Some history you may not know

Today marks the 24^th anniversary of a great day in world history where one of the world’s most passionate, and unknown figures was born. He is a man of obscurity except to a limited number of facebook friends, but his influence ranges from Meadowcroft Lane to Harrisonburg to Scotland to Washington, D.C. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the history of my life…

Who am I?

Lee Brooks was born on March 27, 1986 in Rockville, MD at approximately 7:57pm. He was the first child to Joe and Paula Brooks, but was later joined by Robert Brooks 3 years later. Lee grew up with a small play group, and attended the exhilarating and memorable Camp Tiny Feet in the summers of 1990-1992. Lee and his neighbor Stefan, first formed the Meadowcroft Lane Gang around this time. This group would be expanded on the high school volleyball court later on. A product of the public school system, Lee attended local schools in the area, having never moved during his 24 years of life (except during college).

As he grew up, Lee had many aspirations of what he wanted to be when he grew up (none of which was a congressional staffer, even though he loves where he is now). They ranged from an astronaut, to a movie director, to an archaeologist, and of course every kid’s dream, POTUS. In high school, Lee played JV football, boys and coed volleyball, and served in SGA. He carried this SGA experience on with him to James Madison University, where he joined the centennial class and served in the organization all 4 years. Lee kept himself busy in college joining many organizations and keeping a challenging class schedule, with such classes as GKIN100: Walking and Jogging.

Upon graduation, he ventured across the Atlantic to attend the University of St. Andrews to complete a master’s degree in ancient history. Lee loves the Romans, and old walls. During this time, he traveled extensively throughout Europe and Turkey. After finishing the program, he came back to the New World in America to look for a job, and took an unpaid internship on Capitol Hill. The stars were in alignment, and after a few months of working for free, he was hired full-time. This is where Lee has been ever since. As a lifelong resident of the DC metro area, Lee loves the city more than any other, and in general thinks life is pretty awesome.

In the past, Lee’s birthdays have been held at Chuck E Cheese, Discovery Zone, his backyard, Garber Hall at JMU, Westport Village, and the St. Andrews Deans Court Common Room. His favorite color is blue, navy blue to be specific. He loves watching quality movies, reading about history, drinking beer out of a straw on occasion, spending time with the wandering blonde wine o, a good cigar every now and then, and just like every guy, he loves long walks on the beach at sunset. His life can pretty much be summed up and understood through John Mayer lyrics depending on the day. His favorite foods are sushi, pasta, nachos, and ranch dressing. He has a miniature dachshund named Fritz.

Well that is a glimpse into the life of one of histories most forgotten figures. Enjoy your weekend!

The Lost City

So I missed a lot of events last week: Ides of March, James Madison’s birthday, St. Patrick’s Day… I apologize. Today’s post is a special request from a special fan…

Atlantis: No, not the Resort

Everyone’s heard stories about the mysterious island that existed thousands of years ago, and boasted some of the most advanced technology and greatest leaders of ancient times. Then, all of a sudden, it vanished. The island sunk supposedly? A natural disaster wiped out the entire population? Where did this fairy tale story come from? I feel sort of like the History Channel with this post because I’m writing about a conspiracy theory, and while this story does not include aliens (at least in my version) I’ll try to give you some facts and some myths.

The first mention of Atlantis is by Plato in his Timaeus and Critias. He mentions that it was a great civilization that conquered North Africa and much of the Mediterranean roughly around 9600 B.C. FYI, ancient Egypt flourished around 3000-1000 B.C., ancient Greece had its high point from 500-200 B.C. (Plato was writing in 355 B.C.), and Rome ruled the Mediterranean and most of Europe from 200 B.C. – 400 A.D., so this was theoretically MUCH earlier. The civilization was supposed to have been unrivaled in technology and grandeur until Plato’s time, or even after his time. As the story goes, Atlantis was founded by well-intentioned, smart men who expanded the civilization to dominate the Mediterranean. Over time though, the leaders became greedy and power-hungry. Poseidon thus decided to erase their existence. And just like Emeril, BAM, they’re gone.

