the time, or $1.7 million in American currency today.  This event is seen as a major catalyst leading up to the American Revolution.

This iconic 1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier was entitled "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor"; the phrase "Boston Tea Party" had not yet become standard. Contrary to Currier's depiction, few of the men dumping the tea were actually disguised as Native Americans. Image. Library of Congress

This notice from the "Chairman of the Committee for Tarring and Feathering” in Boston denounced the tea consignees as "traitors to their country." Image, Library of Congress.

Parliament responded to the Tea Party with the Coercive Acts, known as the Intolerable Acts in the Colonies, in 1774, which ended local self government in Massachusetts and closed all of Boston’s commerce.  This did not sit well with citizens in all 13 colonies, who not only continued to protest, but then convened the first Continental Congress which petitioned the Monarchy to repeal the acts and provide representation for the colonists. 

It is thought that coffee jumped to Americans' preferred drink after the Tea Party, as John Adams and many other Americans believed drinking tea to be unpatriotic! This is a key example of the better choices Americans make (don't tell us about how tea has as much caffeine as coffee, ugh), and why we needed to separate from the English tyrants.

The Boston Tea Party Museum

Today, you can visit the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum which is located on Congress Street in Boston, MA.  Alex enjoyed a very memorable 3rd grade field trip there where you can see two replica ships, one of the tea chests from the original event, and even take a turn throwing a chest into the harbor while yelling “dump the tea into the sea!”

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson

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1933 Portrait by Carl Van Vechten. Library of Congress.

1933 Portrait by Carl Van Vechten. Library of Congress.

66 years ago today, the great entertainer Bill Robinson died at the age of 71, after breaking down innumerable barriers, and inspiring us all to dance. Born in Richmond, VA, May 25,  1878, Robinson began his dancing career at the age of five, dancing in beer gardens.  At nine, Robinson was hired in a touring troupe to act in minstrel shows, which led him to perform in vaudeville acts and nightclub shows. He also worked as a jockey at the racetrack, but found dancing to be more lucrative than horses. Robinson took a break from performing to serve as a drummer in the Spanish American War.  A legend about the dancer claims he also served in the trenches during World War I, but he would have been 40 at the time and this claim remains unsubstantiated. He did, however, put on free shows for thousands of troops before they shipped out to fight during the latter war; receiving a commendation in 1918 from the War Department. 

Robinson's talent got him noticed by many, and after working steadily for years, and finally at age 50, he made his Broadway debut.  In 1928, Robinson starred in the first African American Broadway show, "Blackbirds of 1928." He then went on to make his film debut in 1930, in a movie called "Dixiana." He then starred in "Harlem is Heaven"--the first movie with an all African American cast ever made. In 1935, the first of his four movies partnering him with Shirley Temple came out; "The Little Colonel." This movie marked the first time an interracial dance team appeared on screen, and Robinson formed a close friendship with his young partner. His last film was "Stormy Weather," a musical based loosely on Robinson's life, and also starring Lena Horne.  Robinson's protagonist was a dancer returning home from World War I to pursue a career performing; likely one of the sources of the myth that Robinson did in fact serve in said war.

1941 Portrait by Carl Van Vechten. Library of Congress.

1941 Portrait by Carl Van Vechten. Library of Congress.

During his lifetime, Bill Robinson faced a lot of criticism that he played into white stereotypes of African Americans. While  Robinson was forced to accept the roles provided for black actors in his time, he fought hard against these stereotypes off the stage and screen--convincing Dallas police department to hire its first African American policemen, lobbying FDR during World War II for more equitable treatment of African American soldiers, and co-founding the New York Black Yankees team in Harlem. Known for his generosity, Robinson performed for free in over 400 benefit shows, and gave away much of his fortune; dying penniless, Ed Sullivan paid for Robinson's funeral. His generosity often extended to his fellow performers, including teaching actors Sammy Davis Jr. and Ann Miller to dance. In 1989, the US Senate declared Robinson's birthday, May 25th, to be National Tap Dance Day.

Get Out the Vote!

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232 years ago today, the Continental Army peacefully disbanded after defeating the British. Celebrate by exercising your right to vote!

