Huey Long II January 18, 2000PermalinkMetasebia TessemaToday's AMITAmerican History, American Politics Lead: At the height of his political power, Louisiana Senator Huey Pierce Long, while making inroads on the national political scene, was struck down by an assassin’s bullet. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: While he was governor of Louisiana Huey Long himself adopted the nickname “The Kingfish”—based on a smooth talking scheming character from the Amos ’n Andy radio show. He had campaigned for governor on the populist slogan coined by William Jennings Bryan, “Every man a king, but no one wears a crown,” and his populist attacks on the greed and privilege of the wealthy and big business struck a chord with the struggling poor of Louisiana during the Great Depression—mostly rural voters. He became a hero to many, even while his critics warned that his heavy-handed methods and corruption were more like a dictator than one who valued democratic means to get what he wanted. Read more →
Huey Long I January 18, 2000PermalinkMetasebia TessemaToday's AMITAmerican History, American Politics Lead: During the Great Depression, a flamboyant politician dominated state politics. Huey Long transformed a backward state and through the sheer force of his personality, compelled Louisiana into the twentieth century. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: Huey Pierce Long was born on August 30, 1893, in Winnfield, Louisiana, in the north central region of the state. He was seventh of nine children raised in a farming family of modest means. The “Populist” movement was strong in his parish and Huey absorbed the ideas of the populists. Though his schooling was limited, he was bright, headstrong and very ambitious. Read more →
Samuel Johnson and Patronage January 18, 2000PermalinkMetasebia TessemaToday's AMITBritish History, Financial History Lead: In Samuel’s Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language, he defines a patron: One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: Eighteenth-century London was a magnet for aspiring writers like Samuel Johnson. He came to London from the midlands in 1737, penniless, ill-fed, and ill-clothed. He contributed to periodicals for a number of years, barely getting by, and after many years of obscurity, secured his reputation as a man of letters with the publication of his Dictionary of the English Language in 1755. For that accomplishment he was awarded a modest annual pension from the British government, and thus gained financial independence. Read more →
Frank Capra and It’s a Wonderful Life II January 18, 2000PermalinkMetasebia TessemaToday's AMITAmerican History, Entertainment History Lead: Following World War II, film director and producer Frank Capra resumed his career with a film that was a box office disappointment but is now considered his masterpiece – It’s a Wonderful Life. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: It’s a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, has been embraced by millions and has become a staple in many households, especially during the Christmas season. Capra’s winning formula was consistent – nostalgic and sentimental portraits of common men in small town America who, through acts of great courage, triumph over injustice. Download
Frank Capra and It’s a Wonderful Life I January 18, 2000PermalinkMetasebia TessemaToday's AMITAmerican History, Entertainment History Lead: One of the most beloved film classics of all time was a box office failure when it was released in 1946. It’s a Wonderful Life was a quintessential Frank Capra movie. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: Frank Capra’s masterpiece, It’s a Wonderful Life, is ranked high on the American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Films of All Times. The film, however, did not have an auspicious start. It opened at the Globe Theatre in New York on December 20, 1946. Reviews were mixed and the film did not break even. Nevertheless, it was nominated for five Academy Awards, the post-war audiences had grown tired of his 1930s winning recipe. Download
Battle of Omdurman II January 18, 2000PermalinkMetasebia TessemaToday's AMITAfrican History, Colonization Lead: In September 1898, Anglo-Egyptian, effectively British, control of the northeastern African nation of Sudan was secured by force of arms at the Battle of Omdurman. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: During the late nineteenth century, Great Britain and other European nations “scrambled for Africa.” This colonial expansion was motivated by geo-political reasons, religious reasons, but mostly by the economic hunger for trade and the chance to exploit the rich natural resources of Africa. After Britain occupied Egypt in 1882, Anglo-Egyptian forces reached south to absorb the Sudan, but kicked up a nationalist religious revolt that captured the Sudanese capital of Khartoum in 1885. Download
Battle of Omdurman I January 18, 2000PermalinkMetasebia TessemaToday's AMITAfrican History, Colonization Lead: Sudan is located in northeastern Africa. It is the continent’s largest country and in the late nineteenth century, Britain added it to its expanding colonial empire. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: In the late 1800s European powers raced to grab Africa. Historians often refer to this as “The Scramble for Africa.” Indigenous peoples were resentful of this absorption. Sometimes there was resistance and on occasion, violence followed. Download
Science Matters: Fritz Haber and the Nitrogen Cycle- II January 17, 2000PermalinkMetasebia TessemaToday's AMITGerman History, Science History Lead: In the early 20th century German chemist Fritz Haber developed the process leading to the creation of synthetic nitrogen. His brilliant innovation, however, is very much a double-edged sword. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: After his initial breakthrough for which he received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1918, Haber was made the director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry in Berlin. With the outbreak of World War I, he led in the development of poison gas. His motives appear to be mixed, partly emerging out of intense German patriotism, but also in hopes that the use of gas would hasten the end of the bloodletting. He returned home greatly disappointed in the war’s result, but lso conflicted over his own role in the use of chemical weapons. Haber’s wife committed suicide shortly thereafter, it is said partly in revulsion over her husband’s complicity in the wartime carnage. After the Nazi takeover in 1933, as an ethnic Jew, he saw that even his long-time loyal service to Germany would not protect him against the coming barbarity and accepted a post in Cambridge, England. He died in obscurity in 1934. Download
