Category: History

The Sedition Act of 1918, and More, in Peace & Justice History for 5/16

May 16, 1792
Denmark became the first country to outlaw the slave trade.
CHRONOLOGY-Who banned slavery when? 
May 16, 1918
The U.S. Congress passed the Sedition Act, legislation designed to protect America’s participation in World War I. Along with the Espionage Act of the previous year, the Sedition Act was orchestrated largely by A. Mitchell Palmer, the United States attorney general under President Woodrow Wilson. The Espionage Act, passed shortly after the U.S. entrance into the war in early April 1917, made it a crime for any person to convey information intended to interfere with the U.S. armed forces’ prosecution of the war effort or to promote the success of the country’s enemies.
Aimed at socialists, pacifists and other anti-war activists, the Sedition Act imposed harsh penalties on anyone found guilty of making false statements; insulting or abusing the U.S. government, conscription, the flag, the Constitution or the military; agitating against the production of necessary war materials; or advocating, teaching or defending any of these acts.
The Sedition Act of 1918 
May 16, 1943
The Nazis crushed the Jewish uprising in the Warsaw ghetto after a month of bloody fighting.
56,000 died in the struggle.

Read more 
May 16, 1967
Nhat Chi Mai immolated herself in Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, to protest the war.
“I offer my body as a torch / to dissipate the dark / to waken love among men / to give peace to Vietnam.”

The flower known as Nhat Chi Mai.
Read more 
May 16, 1998
Tens of thousands of Britons supporting Jubilee 2000 formed a human chain around the meeting place of the G7 Summit (an annual meeting of the leaders of the largest industrial countries) in Birmingham, England. Jubilee 2000 urged the major international lending countries to relieve terms of and forgive the massive indebtedness of poor countries around the world.
Jubilee 2000 by Noam Chomsky 

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymay.htm#may16

Today is International Conscientious Objector Day, and More in Peace & Justice History for 5/15

May 15, 1870

Julia Ward Howe
Julia Ward Howe, suffragist, abolitionist and author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” proposed Mother’s Day as a peace holiday.
She had seen firsthand some of the worst effects of war during the American Civil War—the death and disease which killed and maimed, and the widows and orphans left behind on both sides and realized that the effects of the war go beyond the killing of soldiers in battle. Mother’s Day did not become a national holiday until declared by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914.
“… Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.”

Read about her Mother’s Day Proclamation 
May 15, 1935
The National Labor Relations Act was passed, recognizing workers’ rights to organize unions and bargain collectively with their employers. 
Read more  
May 15, 1957
Britain tested its first hydrogen bomb over Christmas Island in the South Pacific, after just two years of development. 

Mushroom cloud over Christmas Island
May 15, 1965
A National teach-in to oppose the Vietnam War was held in Washington, D.C.
May 15, 1966
The American Friends Service Committee, SANE (The Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy), and Women March for Peace, along with four other organizations, sponsored a 10,000+ person anti-war picket at the White House and a 60,000+ rally at the Washington Monument to oppose the Vietnam War.
. . . elsewhere the same day . . .
Buddhist altars were placed in streets to impede troops arresting dissidents in South Vietnam.
May 15, 1969
Governor Ronald Reagan sent in the National Guard to reclaim People’s Park from 6,000 protesters in Berkeley, California, who had occupied the space
and created the park.
Police gunfire killed a bystander, James Rector, blinded another, and injured dozens.

People’s Park March, Friday May 30, 1969, at the intersection of Haste Street and Telegraph Avenue, in Berkeley
May 15, 1970
In response to the U.S. invasion of Cambodia (an expansion of the Vietnam War) and the killings at Kent State and Jackson State Universities, several million U.S. students held campus strikes to oppose the Vietnam War.
May 15, 1970
The Native American Rights Fund filed suit on behalf of the Hopi tribe to prevent strip-mining on sacred Black Mesa in Arizona.
May 15 (since the 1980’s)
International Conscientious Objectors Day, established to honor those who leave or refuse to enter their country’s armed forces for reasons of principle.
Conscientious Objector Day history

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymay.htm#may15

Peace & Justice History for 5/14

May 14, 1941
The first groups of WWII conscientious objectors (COs) were ordered to report to camp at Patapsco, Maryland.  They and others formed the Civilian Public Service (CPS) during the war. They performed various duties, among others being trained as smoke jumpers dealing with forest fires.