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Wacky Whiskers Wednesday: Dalí's Stache

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Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marqués de Dalí de Pubol (seriously, that's his real name), known more commonly as Salvador Dalí, was a prominent Spanish artist who is known for his bizarre surrealist paintings.  Possibly his most recognizable work, "The Persistence of Memory," was completed in 1931 and is still considered a pop culture icon today.

The Persistence Of Memory, 1931 

Dalí's often eccentric behavior, self-proclaimed love of "everything that is gilded and excessive," and unique personal style was often discussed by his critics and irritated those who held his work in high esteem.  One of his most distinguishing features was his flamboyant facial hair.  In a 2010 British “Movember” poll, Dalí’s facial hair was voted the most famous mustache of all time, and we Archive Gals think that’s a pretty big achievement!

While appearing on a game show called “The Name’s the Same” in 1954, Dalí was asked (4:00) if his mustache was a joke, to which he responded: “It’s the most serious part of my personality” and “It’s a very simple Hungarian mustache. Mr. Marcel Proust used the same kind of pomade for this mustache.”

The Archive Gals hold Dalí's facial hair choices in the highest esteem and believe you should always let your true self shine through! Thanks Dalí!



Boxer, Cowboy, Soldier, President: Happy Birthday TR!

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Happy birthday to inarguably the most colorful US president of all time! Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, and we talk about him a lot here because we love him so much, especially his work to promote conservation and save public lands, and that he proceeded with a 90 minute stump speech after being shot in the chest. Here are a few more reasons he is the original "Most Interesting Man in the World:"

- TR was the first president to appoint a Jewish cabinet member (Secretary of Commerce and Labor, Oscar Solomon Straus), and invite a black man (the esteemed Booker T. Washington) to have dinner at the White House.
- TR had a boxing ring in the White House, and would challenge staff members and visitors to matches. An unfortunately placed punch blinded him in his left eye during his presidency; which was kept a very close secret by only TR's closest confidantes. 
- Following his presidency, TR went on scientific expeditions to Africa and South America, bringing back specimens for the Smithsonian Institution and American Museum of Natural History. During the latter expedition, he contracted a tropical fever after jumping to the river to prevent a collision of the group's canoes with some jagged rocks, and cutting his leg. His condition was so bad that he begged his small party to go on without him, and let him perish, out of concern that he was endangering them all. It was only at his son Kermit's insistence that he continued on.
- TR walked Eleanor Roosevelt down the aisle at her wedding to FDR.
- After his presidency, TR also took up the cause of women's suffrage. He delivered a famous speech for the cause in 1915 at the Metropolitan Opera House stating:

"Conservative friends tell me that woman’s duty is the home. Certainly. So is man's. The duty of a woman to the home isn’t any more than the man’s. If any married man doesn’t know that the woman pulls a little more than her share in the home he needs education. If the average man has more leisure to think of public matters than the average woman has, then it’s a frightful reflection on him. If the average man tells you the average woman hasn’t the time to think of these questions, tell him to go home and do his duty. The average woman needs fifteen minutes to vote, and I want to point out to the alarmist that she will have left 364 days, 23 hours and 45 minutes."

Photograph is a different view of TR than we usually see; a young Teddy Roosevelt in 1880 in his mountaineering attire, 21 years before he would become president. Part of the New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection held b…

Photograph is a different view of TR than we usually see; a young Teddy Roosevelt in 1880 in his mountaineering attire, 21 years before he would become president. Part of the New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection held by the Library of Congress.

165 Years Ago Today- The First "National Woman's Rights Convention"

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A poem read at the National Woman's Rights Convention, and reprinted in William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator on November 15, 1850.

Circa 1870 Photograph of Lucretia Mott by F. Gutekunst of Philadelphia, PA.

On October 23, 1850, in Worcester, MA, women from across the country met for the first time to create a organized plan of action for gaining equal rights.  The Seneca Falls Convention had been held two years earlier, but that meeting had been somewhat impromptu, and was only regional.  The National Woman's Rights Convention was planned for months, and included participants from across the country.  Twenty years later, in 1870, Elizabeth Cady Stanton would state that the Women's Rights "movement in England, as in America, may be dated from the first National Convention, held at Worcester, Mass., October, 1850."

