Month: November 2022

Susan B. Anthony Breaks US Law to Vote (1872)

Anthony was an important figure in the 19th-century US women’s suffrage movement. In 1869, Anthony, together with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, founded an association dedicated to securing voting rights for women. Three years later, she defied US law and voted in the presidential election, asserting that the 14th Amendment entitled her to do so. She was arrested and fined, but her actions drew considerable attention to the women’s rights movement. Why was she expelled from the National Labor Union? Discuss

Día del Puno

Each year a festival takes place in Puno, Peru, during the first week in November to mark the legendary birth of the first Inca ruler, Manco Capac, and his wife, Mama Ocllo. On November 5, the date associated with their birth, a parade of reed boats, called balsas, accompanies an elaborately decorated boat that takes a couple playing the roles of Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo to an island in the lake. There, the birth is dramatically reenacted. Festivities include performances by traditional dance and musical groups, sporting events, exhibits, and a crafts fair. Discuss

Ida Tarbell (1857)

Tarbell’s investigative journalism earned her a reputation as a leading “muckraker”—one who investigates and exposes issues of corruption and misconduct. Her 19-part exposé for McClure’s Magazine, later published in a book titled The History of the Standard Oil Company, led to the breakup of the Standard Oil monopoly and is seen as a model for journalism today. Where did this book rank on a 1999 list of the top 100 works of American journalism in the 20th century? Discuss

Bebop

Bebop is a jazz style characterized by harmonic complexity, overlapping melodic lines, and frequent shifting of rhythm—which its name mimics. It emerged in the 1940s as a group of musicians—including Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker—rejected conventional swing to pioneer an extension of improvised jazz. In the 1950s, two genres grew out of bebop: the aggressive style of hard bop and the understated approach of cool jazz. What does “dropping bombs” mean in a bebop arrangement? Discuss

The Sack of Antwerp (1576)

In the mid-16th century, Antwerp, Belgium, was Europe’s chief commercial and financial center. Actively involved in trade with Spain, Portugal, the Americas, and the East, Antwerp’s ports received spices, gold, and other luxury goods. The city was also home to a flourishing diamond industry. However, Antwerp’s fortunes changed in 1576 when Spanish troops sacked the city and killed about 6,000 of its inhabitants in what became known as the “Spanish fury.” What prompted the Spanish attack? Discuss

Mischief Night

The idea of letting children have a “lawless night” originated in England, and was often celebrated on May Day Eve (April 30) or on Halloween. But in the mid-17th century, when Guy Fawkes Day (November 5) became a national holiday, Guy Fawkes Eve became the most popular night for mischief in England, Australia, and New Zealand, where it is sometimes called Mischievous Night or Danger Night. Discuss

Walter Cronkite (1916)

“Uncle Walter” served as CBS Evening News anchor from 1962 to 1981, during which time viewer opinion polls found him to be the “most trusted man in America.” He reported the newsworthy events of the era so effectively that his image and voice have become closely associated with the Vietnam War, the Apollo 11 Moon landing, and the Watergate scandal. Cronkite experienced a rare loss of composure during one 1963 broadcast when he found himself announcing what event? Discuss