World War II COs
Conscientious objection in America ACLU
More on the CPS 
========================================
May 14, 1954
In the “Yankee” nuclear weapons test in the atmosphere above the South Pacific, a single detonation, expected to yield 9.5 megatons of force, actually yielded 13.5 megatons (equivalent to thirteen and a half million tons of TNT), the second largest ever by the U.S. The resultant mushroom cloud extended 25 miles up and spread 100 miles across.

“Yankee”
========================================
May 14, 1970

Phillip Lafayette Gibbs 
Two African-American students were shot to death and 30 others wounded by local police and state troopers and national guardsmen at primarily black Jackson State University in Mississippi. The two were watching demonstrators protesting the invasion of Cambodia and racial discrimination from a nearby dormitory tower.
James EarlGreen
This happened shortly after the shooting of students at Kent State University in Ohio. Two days of riots ensued in Jackson resulting in curfews and sealing off of the city.
Read more about Jackson State   

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymay.htm#may14

Man accused of checking out books on Jewish, Black, LGBTQ history from Cuyahoga County Public Library and burning them on extremist website

https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cuyahoga-county/man-accused-book-burning-jewish-black-lgbtq-topics-beachwood-cuyahoga-county-public-library/95-60a720fd-0e61-498a-8cc6-a4550e9d6aca

I can not understand the kind of hate or anger at different groups to want to cost yourself hundreds of dollars and possible jail time.  To damage the books doesn’t erase the people they were written about and it doesn’t change history.  It only hurts the library and the community which pays for the library.  Hugs

Man accused of checking out books on Jewish, Black, LGBTQ history from Cuyahoga County Public Library and burning them on extremist website

A man checked out 100 books on topics including Jewish history, African American history and LGBTQ education before allegedly burning them in a social media video.
Credit: City of Beachwood, Ohio/Facebook

CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga County Public Library officials, in a police report obtained by 3News, accused a man of checking out 100 books on Jewish history, Black history and LGBTQ education last month before filming a book burning and posting the video on a social media site described by advocates as a hub for white supremacist, neo-Nazi and extremist content. 

According to an investigative report filed last week by the Beachwood Police Department, the man went into the Beachwood library branch on Shaker Boulevard and applied for a library card on April 2. He was approved for the card and checked out 50 books by the library’s proper procedure.

A library official told police that the Princeton University Bridging Divides Initiative, a non-partisan research effort that tracks political violence in the United States and monitors suspected hate crimes on social media, notified the library that the man posted a photo to Gab.com of a car trunk full of books. The post came with a caption that referenced “cleansing” the libraries, the official told police. The books in the photo “appeared to match the topics” of the books the man had checked out and also had Cuyahoga County Public Library stickers on them, the police report states.

According to the Anti-Defamation League‘s Center on Extremism, Gab is a platform known for lax content moderation policies that is widely used by “conspiracy theorists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, members of militias and influential figures among the alt right.”

On April 10, the man returned to the Beachwood branch and borrowed another 50 books relating to similar topics. The man told a librarian that his son was a member of the LGBTQ community and he was trying to learn more about it. According to the police report, the librarian found the man’s behavior to be “very odd and concerning,” but the man did not make any threats during the encounter.

The Princeton researchers later reached out to the library again, this time saying that the man posted a video they believed depicted him burning all 100 books. The police report again states that the books in the video, a copy of which was obtained by police, “appeared to match the theme and titles” of the books that were checked out from the library. One of the books shown in the video had a CCPL sticker and was an exact match of one of the books the man withdrew, police said.

At the time the police report was filed on May 2, the man was not facing any charges in connection with the allegations. Police said the library staff were calling only to “document the incident,” and that the borrowed books were not yet overdue. The library told police that the man would be sent a bill once the books became overdue, and that the bill would be sent to collections if it was not paid. 

The books had a combined total value of $1,700, the report stated.

Police told the library staff that “since a contract was entered and payment would eventually be billed,” the incident was likely a civil matter. The investigative report states the Beachwood city prosecutor would be consulted to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.

The library plans to ban the man from its property in the future. Police told the library staff to contact them for help issuing a trespass warning if the man returned.

