July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

Feminism

Deborah Sampson

July 3, 1782: Deborah Sampson wounded outside Tarrytown, NY receiving two musket balls in her thigh and a forehead wound from a sabre slash. She begged her fellow soldiers to let her die and not take her to the hospital, but they refused to abandon her. Doctors treated her head wound, but she left the hospital before they could attend to the musket balls. Fearful that her true identity would be discovered, she removed one of the balls herself with a penknife and sewing needle, but her leg never fully healed because the other musket ball was too deep for her to reach. (see Deborah for expanded story)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

Cannabis

July 3, 1893: the government of India commenced a study of the effects of hemp drugs in the province of Bengal. W. Mackworth Young was the commission’s President. When released (1894) the Commission will state in part: “It has been clearly established that the occasional use or hemp in moderate doses may be beneficial; but this use may be regarded as medicinal in character” as well as “The moderate use practically produces no ill effects. In all but the most exceptional cases, the injury from habitual moderate use is not appreciable.” (see CC for expanded chronology)

INDEPENDENCE DAY

July 3, 1944;  Belarus independent from German occupation. [Belarus article] (see May 5, 1945)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

see July 3 Music et al for more

Muddy Waters

July 3, 1960: Muddy Waters records “At Newport 1960” album at Newport Jazz Festival. The album itself is released in November 1960.

Beatles

July 3, 1961: the Beatles return to England from Hamburg. (see August)

Four Tops

July 3 – 9 – “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” by the Four Tops #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Brian Jones

July 3, 1969: Brian Jones found dead in the swimming pool at his home in Sussex, England (see July 5)

see Newport Jazz Festival for more

July 3 – 6, 1969: the festival’s 1969 program was an experiment in fusing jazz, soul and rock music and audiences. Its lineup included, besides jazz, Friday evening appearances by rock groups Jeff Beck, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Ten Years After, and Jethro Tull. Saturday’s schedule mixed jazz acts such as Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck with others including John Mayall and Sly & the Family Stone. James Brown was among those who appeared Sunday afternoon, followed in the evening by Johnny Winter, Herbie Hancock, B. B. King, and Led Zeppelin.

Jim Morrison

July 3, 1971: Jim Morrison died.

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam & Operation Popeye

July 3, 1972:  a NY Times article on Operation Popeye appeared. It’s lead paragraph stated that “The United States has been secretly seeding clouds over North Vietnam, Laos and South Vietnam to increase and control the rainfall for military purposes.” 

A second NYT article quoted Dr. Matthew Meseison, a professor of biology at Harvard University, from the June 16 issue of the magazine Science:

“It is obvious that weather modification used as a weapon of war has the potential for causing large‐scale and quite possibly uncontrollable and unpredictable destruction. Furthermore, such destruction might well have a far greater impact on civilians than on combatants. This would be especially true in areas where subsistence agriculture is practiced, in food‐deficit areas, and in areas subject to flooding.”

A third NYT article stated: Two former high‐ranking officials of the Johnson Administration said…that Robert S. McNamara, while Secretary of Defense, specifically ordered the Air Force to stop all rainmaking late in 1967….But other officials, who served in both the Johnson and Nixon Administrations, said they recalled no such clear‐cut order.It was not clear whether Mr. McNamara’s order was dis obeyed, ignored, or—as one of ficial suggested—“there was a kind of slippage” in putting it into effect. (see Operation Popeye for expanded story)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

FREE SPEECH

July 3, 1978:  comedian George Carlin had developed a routine that used a host of dirty words, to great comic effect. At one point the monologue was broadcast on WBAI, a nonprofit radio station in New York City. A listener complained and the FCC issued WBAI a citation for broadcasting obscene material. The Pacifica Foundation, which owned WBAI, took an appeal to the Supreme Court.

In FCC v Pacifica Foundation, decided on this day, the Court upheld the FCC in a 5–4 vote, singling out the seven words, The seven words are: shit, piss, cunt, fuck, tits, cocksucker, and motherfucker. You can find the words in the Supreme Court’s opinion, but you just can’t hear them on the radio (or network television).

