http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1811
Here are some one liners...
The War of 1812 Begins in 1811 -- Near the river of Tippecanoe, William Harrison will make his name as an Indian killer and pitch the country into the War of 1812.
The Luddites Sabotage Progress -- Textile workers organize to attack textile factories and break the machines that are putting them out of work.
In Other News -- Jane Austen publishes and Harriet Beecher Stowe is born.
The War of 1812 Begins in 1811
The battle takes place in the Territory of Indiana near the Tippecanoe River. The Indian tribes have formed an alliance to resist the incursion of white settlers. A Shawnee named Tecumseh (teh-KUM-seh) organizes the alliance along with his brother "The Prophet." (He receives messages from the gods.) They establish a central camp called Prophetstown that acts as a supply depot, and training camp. About 1,000 Indians live there and this has made Governor William Harrison nervous. The Secretary of War authorizes Harrison to negotiate with the Indians, so Harrison marches his troops to Prophetstown and arranges to meet with the Indians the next morning. All seems well, but that night, "The Prophet" receives a mystical message that the white man's gunpowder has turned to clay. The Indians surround Harrison's camp, but a sentry spots them and fires a shot. The camp is awakened. Harrison's men leap to their feet, but they are silhouetted against the camp fires and go down hard. Harrison mounts the first horse he can find, a BLACK horse. This saves his life because the Indians are looking for Harrison on his WHITE horse. The Prophet is singing songs of victory, but it is soon apparent that the Indians have lost. The Indian alliance is shattered, and when the Americans find British supplies in Prophetstown, they are certain that the Battle of Tippecanoe was a British plot. [1] [2]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Some historians believe that this was the 1st battle in the War of 1812. People's attitudes on both sides became very firm after those British supplies were found. Governor William Harrison had let his guard down somewhat when the Indians were so willing to talk. Frankly, it is difficult to predict what people will do when they don't know themselves. After the battle, Harrison took the nickname of "Old Tippecanoe". Many years later he ran for President with the campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." (Yes. Reminding voters that he was an Indian-killer really helped the campaign.) Thirty-two days into the Harrison Administration, "Old Tippecanoe" dropped dead, making John Tyler President. When it was time for reelection, Tyler made his campaign issue the gathering in of the Republic of Texas as a state, but James K. Polk took the issue away from Tyler and signed the agreement making Texas the 28th state on December 29th, 1845. [3] [4]
Some historians believe that this was the 1st battle in the War of 1812. People's attitudes on both sides became very firm after those British supplies were found. Governor William Harrison had let his guard down somewhat when the Indians were so willing to talk. Frankly, it is difficult to predict what people will do when they don't know themselves. After the battle, Harrison took the nickname of "Old Tippecanoe". Many years later he ran for President with the campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." (Yes. Reminding voters that he was an Indian-killer really helped the campaign.) Thirty-two days into the Harrison Administration, "Old Tippecanoe" dropped dead, making John Tyler President. When it was time for reelection, Tyler made his campaign issue the gathering in of the Republic of Texas as a state, but James K. Polk took the issue away from Tyler and signed the agreement making Texas the 28th state on December 29th, 1845. [3] [4]
The Luddites Sabotage Progress
For hundreds of years the weavers of the textile industry have been the mainstay of any economy. (For a modern comparison, they are like the union autoworkers of the 1960s and 70s.) But with the advent of automation such as carding machines to separate wool, and power looms to make cloth, the production of each worker has doubled, tripled, and quadrupled which means that fewer workers are required to do the same work. More and more textile workers are now out of work, so the textile workers have organized to attack the factories. The machines are broken. Wooden shoes are thrown into the gears. The shoes are called "sabot" (sah-BO), which is where we get the word, "sabotage" meaning a deliberate attempt to destroy. These saboteurs are called "Luddites". No one knows for sure where the name came from but by tradition, it is derived from the name, Ned Ludd, one of the first to break a machine. In the modern day a "Luddite" is any person who opposes new technology. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
There is a notion that somehow businesses are holding back on jobs in order to pocket big profits for the rich. Other than with government-supported monopolies like professional sports franchises, I don't see how that could work. A business pays the least wages it can and still attract the best workers. If there are many qualified people willing to do a job, a business can pay a worker less. If there are fewer people to fill the slot, a business will pay more. Why? Because if a business doesn't pay more, then its competitor will hire the workers away and the business will fold. The Luddites didn't want charity. They wanted to work, but they only wanted to work doing the same old things the same old way. New, efficient technology usually causes a displacement of workers. It is a pain in the neck for those workers who are displaced but if we didn't move forward with new technology what would we do with all those people who made buggy-whips or those guys with shovels that followed horses down the street?
There is a notion that somehow businesses are holding back on jobs in order to pocket big profits for the rich. Other than with government-supported monopolies like professional sports franchises, I don't see how that could work. A business pays the least wages it can and still attract the best workers. If there are many qualified people willing to do a job, a business can pay a worker less. If there are fewer people to fill the slot, a business will pay more. Why? Because if a business doesn't pay more, then its competitor will hire the workers away and the business will fold. The Luddites didn't want charity. They wanted to work, but they only wanted to work doing the same old things the same old way. New, efficient technology usually causes a displacement of workers. It is a pain in the neck for those workers who are displaced but if we didn't move forward with new technology what would we do with all those people who made buggy-whips or those guys with shovels that followed horses down the street?
In Other News
- Avogadro's Law is published. If any number of gases are of equal volume, temperature and pressure, they contain the same number of molecules. [11]
- Jane Austen publishes "Sense and Sensibility". Great movie and book. "Sensibility" means "Lacking in sense." (See... "chucklehead.") [12]
- Harriet Beecher Stowe is born. She will write "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the novel that suggests that slave-owners are persecuting Jesus. (Uncle Tom being the aforesaid "Jesus"-figure.) [12]
No comments:
Post a Comment