“We Want Beer” and More, in Peace & Justice History for 5/13

May 13, 1888
Brazil, which had imported more African slaves than any other country (nearly 40% of the 11 million Africans shipped to the western hemisphere), abolished slavery.
May 13, 1932
“We Want Beer” marches were held in cities all over America, with 15,000 unionized workers demonstrating in Detroit. Prohibition (the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution barring “the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors”) was repealed the following year.
May 13, 1954
Natives of the Marshall Islands pleaded for an end to atmospheric H-Bomb testing in the south Pacific.
A ground zero forgotten  The Washington Post
May 13, 1958
During a goodwill trip through Latin America, Vice President Richard Nixon’s limousine was attacked with rocks and bottles by an angry crowd and nearly overturned while traveling through Caracas, Venezuela. The crowd was angered by U.S. Cold War policies and their effect on Latin America. Five days earlier in the trip, the Vice President had been shoved, stoned, booed, and spat upon by protesters in Peru.
May 13, 1967
250 Chicano students from Los Angeles colleges & universities met to form the United Mexican American Students (UMAS).
May 13, 1968

“We are the power”
Workers joined Paris students’ protest in a one-day general strike calling for the fall of the government and protesting police brutality. The protest by French students included occupation of The Sorbonne; by the end of the month over 10,000,000 French citizens had been involved in school and workplace occupations.
View and read about the great poster art from Paris ‘68 
May 13, 1970
The Movement for a New Congress—to elect peace candidates—was founded at Princeton University.
May 1968, month of intense protest and political organizing around the country 
May 13, 1992
Ecuador’s government granted 148 native communities legal title to more than three million acres (slightly less than the size of the state of Washington) in the Amazon Basin.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymay.htm#may13

Some History Posts By Wendy The Druid

Snippets of each. Simply click on the “Read on Substack” links to finish each bit. History is important, and ought to be known. Again, be warned about some language within.

Queer History 104: Martha May Eliot & Ethel Collins Dunham by Wendy🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🌈

Two brilliant women who revolutionized medicine while sharing one bed and one beautiful life Read on Substack

Let me tell you about a love story so powerful it saved millions of children’s lives. Martha May Eliot and Ethel Collins Dunham weren’t just pioneering scientists in a time when women were told to shut up and make babies—they were soulmates who supported each other through nearly six decades of groundbreaking work, homophobia, and institutional sexism. Their love letters tell a story of passion so deep it changed the fucking course of medical history.

Ethel Collins Dunham - Wikipedia

When I think about these two women finding each other in the early 1900s—holding hands under tables at medical conferences, stealing kisses between hospital rounds, and building a home together despite the judgment of their peers—I’m not just impressed. I’m goddamn moved to tears. This is the kind of queer history that reminds us we’ve always been here, always been brilliant, always been changing the world even when the world tried to erase us. (snip-MORE)

Queer History 106: Reed Erickson by Wendy🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🌈

The Trans Guy Millionaire with a Pet Leopard Who Bankrolled a Revolution: How one man’s wealth, vision, and complicated legacy shaped transgender rights in America Read on Substack

Holy shit, you need to hear about Reed Erickson—a transgender millionaire who casually took his pet leopard on private planes while funding the movements that would eventually give trans people like himself basic human rights. This isn’t some fictional character from a Ryan Murphy series; this was a real fucking person who lived hard, loved harder, and threw his considerable fortune behind a revolution most people weren’t ready for.

The Complicated History of Reed Erickson | Autostraddle

Reed’s story hits me in the gut because it’s so goddamn messy and human. He wasn’t a sanitized LGBTQ+ icon with a perfect narrative arc. He was brilliant, visionary, and deeply flawed—a three-time divorcee who became a drug fugitive while still managing to fundamentally reshape how America understood gender. His life reads like a fever dream, but his impact on transgender rights was dead serious. (snip-MORE)

Queer History 107: The Daughters of Bilitis by Wendy🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🌈

From secret social club to revolutionary force – the women who changed queer history forever Read on Substack

In a world where being yourself could get you arrested, institutionalized, or worse, eight women decided to host a goddamn picnic. That picnic club – the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) – became the first recognized lesbian civil rights organization in the United States and sparked a revolution that would change queer history forever. This isn’t just another boring historical footnote; it’s the story of women who risked everything to carve out space for themselves when no one else would.

