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AMELIA EARHART
On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart flew away from a town called Lae in the South Pacific. Earhart was attempting to circumnavigate the globe. After taking off from Lae, she disappeared. The Superhero Historians will investigate her life, her final flight, and the possible outcomes to that flight.
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We Superhero Historians are fond of many people, both living people and those now residing in history. However, we are particularly fond of one individual. Can you guess? Look around the site and see if you can figure it out. That’s right! Ben Franklin is our main man. It is with great pleasure that I make the first Superhero Historian entry on Big Bad Ben Franklin: printer, writer, scientist, and totally bad dude.
One of the greatest ways to take the pulse of society at a certain time in history is to take a look at the political cartoons during that time. What are political cartoons? They are drawings, usually in newspapers, that contain a political message. You will see an example of a cartoon around the time of the Boston Tea Party. Boy, these cartoons are seriously sweet!
There is almost nothing as exciting as a big city harbor: ships, damp salt smells hanging in the air, and food everywhere. Boston Harbor is a great place to visit, especially on a great spring day! Throughout the history of North America, Boston Harbor has served a major purpose. Before the colonies it acted as a major trading post for the Native Americans who lived nearby. Once the colonists came it became a major shipping port for goods coming from England. As the colonies spread southward, Boston Harbor’s importance decreased slightly, but it remains, to this day, one of the United State’s most important harbors.
Pay attention readers! I’ll make this short and to the point for you. Think of history like a line of dominoes. At the end of the dominoes is the Boston Tea Party, for instance, and several other dominoes have to fall before that Tea Party clinks to the floor. To fully understand that final domino, we need to see about the ones that come before it. A major toppling piece that ran its way into Boston Harbor that night was the French and Indian War. Without the French and Indian War there may not have been taxes such as the Townshend Acts or the Stamp Act, leading to the Tea Act that turned the harbor into brew. So, let’s start at the beginning.
Hey History Heads, it’s new topic time. I went back and forth, forth and back with the other Historians about how to start the topic of the Boston Tea Party. It seems pretty obvious to me how to start it. Begin just like millions throughout the world begin their own days: with a steaming mug of tea! What is tea and why begin with it? It is important to begin with it because the power of tea led to a major gamble by Great Britain. They thought that the pesky colonists were so addicted to their tea, that they would pay any price. Well, after this topic you will see how the gamble paid off. So, let’s get started with some steaming tea. I like mine with a little lemon.
We hope you enjoyed reading about the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Here is a list of our sources for this topic. Please join us for our next topic. Hint: “Boston Harbor to be a teapot tonight!”
And Die in the West: The Story of the O.K. Corral Gunfight by Paula Mitchell Marks
It took a little time, but public opinion over the gunfight changed direction against the Earps. The attitude changed in large part because of the funeral of the dead Cowboys. Tombstone had never seen a funeral as large. Versions of the fight, where Cowboys were unarmed and threw up their hands, began to make the rounds and change opinion. Once seen as heroes by many, both Wyatt and Doc Holliday, the non-law enforcement, were charged with murder. These charges led to the Spicer hearing where Justice of the Peace Wells Spicer concluded that there was not enough evidence to convict Wyatt or Doc. Spicer did question Virgil Earp’s use of both men. The history between the Earps and the Cowboys did not end there. Months later both Virgil and Morgan were shot by unknown gunmen. Virgil lost the use of his left arm while Morgan died as a result. These two shootings pushed Wyatt to go on what is commonly called the “Earp Vendetta Ride.” During that ride Wyatt, Doc, and others tracked down the Cowboys thought to be responsible for the shootings of Virgil and Morgan. That episode is for a future topic on Superhero Historians.
I’ll try to keep this as simple as possible. It may be tough to do that, because the history is so confusing due to conflicting accounts. It all began with two quick shots right on top of each other. Wyatt Earp claims that he fired right after Billy Clanton fired the first shot. However, this is highly unlikely if you take Wyatt’s testimony as a whole. Wyatt also claimed that Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury had their pistols already drawn while Wyatt did not. If you take that as truth, it is hard to believe that Wyatt would be able to get his shot off so quickly against men who already had guns out. Witnesses to the fight recall seeing smoke come from the front of Doc Holliday. In fact, witnesses to the fight echo the testimonies of Billy Claiborne and Ike Clanton who stated that both Doc Holliday and Morgan Earp began the shooting. So the real history probably has Doc Holliday shooting Frank McLaury and Morgan Earp shooting Billy Clanton. The first two shots were followed by another quick burst of fighting. In this fighting Tom McLaury and Morgan Earp are hit.
A short video from Superhero TV starring Barley Hugg. We are taking a small break from the OK Corral. Thanks.
Once the Earp party got to the vacant lot, things happened like a lighting strike. There are varying witness statements regarding who was holding guns. However, everyone seems to agree that Virgil Earp said something like, “Throw up your hands, we are here to disarm you.” What happened after that varies according to the witnesses, but we do know this: the fight was short, about 25 shots were fired, and the fighters stood very close to one another. Close combat is what I would call it.
A big welcome to all readers directed here from Hugh Hewitt’s blog. We hope you all enjoy Superhero Historians. Our general posting policy is one post per day during the work week.
So, welcome, enjoy, click around a bit, and pass on the site to anyone you think would be interested. Another big thanks to Hugh Hewitt for mentioning the Superhero Historians.
Best,
Jason Norrett
President of Superhero Historians
Cochise County Sheriff Behan first heard about the trouble while getting a shave at Barron’s barbershop. The time sat at around 1:00, so the events of the day had progressed almost to the breaking point. Behan’s intervention fought an uphill battle so late into the problem. The second strike against Behan was his friendship with the Cowboys. Would he be able to talk to either party effectively? Would the Earps think he was taking sides? Would the Cowboys be able to persuade their friend? Would they even listen to him? From history, it is clear that Behan had little effect, other than just being another witness. Of course, his testimony differs from other’s testimonies.
Things in Tombstone are really starting to sizzle. The fuse is lit and the spark is burning its way towards that stack of TNT. The bronco is bucking and won’t stop until… oh, yeah I’m sorry. I’ll get back on track. I promised Alistair I would stay focused. So, basically things in Tombstone are hot. They get even hotter when Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton come riding into town. There was a little debate about why they came to town. The Earps stated that they received a telegram to come and help with the fight. This is probably not likely, though, as the timeframe would have been impossibly fast for that. They were probably coming into town to conduct business. Picture Tombstone as a small little school. You know how when things happen in school, the word spreads very fast. This is also true for Tombstone at that time. When Billy and Frank got to town, they heard about the events immediately.
In most instances, you need “two to tango.” For the night after the confrontation between Ike Clanton and the Earps, it was Ike dancing solo, wandering Tombstone itching to finish the fight while “heeled.” It is clear that his night of wandering and uttering threats to whomever would listen, got enough ire up in the Earps to have them want to “tango” too. This is especially true of Wyatt.
We are breaking away from the OK Corral for just a second to bring you this story regarding the theft and recovery of multiple historic documents. Stealing historic documents is a crime against everyone, because it takes away from our history. These documents are irreplaceable. Everyone has to hope that we are doing the best possible job in protecting our historic treasures. That is why it is so important to pass on the importance of our history. Read the story from the Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here..
