History: The Year is 1921

I've uploaded year 1921 to the TSP Wiki...

http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1921

Here are some one liners...


Murder, Mayhem and the Trial of the Century -- Sacco and Vanzetti are convicted of murder. Did they do it? I don't think so but we'll never know. The evidence was messed with.

The Brownshirts Are Here! -- Hitler's speeches are popular, so the Reds are threatening him. The Nazi Brownshirts are Hitler's protection. I talk about hyperinflation and the American ambassador's daughter.

Notable Births -- Steve Allen, Gene Roddenberry, Nancy Reagan, John Glenn, Jesse Helms, and Betty Friedan.

In Other News -- The Plague in India, the Tulsa Race Riots and FDR is stricken with polio.

Murder, Mayhem and the Trial of the Century

"I was crazy to come to this country!"

--Nicola Sacco, on trial for murder in Massachusetts.

At the beginning of the 20th century, terror, assassination and bombs in your mailbox are the order of the day. To the people of the United States this also means the Italians and the Jews because whenever one of these terrorists is caught, he or she is usually Italian or Jewish, or someone like that is urging him on. (FYI, I am Jewish. This stuff makes me cringe, but some assassins of the 20th century were Jewish in ancestry... not in faith. Dear God, not Jewish in faith! Let's move on.) Several men rob a shoe company in Massachusetts, brutally murdering the guard and the paymaster. The usual suspects are rounded up, and one of them fingers Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti who are Italian. (Natch.) The evidence is thin, so witnesses for the prosecution are "convinced", and ballistic evidence is doctored. There are witnesses in favor of the accused, but they are mostly Italians. (These guys are hosed.) The foregone conclusion is that Sacco and Vanzetti are bad men who must be stopped dead. Sacco and Vanzetti are going to fry, but before that happens, their case will become a world-wide sensation. Poetry will be written. Long essays that would be laughed at by most third-grade grammar teachers will be praised as worthy works of erudition. It makes no difference. Seven years later, Sacco and Vanzetti will be dead along with any sense of justice or common sense. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

My Take by Alex Shrugged
The question remains, "Were Sacco and Vanzetti guilty?" I am convinced that they were dangerous men, but they PROBABLY were NOT guilty of this crime. We'll never know because either the government or the defense tampered with the evidence either accidentally or with intent to deceive. Regarding the bigotry of the time, it was part of the eugenics war building to World War 2. Most people blame the Nazis, but eugenics did not originate with them. British and American philosophers led the way with pseudo-scientific arguments on race and "survival of the fittest". In a real sense, science had become a religion, and remains so for many people today. Here is the test. If someone says, "I believe in Global Warming," that is a clear faith statement. Religious people recognize faith statements. On the other hand, "Global Warming has been building for thousands of years," is NOT a faith statement. It is either true or false, but not a matter of faith. ^{[4] [5]}

The Brownshirts Are Here!

The newly formed German Nazi Party is a force to be reckoned with. Not only is Adolf Hitler a gifted speaker, but his "Brownshirt" regiments are making sure that his political opponents are paying close attention to his every word. Hitler is preaching freedom of religion as long as that religion is in the best interest of Germany. (shudder!) A fight breaks out between the Brownshirts and the Reds meaning the German communists. To avoid government scrutiny, Hitler calls the Brownshirts the "Gymnastic and Sports Division" of the Nazi Party. The German government has its hands full right now. Hyperinflation is showing its ugly head. The German mark is trading at 75 to the dollar. By November it will be 283 marks to the dollar. Next year it will be 400 marks, and the year after that, 7,000. Something must be done! So they'll do something. No one is shouting "Sieg Heil!" yet, but Hitler's youthful energy is infectious... sort of like a bad cold. ^{[6] [7]}

My Take by Alex Shrugged
Hitler eventually came to the office of Chancellor in 1933 using the Democratic system as constituted at the time. It was recognized that he was a problem, but no one else could rally the people to a cause like he could. The world leaders trusted that the Germans would eventually come to their senses, and give this little guy the boot. As FDR came to power, he seemed to spend little concern over who was sent to Germany as ambassador. FDR sent a tweedy little history professor from the University of Chicago named William Dodd and his Nazi-loving daughter, Martha, who was willing to give her all for German-American relations... and Soviet-American relations. All kinds of relations! Apparently she was on a mission to save mankind... one man at a time. ^{[8] [9]}

Notable Births

• Steve Allen (Entertainer who popularized the TV talk show format as the host of "The Tonight Show".) ^[10]

• Gene Roddenberry (Fighter pilot, policeman and creator of something called "Star Trek".) ^[11]

• And on the political front... (First Lady Nancy Reagan, astronaut and Senator John Glenn, Senator Jesse Helms, and Betty Friedan, founder of NOW) ^{[12] [13] [14] [15]}

In Other News

• 15 million have died from the Plague in India so far. This is the 25 year accumulated death toll. ^[16]

• Tulsa, Oklahoma is now under martial law. The Tulsa Race Riots have forced a crack down on the KKK. It's bad. It's real bad. ^[17]

• Franklin Delano Roosevelt is stricken with polio. He lost his Vice-Presidential bid to Calvin Coolidge last year. He is 39 and in a wheelchair. His political life is over. Isn't it? Not quite. ^[18]

This Year in Wikipedia

Year 1921, Wikipedia.