The Women of Color Behind the Daughters of Bilitis — Malinda Lo

Let’s be real – what started as a way for “Sapphics to dance and talk together” (the most lesbian thing I’ve ever heard) evolved into the first nationally published lesbian magazine in America and eventually led to the first gay wedding in California. These women weren’t just creating community; they were planting the seeds of a movement while the rest of society was trying to pretend they didn’t exist. (snip-MORE)

More History

Kickass Women in History: Ta-bu-ce

The Poor People’s Campaign in Peace & Justice History for 5/12

May 12, 1968
The Poor People’s Campaign, organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) began when contingents of the poor, mainly from the south, began pitching tents in a “Resurrection City” near the Lincoln Memorial. It was dismantled by police on June 24.
Aerial view of Resurrection City, next to the Lincoln Memorial
How a Photographer Illuminated the Plight of the ‘Invisible Poor’ 
The Poor People’s Campaign Today!

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymay.htm#may12

Peace & Justice History for 5/11

May 11, 1973
Charges against former Pentagon analyst Daniel Ellsberg (including conspiracy, espionage and larceny) for his role in the release of The Pentagon Papers (a comprehensive classified study of the origins and conduct of the Vietnam War) were dismissed.
Judge William M. Byrne cited government misconduct, including attempts to bribe him with an appointment as FBI Director, and previously undisclosed wiretaps of Ellsberg. His compatriot, Tony Russo, a former RAND Corporation analyst, was also released.

Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers a book review
 Daniel Ellsberg’s website 
May 11, 1975
80,000 turned out in New York City’s Central Park to celebrate the end of the Vietnam War.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymay.htm#may11

Peace & Justice History for 5/10

May 10, 1857
The Sepoy Rebellion was triggered in Meerut, India, when native troops (known as Sepoys, which also designated a rank equivalent to private) turned on their British officers.It was the first instance of armed resistance against colonial rule. Indians constituted 96% of the 300,000-man British Army. Loading the Lee-Enfield Rifled Musket assigned to the Sepoys involved biting the end of a cartridge greased in a combination of pig fat and beef tallow.

“Attack of the Mutineers,” a British illustration of the Sepoy Rebellion
The former is haraam (forbidden) under Islamic law, the latter offensive to Hindus who consider the cow as aghanya (that which may not be slaughtered). When the Sepoys, including both Hindu and Muslim Indians, became aware of this, some refused to load their weapons. Mangal Pandey, a soldier in the Army shot his commander for forcing the Indian troops to use the controversial rifles. When others were charged with mutiny for refusing, Sepoys turned on their officers and released the imprisoned soldiers.
The rebellion is now considered the first Indian war for independence.
More on the rebellion 
May 10, 1967
Army Captain Howard Levy, a physician, was imprisoned three years for refusing to train U.S. Special Forces soldiers for Vietnam. He refused an order to perform the training as he considered it a violation of his medical ethics.
“The United States is wrong in being involved in the Viet Nam War. I would refuse to go to Viet Nam if ordered to do so. I don’t see why any colored soldier would go to Viet Nam: they should refuse to go to Viet Nam and if sent should refuse to fight because they are discriminated against and denied their freedom in the United States, and they are sacrificed and discriminated against in Viet Nam by being given all the hazardous duty and they are suffering the majority of casualties.”
– From the Supreme Court case, Parker, Warden, et al. v. Levy.
May 10, 1968

Peace talks began in Paris between the U.S. and North Vietnam with businessman, former New York governor, ambassador and cabinet secretary W. Averell Harriman representing the United States. Former Foreign Minister Xuan Thuy, heading the North Vietnamese delegation, immediately demanded cessation of U.S. bombing.
May 10, 1972
Jane Briggs Hart, the wife of Senator Philip A. Hart (D-Michigan), informed the Internal Revenue Service that she wouldn’t pay some of her taxes; instead, she deposited her quarterly estimated tax of $6,200 in a special bank account.
She wrote: “I cannot contribute one more dollar toward the purchase of more bombs and bullets.”

Jane Briggs Hart
More about Jane Briggs Hart 
May 10, 1980

The National Organization for Women (NOW) organized 85,000 people to march in Chicago in support of Illinois’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

A chronology of the Equal Rights Amendment, 1923-1996 
Visit the NOW Foundation 
May 10, 1980

A federal judge in Salt Lake City, Utah, found the U.S. government negligent for its above-ground testing of nuclear weapons in Nevada from 1951 to 1962.
The land of the Nevada Test Site is scarred with craters from nuclear testing.
May 10, 1994

Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president. He had won the country’s first election in which all South Africans could vote, regardless of race. Mandela had spent nearly three decades imprisoned for his part in the struggle to attain political and civil rights for black and colored citizens. This ended more than three centuries of white rule, beginning with the Dutch in 1652.
Biography of Nelson Mandela 
South African chronology 

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymay.htm#may10