In the decision it was written: “As Mr. Justice Sutherland wrote, a ‘nuisance may be merely a right thing in the wrong place, like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard’ . . . We simply hold that when the Commission [the FCC]  finds that a pig has entered the parlor, the exercise of its regulatory power does not depend on proof that the pig is obscene.” (see July 9)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

Toxteth  & Merseyside revolts

July 3, 1981: the Merseyside police force had a poor reputation within the black community for stopping and searching young black men in the area, under the “sus” laws, and the perceived heavy-handed arrest of Leroy Alphonse Cooper watched by an angry crowd, led to a disturbance in which three policemen were injured. [Echo story] (see July 9)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

TERRORISM

July 3, 1988: U.S. missiles shot down Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian jet airliner over the Strait of Hormuz. All 290 passengers and crew aboard died. [Washington Post story] (see Dec 21)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

Iraq War II

July 3, 2006: Pfc. Steven Green charged with the rape and murder of a young Iraqi girl. (see July 8)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

STAND YOUR GROUND LAW

July 3, 2017: Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch found Florida’s recently updated “stand your ground” law to be unconstitutional, rolling back a defendant-friendly change to an already defendant-friendly law.

The new version of the statute made it easier for defendants to claim self-defense in shootings and potentially have the case against them thrown out. Under the revised law, prosecutors had the burden to prove that defendants who claim they shot in self-defense were wrong, rather than defendants having to prove they’re right.

If a defendant acted in self-defense, the judge could dismiss related criminal charges. The National Rifle Association played a major hand in pushing through the new legislation.

Hirsch held that under the state’s constitution, this change to the law could be made only by the Florida Supreme Court and not by the legislature. [M H article] (see Aug 11)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

Environmental Issues

July 3, 2017: a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel rebuffed Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s contention that stakeholders didn’t have a chance to object before the Obama administration in August set in motion requirements that energy companies monitor and reduce emissions of planet-warming methane. Pruitt in May announced a 90-day delay of the regulation, part of a widespread Obama administration effort to curb methane.

“The administrative record thus makes clear that industry groups had ample opportunity to comment on all four issues on which EPA granted reconsideration, and indeed, that in several instances the agency incorporated those comments directly into the final rule,” two of the three appeals judges wrote in the split opinion.

“Because it was thus not ‘impracticable’ for industry groups to have raised such objections during the notice and comment period [the Clean Air Act] did not require reconsideration and did not authorize the stay.”

The rule took effect immediately. [NYT article] (see July 16)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

July 3, 2018: the Trump administration announced that it would encourage the nation’s school superintendents and college presidents to adopt race-blind admissions standards, abandoning an Obama administration policy that called on universities to consider race as a factor in diversifying their campuses

The reversal would restore the policy set during President George W. Bush’s administration, when officials told schools that it “strongly encourages the use of race-neutral methods” for admitting students to college or assigning them to elementary and secondary schools. (see  July 11)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

Victor Jara

July 3, 2018: statement from Chile’s courts authority said that Judge Miguel Vázquez  sentenced eight retired Chilean military officers to 15 years in prison for the murder of Victor Jara. Vázquez handed down the sentences after leading a long-running inquiry into Jara’s death on Sept. 16, 45 years ago.

A ninth suspect was jailed for five years for his role in covering up the killings. (see Jara for expanded chronology)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

Nuclear/Chemical News

July 3, 2019: state news outlets reported that President Hassan Rouhani said Iran will “take the next step” and begin to enrich uranium beyond the levels specified under its 2015 accord with the United States and other global powers.

Rouhani’s pledge to accelerate the country’s uranium enrichment was the latest step in an escalating confrontation with the United States over President Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear pact and imposition of crippling economic sanctions on Iran.   [NYT article] (next N/C N, & Iran, see July 8)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

Women’s Health

July 3, 2019: in a case that stirred national outrage, prosecutors in Alabama said that they were dropping a manslaughter charge against Marshae Jones over the death of the fetus she was carrying when she was shot in the belly,.

