Prof. Boerner's Explorations

Edited by Gerald Boerner

    
Introductory Comments:

This day, February 29th, has witnessed many significant events even though is occurs only once every four years. Several important political events have transpired on this day, including the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 17943 to end the resolve outstanding issues with Britain; this treaty was negotiated by a team led by John Jay who would go on to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Also on this day, in 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed a committee to study the building of the Panama Canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Isthmus of Panama. During the 1960 Presidential Election campaign, Senator John F. Kennedy on this day in 1960 made the “Missile Gap” a campaign issue with the sitting Vice President, Richard Nixon.

This was also a day that saw Charles Darwin and the crew of the HMS Beagle in Bahia, Brazil; Darwin would continue exploring the flora and fauna of the nearby jungles. These observations were added to those taken on the Galápagos Islands and helped Darwin form his theory of evolution.

Also on this day in 1940, entertainment history was made. At the Academy Awards ceremony, not only would Gone with the Wind be honored as the Best Picture of the Year, and several of its stars earning their own Oscars, this night would witness the first Oscar awarded to an African American actress, Hattie McDaniel for her performance as the housemaid Mammy; Hattie and her escort were seated at a segregated table in the back of the room. Segregation was still alive and well at this late date!

Even in Major League Baseball there existed prejudice against the African Americans. On this day in 1972, Slugger Henry “Hank” Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record. As he approached this record, Aaron was the recipient of numerous death threats at the thought of a Black player eclipsing the feat performed by the iconic star, Babe Ruth. He was not attacked after breaking this record, fortunately.

We now will proceed to examine some of the events that are associated with day in history... GLB

These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2012 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved

[ 1160 Words ]
    

Quotations Related to Charles Darwin:

[ http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/charles_darwin.html ]

“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”
— Charles Darwin

“A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections – a mere heart of stone.”
— Charles Darwin

“I am turned into a sort of machine for observing facts and grinding out conclusions.”
— Charles Darwin

“At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate, and replace the savage races throughout the world.”
— Charles Darwin

“I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created parasitic wasps with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars.”
— Charles Darwin

“I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.”
— Charles Darwin

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Edited by Gerald Boerner

Commentary:

After the end of the Revolutionary War, the Treaty of Paris of 1783 gave the new American Nation was given territorial borders occupying most of the land east of the Mississippi River. This included the land that extended from the St. Lawrence River/Great Lakes in North, the Mississippi River on the West, The Atlantic Ocean on the East, and the Spanish territory on the South. The most ambiguous of these borders were those in the South.

From the time of the Spanish conquest of the new world, Spain concentrated its efforts on the lands of the Aztecs and Incas where large hordes of treasures were found. In addition, they took control of the Caribbean islands, especially Cuba. Ponce de Leon had claimed Florida for the King of Spain, but it did not have the gold that was so important to the Spanish. There were half-hearted efforts to start settlement there to keep it out of the hands of both the British and the French. After all, it was a buffer between the gold-rich regions and the lands of these other European powers.

After the conclusion of the Seven-Years war, or as we know it, the French and Indian War, The Spanish gave West Florida to the British in exchange for Cuba. Later, the Spanish re-established ownership of the territory. In the early years of the United States there were a continuing series of conflicts over where the boundary was between the two countries.

As the French became more established in Louisiana, the Spanish wanted to protect their Texas territory, so they negotiated the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819. This treaty gave the U. S. sovereignty over Spanish lads between the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. This acquisition led to the statehood for Florida and included the entire Eastern seaboard into our nation.

So, let’s start our exploration of today’s topic…  GLB

These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved

[ 3788 Words ]
    

Quotations Related to FLORIDA:

“If you want to be angry at Gore, be angry at him for not fighting harder in Florida.”
— James Carville

“My parents didn’t want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that’s the law.”
— Jerry Seinfeld

“I’ve just opened a show in Florida, although I also have many pieces on display around the world.”
— Tony Curtis

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