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was not present herself at the convention, because she was about to give birth, but she sent a letter that was read to the crowd, giving her support to the movement. Among those who were in attendance were Lucretia Mott, Lucy Stone, William Lloyd Garrison, and Frederick Douglass; the latter two famous abolitionists being some of  the original male Feminists.  The causes of abolition and women's rights had a complicated relationship; women like Stanton, Mott, and Stone started their activist careers as abolitionists, but were outraged to find that many male abolitionists would not allow them to speak publicly for the movement, or to play an active role in the cause. This inspired these women to start demanding equal rights from themselves.  Many male abolitionists supported the movement, like Garrison and Douglass, believing there should be equal rights for all.  Others saw these women as stepping outside their intended role; the Evangelical community made up a large percent of the anti-slavery movement, and believed these women's ideas went against the Bible's teachings.

Lucy Stone

Along with the many speeches given and debates had over two days, the Convention formed the first organized committees for a cohesive movement across the country.  These committees created local chapters, and addressed fundraising, publicity, education, employment, and lobbying, among other needs and goals. This fundamentally changed and strengthened the movement- putting forth a unified message to the world.  The Convention became a yearly event, and continued to gain momentum and attendees.  

An example of the backlash from the Convention, reprinted by The Anti-Slavery Bugle.

These efforts helped to give women better property rights and rights to the wages they earned, more legal standing within the family structure- including parental rights and the increased ability to initiate a divorce, and eventually suffrage.  Without these brave women, and men, we ladies would not be where we are today! So raise a glass to the National Woman's Convention, and celebrate that you live in the 21st century they helped to create!  Or ladies, just wear some pants, show little ankle, revel in your independent checking account, go to work, and earn a fair wage!

Wacky Whiskers Wednesday: Bearded Lady Annie Jones!

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For this Wacky Whiskers Wednesday, the Gals bring you another Gal after our own heart, bearded lady Annie Jones!

Annie Jones was born in Marion, Virginia on July 7, 1865, with a chin covered in hair.  She joined performer P. T. Barnum as a circus attraction at the age of only nine months; her parents receiving a $150 a week salary for her participation as “The Infant Esau.”  She was photographed by famous US photographer Matthew Brady as an infant in 1865.  By age five, Jones had sideburns and a mustache and was billed as the “Bearded Girl.”

When Jones was sixteen she married Richard Elliot, a professional sideshow bally talker.  They were married for fifteen years before divorcing, then Jones married her childhood sweetheart, William Donovan.  Donovan died suddenly not long after their marriage, and when Jones was widowed she returned to Barnum’s circus.

As an adult, Jones became America’s most well known “bearded lady,” as well as the spokesperson and advocate for Barnum’s other “freaks,” a word she tried to abolish from the business.  Jones died October 22, 1902 of tuberculosis at the age of thirty-seven.

“Noted Freak Dead.” Belvedere Daily Republican. Vol. 11. No. 201. October 23, 1902. p. 4.

“Street Sayings.” The Saint Paul Globe. Vol. 8. No. 169. June 18, 1886. p. 2.

Thunder, Lightning: The Amazing Roy Sullivan

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As you know, we Archive Gals are huge fans of the National Park Service! We can't think of a better way to spend our free time or vacations than exploring America's National Parks. We have both fantasied about what it would be like to be a park ranger and today just so happens to be World Ranger Day! 

We were amazed to hear about the infamous Roy Sullivan, a US Park Ranger who is recognized by Guinness World Records as being the person struck by lightning more recorded times than any other human being, an unbelievable SEVEN times.

Sullivan began working at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia in 1936. He was actually avoided by other park rangers later in life because of their fear of being struck by lightning. His lightning strikes occurred in 1942, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1976 and 1977, and were all verified by doctors.

On Saturday morning, June 25, 1977, Sullivan was struck for a seventh time while fishing in a freshwater pool. Immediately after he was struck he turned to see a bear approaching him, trying to steal the trout off of his fishing line. Sullivan then fought off the bear by hitting him with a tree branch. Sullivan claimed that this had been the twenty-second time he fought off a bear with a stick in his lifetime.

The Real Smokey the Bear

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Hot Foot Teddy and his caretaker Warden Ray Bell.