Jones, was accused of beating up a co-worker who ultimately drew a gun and fired it, wounding Ms. Jones in the stomach and killing her five-month-old fetus. A grand jury in Jefferson County, convened by District Attorney Lynneice Washington, dismissed charges against the co-worker, saying she had acted in self-defense. But it indicted Ms. Jones for “initiating a fight knowing she was five months pregnant.”

Under Alabama law, a fetus was considered to have the same rights as a child who has already been born. The grand jury sought to hold someone accountable for its death and Ms. Jones was arrested.

Washington, who had signed the indictment, said in a brief news conference that she had weighed the evidence and decided to dismiss the case. (see July 15)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

Immigration History

Census

July 3, 2019: a day after pledging that the 2020 census would not ask respondents about their citizenship, Justice Department officials reversed course and said they were hunting for a way to restore the question on orders from President Trump.

Justice Department officials told the judge that their plan had changed in the span of 24 hours: They now believed there could be “a legally available path” to restore the question to the census, and they planned to ask the Supreme Court to help speed the resolution of lawsuits that are blocking their way. [NYT article] (next Census, see July 9)

Trump’s Wall

July 3, 2019: the Ninth Circuit federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld a block on President Trump’s attempt to use $2.5 billion from the Department of Defense to construct a wall along the southwestern border.

The divided three-judge panel agreed with a lower court’s decision that ruled the Trump administration did not have the authority to reallocate the funds without congressional approval. The administration immediately appealed.

Two of the three judges on the panel affirmed that the administration could not build the barriers during future challenges.

“We conclude that it is best served by respecting the Constitution’s assignment of the power of the purse to Congress, and by deferring to Congress’s understanding of the public interest as reflected in its repeated denial of more funding for border barrier construction.” (next IH, see July 9; see TW for expanded chronology)

July 3 Peace Love Art Activism

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

Vermont Constitution abolishes slavery 

July 2, 1777: after declaring independence from New York in January 1777, the citizens of Vermont developed their own constitution, which contained “A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the State of Vermont.” This declaration affirmed that all men were born free and that no male over age 21 or female over age 18 could serve another in the role of servant, slave, or apprentice whether “born in the country, or brought from over sea.” Thus, with the ratification of its constitution on July 2, 1777, Vermont became the first North American territory to abolish slavery. [Slave North dot com article] (see March 1, 1780)

Joseph Cinqué

July 2, 1839: Joseph Cinqué led fifty-two fellow captive Africans, recently abducted from the British protectorate of Sierra Leone by Portuguese slave traders, in a revolt aboard the Spanish schooner Amistad. The ship’s navigator, who was spared in order to direct the ship back to western Africa, managed, instead, to steer it northward. When the Amistad was discovered off the coast of Long Island, New York, it was hauled into New London, Connecticut by the U.S. Navy.

President Martin Van Buren, guided in part by his desire to woo pro-slavery votes in his upcoming bid for reelection, wanted the prisoners returned to Spanish authorities in Cuba to stand trial for mutiny. A Connecticut judge, however, issued a ruling recognizing the defendants’ rights as free citizens and ordering the U.S. government to escort them back to Africa. [NPS article] (see Aug 26)

East St Louis riots

July 2, 1917: the city exploded in the worst racial rioting the country had ever seen. Most of the violence — drive-by shootings, beatings, and arson — targeted the African American community. The riots raged for nearly a week, leaving nine whites and hundreds of African Americans dead, and property damage estimated at close to $400,000. More than six thousand black citizens, fearing for their lives, fled the city. [Smithsonian article] (BH, see July 8; RR, see Aug 23)

Medgar Evers murder

July 2, 1963: in Jackson, Mississippi, the Hinds County grand jury indicted Byron de La Beckwith for the murder of Medgar W. Evers. (BH, see July 4; see Evers for expanded chronology)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

Native Americans

Lieutenant Colonel George Custer

July 2, 1874: Lieutenant Colonel George Custer departed from Fort Abraham Lincoln with some 1,000 soldiers and 70 Indian scouts on a 1200 mile expedition to chart the Black Hills of eastern Wyoming and western South Dakota, land which belonged to the Sioux. (see August 2, 1874)

