No Kings Anywhere
The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History June 30 - July 6.
I skipped the “No Kings” demonstrations two weeks ago, since DC didn’t host a formal protest here. President Donald Trump slept through his military parade party, so he wouldn’t have noticed me anyway.
The protests were a huge success – if only by optics alone. It’s heartening to see fellow citizens use their presence and voices to tell the world that not everyone is okay with what is happening here.
It is imperative to show the world that the United States still has a positive brand. It’s baseball, apple pie, and no monarchs. The entire thing will collapse if we concede more and more power to the few, let alone one man who unleashed his supporters to overturn the one thing that makes the United States brand possible—an election.
We used to be a country where the extremely rich at least feared the people—or were slightly concerned. Maybe I’m a bit naive, but I like to think that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people ensures that everyone understands they have a stake in what we do, how we do it, and when.
Other parts of our brand are bruises and scars that can never be healed. America benefited greatly from having hundreds of years of free labor. Every part of the country was entwined with the disgusting institution of slavery, which was so central to the economic development that we went to war over it.
Our economy boomed after we won the Civil War and brought the rebellion to heel. The federal government did what it always does best: it gave away land and passed laws to benefit businesses. Enslaved labor gave way to immigrants and freed labor that was barely paid anything.
On top of that, we had decades of high tariffs, which protected American industry, boosted profits for domestic manufacturers, and concentrated wealth among a few people. This was the Gilded Age, and we ranked one scandal back when we could tolerate writing them!
The thing about the rich getting richer is that poor people become poorer simultaneously. The other thing about the poor is that there tends to be more of them. A lot more, in fact.
John Sherman, a Senator from the mid-ranked and home state of Ohio (and Treasury Secretary under low-ranked President Rutherford B. Hayes), entered the fray concerning developing industrial trusts, where multiple companies consolidated trade and drove prices and profits up.
There had been a lot of talk of reining in the industrialists, and in March of 1890, Senator Sherman was giving speeches declaring:
"If we will not endure a king as a political power, we should not endure a king over the production, transportation, and sale of any of the necessities of life. ”
Fast-forward a few months, and the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed on July 2, 1890. It makes it illegal to restrain trade, outlaws monopolies, and allows the government to sue businesses.
All good stuff that remains relevant today.
Because we don’t need kings. We need more pie.
Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events celebrate their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here's what I got:
1. The U.S. Veterans Administration was created on July 3, 1930. By 1917, the United States had about 4 million veterans of wars that spanned back to the Civil War. The system to care for them was overwhelmed, and Congress responded by creating the VA to provide benefits. It was the very least we could do for those who served, and unfortunately, we continue the tradition of doing the very least today.
2. America the Beautiful was created on July 4, 1895. American author and poet Katherine Lee Bates wrote the patriotic song about Purple Mountain Majesties. It cracks me up watching people take their hats off at baseball games for this song like it’s a national anthem. Yes, I can be that obnoxious.
3. Arthur Ashe won Wimbledon on July 6, 1975. Ashe became the first black man to win The Championships by defeating Jimmy Connors, a guy with whom he didn’t have a great relationship, in four sets. Surprisingly, it would be the only Wimbledon title Ashe would win.
We celebrate a funny anniversary this week as well.
George Steinbrenner was born on July 4, 1930. George was born on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio, to a shipping magnate, and he inherited the company in the 1950s. A decade later, he transformed the company into an even more profitable builder of commercial and military ships. In 1973, he bought the No Good Cheating Yankees for $8.8 million. He died in 2010, leaving the franchise to his son.
Why does it not surprise me that The Boss was born on Independence Day?
The end of the week brings us another long holiday weekend. I hope your summer is off to a great start. It’s been hotter than hell here in Washington, DC, but soon, beach week will be here.
Thanks for being patient with the inconsistent nature of my writings. Everything is going well, there’s just so much going on!
I appreciate your support of Okay History. See you soon.
Okay,
Chris