Last week, the Archive Gals took a trip to the National Zoo, and did a little research about former zoo celebrities; the past Bao-Baos, if you will. The beloved character Smokey Bear was created by the US Forest Service in 1844, to spread information on forest fire prevention. The moniker shifted to "Smokey the Bear" following Eddie Arnold's hit song about the fire safety conscious ursine in 1952.

Ray Bell's daughter Judy with the rescued bear.

In 1950, during a forest fire in the Capitan Mountains, in Lincoln National Forest, AZ, a two and half month old bear cub was found trapped in a tree. He was named Hot Foot Teddy, and his paws were treated for burns. State Fish and Game Warden Ray Bell took the young cub in, and the Bell family raised Teddy until he was given a new home at the National Zoo and re-dubbed Smokey Bear- the physical incarnation of the popular character. Smokey Bear lived out his days as one of the zoo's most popular attractions- with so many letters being written to him that the US Post Office gave him his own zip code. He died in 1976, and the title of Smokey Bear was passed on to his "adopted son" Lil' Smokey, who carried the title into the early nineties. The original Smokey Bear's remains were returned to his birthplace and you can visit his grave today at Smokey Bear Historical Park in the Capitan Mountains. Remember guys- only you can prevent forest fires! (Or wildfires, if you want to be current).

Wacky Whiskers Wednesday: Wyatt Earp, Cowboy Renaissance Man

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Today's Wacky Whiskers Wednesday is brought to you by: Ice Cream and the Letter E:

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 - January 13, 1929) is best known for the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and as the referee to the Fitzsimmons vs. Sharkey Heavyweight Championship boxing match. His Wikipedia page literally lists his occupations as “Gambler, lawman, buffalo hunter, saloon keeper, bouncer, gold and copper miner, pimp, boxing referee.” We would also like to add badass, style icon, and grade A fox to this list.

Wyatt Earp at age 21 in 1869 or 1870. Probably taken in Lamar, Missouri.

Earp lived a restless life, traveling across the American West from boomtown to boomtown and associating himself with cowboys, lawyers, lawmen, gamblers and prostitutes. One of his most famous companions was undoubtedly John Henry “Doc” Holiday: professional gambler, gunfighter, dentist and Deputy U.S. Marshal at the O.K. Corral Gunfight.

After a fictionalized biography was published following Earp’s death in 1931, his reputation as a fearless lawman became forever imprinted upon American culture. The Archive Gals are all about the fun facts so here are some cool things you may not know about Wyatt Earp:

-Earp ran away from home several times to try and enlist in the Union Army during the Civil War. Being just 13 years old, he was too young to enlist; plus his dad always found him and dragged his butt back home!

Wyatt Earp about age 42.

-Earp, like the Archive Gals, loved him some ice cream. Allegedly, instead of alcohol, which he claimed to have never consumed, Earp liked to hit up the ice cream parlor every day!

-Earp was never once hit in a gunfight…well by anyone else at least. Apparently he once accidentally shot himself while sitting in a chair, but the bullet went through his coat, leaving him uninjured.

-Earp’s horse was named Dick Naylor.

-Earp was pals with John Wayne! In his later years, he was an adviser on several silent cowboy films in LA where he befriended a young Wayne. Wayne later claimed his portrayals of cowboys were based on his conversations with Earp.

Wyatt Earp at home on August 9, 1923, at age 75. Picture by John H. Flood Jr.

Wyatt Earp at home on August 9, 1923, at age 75. Picture by John H. Flood Jr.


Presidential Signature: James Monroe

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Our Friday special- that presidential post you all have been waiting for! On March 10, 1813, James Monroe was serving as Secretary of State under President James Madison. The US was in the middle of the War of 1812, and Monroe wrote this pass to allow a British agent free travel around Washington, DC, so he could negotiate the exchange of POWs. Eighteen months later, after the British burned both the White House and the Capitol, Madison would fire then Secretary of War John Armstrong, and appoint Monroe to the position. But, after his switch, a successor was not appointed as Secretary of State through February 1815 when the war ended; leaving Monroe to fill two cabinet positions. Before the Treaty of Ghent was signed and peace was official, Secretary of War Monroe had been planning an invasion of Canada- a fantasy many red-blooded Americans still hold today (not us, we love Canucks!). With the war over, Monroe returned to his position as Secretary of State, until he himself was elected president.