United States v. Washington

July 2, 1979: in United States v. Washington the US Supreme Court reaffirmed an earlier decision by US District Judge George Hugo Boldt that most Washington tribes may act as “co-managers”, alongside the state, of salmon and continue to harvest it. Justice John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the court, writing that “Both sides have a right, secured by treaty, to take a fair share of the available fish.” [DoJ article] (see July 25)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

Cold War

July 2, 1948: the Soviet Union rejected participation in the Marshall Plan [the American program to aid Europe with monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II], with Stalin’s Foreign Minister, V.M. Molotov, calling it an “imperialist” plot to enslave Eastern Europe. (see July 15, 1948)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

US Labor History

July 2, 1890: Sherman Anti-Trust Act, Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Intended to block business monopolies, it will be used effectively by employers against unions. (follow-up, see October 15, 1914; LH, see September 3, 1891)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

Cultural Milestone

July 2, 1962: Sam Walton opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, Ark. (see July 9)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

Feminism and ADA

Civil Rights Act of 1964

July 2, 1964: President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of the Act prohibited discrimination by covered employers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin but it does not make any provision for people with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities still lacked opportunities to participate in and be contributing members of society, were denied access to employment, and were discriminated against based on disability.

Title XIX

In 1965: Title XIX (19) of the Social Security Act created a cooperative federal/state entitlement program, known as Medicaid, that paid medical costs for certain individuals with disabilities and families with low incomes. [BIA article]

Camp Shriver

In 1962, Eunice Kennedy Shriver had founded the Camp Shriver to provide athletic training and competition for persons with intellectual disabilities. By 1968, the organization had grown into an international program enabling more than one million young people and adults to participate in 23 Olympic-type sports.

The Architectural Barriers Act

Also in 1968, The Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 mandated the removal of what is perceived to be the most significant obstacle to employment for people with disabilities—the physical design of the buildings and facilities on the job. The act requires that all buildings designed, constructed, altered, or leased with federal funds to be made accessible. (BH, see July 9;  Feminism, see July 13 – 16, 1964; ADA, see June 19, 1970)

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

July 2, 1965: the EEOC was created by the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Under the terms of the law, the EEOC was established one year later, on this day. (see July 18)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

July 2 Music et al

see Strangers in the Night for much more

July 2 – 8, 1966: “Strangers in the Night” by Frank Sinatra #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The [Bumpy] Road to Bethel

July 2, 1969: town meeting in Wallkill with many voicing highly critical views of festival. After the public meeting the council passed an ordinance severely curtailing public events. Woodstock Ventures would have an opportunity at a later meeting to show compliance with the various parts of the ordinance. (see July 4 – 5)

Live 8

July 2, 2005 MTV and VH1 aired the eight hours of the Live 8 concerts. The performances, featuring artists U2, Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Green Day, Madonna, Dave Matthews Band, Jay-Z, Pink Floyd and Destiny’s Child among many others, were held in eight cities to raise awareness of poverty in Africa.

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

Alpha and Bravo Companies

July 2, 1967: Alpha and Bravo Companies, 1st Battalion 9th Marines made their way up north on Highway 561 and secured a crossroad as their first objective. As they went further north between Gia Binh and An Kha, near a place called “The Market Place”, they made contact with the elements of the NVA 90th Regiment when sniper fire began to break out, enemy fire intensified as efforts were made by the 3rd Platoon to suppress it.

The NVA used flamethrowers in combat for the first time setting fire to hedgerows along Highway 561 forcing the Marines out into the open, exposing them to artillery, mortar and small arms fire, causing heavy casualties on A and B Companies and prevented them from linking up. B Company Headquarters was wiped out when a single NVA artillery round exploded within the command group.

Out of nearly 400 Marines, the two Companies suffered 84 killed, 190 wounded and 9 missing making this the worst one-day loss for the Marines in Vietnam. (see July 11)

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

July 2, 1976: North Vietnam and South Vietnam united to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. (see January 21, 1977)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

DEATH PENALTY

Gregg v. Georgia

July 2, 1976: in Gregg v. Georgia,  the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of three state death penalty laws that had been passed following Furman v. Georgia [June 29, 1972]. In Furman, the Court had held that the death penalty as applied was unconstitutional because of a lack of procedural safeguards. Following the Furman decision, the newly approved death penalty laws included a bifurcated jury process that separated the decision on guilt from the decision on the sentence, specification of aggravating and mitigating circumstances to guide jury decision-making, and appellate review of death sentences. (see January 17, 1977)

July 2, 1982, The US Supreme Court (Endmund v. Florida) overturned [in a 5-4 vote] the death sentence of a man who was convicted of the robbery and murder of an elderly couple in Florida. Endmund had not directly participated in the murders himself, but had only drive the getaway car. This was enough, under Florida law, to make him a ‘constructive aider and abettor‘ in the killings, and so liable to the death penalty. However, a majority of five of the Supreme Court justices ruled that this is not enough to subject him to the death penalty, since they find Endmund had no intent to kill. (see December 2, 1982)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

Women’s Health

July 2, 1979:  the Supreme Court ruled, in Bellotti v. Baird, that teenagers were not required to obtain parental consent for an abortion. The decision, however, left questions about the extent of the rights of minors on decisions regarding abortion. In June 1990, in Minnesota v. Hodgson, the Court invalidated a Minnesota requirement that minors obtain the consent of both parents, but approved the constitutionality of a judicial “by-pass” by which a minor, in certain circumstances, could obtain judicial approval for an abortion rather than parental consent. (see March 23, 1981)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

Technological Milestones

Walkman

July 2, 1979, : Sony introduced the Walkman, the first portable audio cassette player. Over the next 30 years they sold over 385 million Walkmans in cassette, CD, mini-disc and digital file versions, and were the market leaders until the arrival of Apple’s iPod and other new digital devices. [Time article]

Two TVs

By the end of 1980 half of American households had more than one television set. (see August 12, 1981)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

July 2, 2015: BP and five Gulf states announced an $18.7 billion settlement that resolved years of legal fighting over the environmental and economic damage done by BP’s 2010 oil spill. The settlement money was used to resolve the Clean Water Act penalties; resolve natural resources damage claims; settle economic claims; and resolve economic damage claims of local governments, according to an outline filed in federal court. The settlement involved Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. [chronology via CNN] (see July 16)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism

Immigration History

Crime and Punishment

July 2, 2019: Judge Marsha J. Pechman of United States District Court for the Western District of Washington blocked an order by Attorney General William P. Barr that would have kept thousands of migrants detained indefinitely while waiting for their asylum cases to be decided.

Pechman described the order, which would have denied some migrants a bail hearing, as unconstitutional. Under a preliminary injunction, Judge Pechman said migrants must be granted a bond hearing within seven days of a request or be released if they have not received a hearing in that time.

“The court finds that plaintiffs have established a constitutionally protected interest in their liberty, a right to due process, which includes a hearing before a neutral decision maker to assess the necessity of their detention and a likelihood of success on the merits of that issue,” Judge Pechman wrote. [NYT article] (next C & P, see Sept 24)

Squalid conditions

July 2, 2019: a report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General reported that overcrowded, squalid conditions were more widespread at migrant centers along the southern border than initially revealed, The report described standing-room-only cells, children without showers and hot meals, and detainees clamoring desperately for release.

The findings were released as House Democrats detailed their own findings at migrant holding centers and pressed the agency to answer for the mistreatment not only of migrants but also of their own colleagues, who had been threatened on social media. [NYT article] (next IH, see )

2020 Census

July 2, 2019: the Trump administration abandoned its quest to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, a week after being blocked by the Supreme Court.

Faced with mounting deadlines and a protracted legal fight, officials ordered the Census Bureau to start printing forms for next year’s head count without the question.

The decision was a victory for critics who said the question was part of an administration effort to skew the census results in favor of Republicans.  [NYT article] (next IH & Census, see July 3)

July 2 Peace Love Art Activism