Wacky Whiskers Wednesday: Inventor, Abolitionist, Neck Beard Enthusiast

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Today's Wacky Whiskers Wednesday pick is the American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and (clearly unsuccessful) Presidential candidate, Peter Cooper! Chosen for his Santa white neck beard, Cooper was also a pretty cool dude (I mean, you would have to be to pull that off, right?). He’s so cool, it was hard to pick the coolest things about him so here (in no particular order) are his top 10:

- Very active in the anti-slavery movement
- A strong supporter of the Union during the Civil War
- An advocate for government-issued paper money
- Was dedicated to the protection and elevation of Native Americans
- Led the successful fight to build a public school system in New York
- Founded and gave his name to the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
- Designed and built the first steam locomotive in the United States
- Became one of the richest men in New York city when he invested in real estate and insurance, but lived a relatively simple and humble life
- Ran for president in 1876 for the Greenback Party, and at age 85 is the oldest person ever to be nominated by any political party for President
- Was an inventor and owned many patents for his inventions, including some for the manufacture of gelatin—the patents were later sold to a cough syrup manufacturer who developed a pre-packaged form which his wife named “Jell-O” (okay, this one is the coolest)

P. T. Barnum's First Star

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Today marks the 180th anniversary of the launch of P. T. Barnum's first US tour. His star attraction at the time was Joice Heth- a former slave women Barnum claimed to be 161 years-old and once the property of Augustine Washington; serving as nurse maid for an infant George Washington. When Heth passed away less than a year later, Barnum continued to try and profit off of her; hiring a doctor to perform a public autopsy for a large crowd. The plan backfired, when the doctor exclaimed that he had determined Heth's true age to be 79. Barnum then claimed this was not actually Heth's corpse and that she was away on a tour of Europe. The hoax haunted Barnum's career for the rest of his life.

Archives Find of The Week- Cherokee Muster Rolls

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Today, we got to take a look at some of the "Muster Rolls of Cherokee Indians Who Have Emigrated West of the Mississippi" from 1833. Tribes were being forced out of the Deep South, following the Indian Removal Act of 1830, to make way for white settlers. The law was initially merely to authorize the President to negotiate with tribes for their removal to federal lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for their ancestral homelands. But what was intended to be a voluntary move became a forced expulsion. In 1833, the Cherokee Nation was not yet being forced to head west, but the government was keeping track of those who left voluntarily- displaying some particularly colorful names. In the midst of the Georgia Gold Rush, President Andrew Jackson put increasing pressure on the tribes to move, and refused to protect them from state laws stripping the Nation of all land except personal residences (some strong supporting evidence in the case to get Andrew Jackson replaced on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman- go Harriet!). The Treaty of New Echota was signed in 1835 by a minority party within the Cherokee Nation, ceding all its southeast territory and agreeing to the move west. The enforcement of this treaty led to what is now known as the Trail of Tears. The remaining Cherokees were forced to march 1000 miles to Oklahoma in the dead of winter, carrying everything they owned. Over 4000 people died, and the rest had to build new lives in foreign territory, with few possessions and little hope.

Wacky Whiskers Wednesday: Colonel Badass

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For this installment of Wacky Whiskers Wednesday, we bring you Colonel Edward E. Cross of the 5th NH Cavalry! To put it frankly, Colonel Cross was quite the badass. He was six foot, two inches tall and would wrap a bandana around his head during battle, a lovely addition to his fancy uniform. Cross was in battle at Fair Oaks, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, where he lost his life on July 2, 1863 when he was shot by a sniper who was hiding some 40 yards away! Oh yeah...and he had quite the impressive beard! ‪

Wacky Whiskers Wednesday: Bulletproof

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For your Wacky Whiskers Wednesday viewing pleasure, we present Brigadier General Reuben Lindsay Walker, a VMI grad who fought 63 battles for the Confederate Army, without every being wounded! After the war, he went on to become superintendent of the Marine and Selma Railroad, and oversaw construction of the Texas State Capitol building.

Animals for Cincinnati

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106 years ago, President William Howard Taft, of bathtub and Supreme Court fame, promised to send any animals he received as gifts to the Cincinnati Zoo, according to The Washington Post. The question that remains is: what bumpkin gifted him with "several dozen possums."