It is unclear whether Plato meant this mystical story to be an allegory for what would happen to civilizations who the gods looked down upon, or if he had some factual basis for an island that was destroyed before recorded history even began. As most tradition was carried orally until the Egyptians, and really the Greeks, it is possible that there may have been some factual basis for his tale. However, let’s be honest, it sounds like a Plato parable to teach a lesson combined with a good bed time story. Other evidence that he is speaking from fact is that he repeats several times that this is “history” he is telling, whereas in other parables, like the Cave, he makes it clear that he is telling this to prove a point. Adding on to the “he said she said,” it is recorded much later that Aristotle, Plato’s student, claimed that Plato made up the parable for moralistic reasons. Who knows. Aristotle also went on to disagree with much of what his teacher wrote.

Several locations have been claimed for the island as well, and almost all of these have been “backed up” (in the loosest sense of the word) with archaeological discoveries and underground photographs. Some claim the island was in the Caribbean, some say it was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean giving the ocean its name, others say in the Mediterranean, and some say it was in the Indian Ocean. For logistical reasons, the most likely location was in the Mediterranean, seeing as this was the only part of the known world at the time. There are also theories that the Atlantians dispersed through Africa, Europe, and even South America and that’s why we find similar stone structures, specifically pyramids, in those locations. Highly doubtful.

As we know from places like Pompeii and Herculaneum, natural disasters can indeed wipe out entire civilizations. Modern scholars who are bent on “discovering Atlantis” often study Crete as an example of a Mediterranean island wrought with natural disasters. In reality, the story of Atlantis has been blown so far out of proportion with crazy theories that it can be tough to figure out where this myth even came from. The only ancient source we have that mentions Atlantis is Plato, thus all later sources are based on him.

Unfortunately, the myth of Atlantis will continue to perplex and frustrate skeptics and believers alike who will never agree. It will remain one of histories mysteries conjuring up images of an ancient utopia and spawning bad movies and TV shows for years to come.

Time after Time

Hopefully your clock is correct, because it’s that time of year, Daylight Savings Time! Unfortunately, this time we spring forward and it feels like we are losing an hour of sleep. Although, it does mean we have extra sunlight, which will be nice when I leave work. I’m sure Robert (see Robert’s Random Science Facts) will have some scientific explanation for Daylight Savings Time (DST), but here is the history behind it…

What time is it again?

As I might have mentioned before, all great things have their roots in ancient Rome, and DST is no different. The Romans were some of the first to have a systematic way of measuring time, although it wasn’t entirely accurate or precise and largely depended on the sun (what would they do if they were getting pounded with 6 days of rain like we are now in D.C.?). The Romans used water clocks to measure time, but the times varied depending on the months of the year. So if the sun rose at 8am, noon would be the 4^th hour of the day. By the way, a.m. and p.m. stand for the Latin words “ante meridiem” (before mid day) and “post medidiem” (after mid day). The 12-hour clock is different now than it was in ancient Rome because we count hours before and after midday and midnight, whereas the Romans measured time before and after sunrise/sunset. Again, so 9AM would be 3 AM to a Roman (3 hours before midday). Does that make sense?

As the Middle Ages roared on, time eventually became more equal as we know it today, whereas before times would be unequal because they depended upon the amount of sunlight, i.e. “hours” would be shorter in winter and longer in summer. In the 1700s, Benjamin Franklin published a letter in a Parisian newspaper that they should take advantage of the daylight by rising earlier and going to bed earlier (following his life mantra that led him to a long life of 84 years), and this would also save them money on candles. Or as National Treasure claims, he invented DST.

The official standardization of time in the U.S. and Canda came in 1883 after the transportation revolution in the 19^th century and the coming of the railroads. Train operators, and the general public, needed to know exactly when trains would arrive and not have it vary depending on which state or which region the train was in. In 1883, North America was divided into time zones, but it was not until 1918 (during WWI) that Congress passed the Standard Time Act, which established daylight savings time. However, Congress being Congress, the law was repealed in 1919 and replaced again with local calculations. In WWII, the U.S. nationalized DST again, but then again ceded the power to local regions. In 1966, DST was again nationalized, but gave states the option to opt out. For instance, the U.S. states Arizona and Hawaii do not observe DST. Starting in 2007, most of the United States and Canada observe DST from the second Sunday in March (hence the blogpost) to the first Sunday in November, almost two-thirds of the year, which was part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

DST’s origin is now credited to George Vernon Hudson from Middle Earth, err I mean New Zealand, who published a paper in 1898 arguing its positive effects. An Englishman, William Willett, was a strong advocate of DST and claimed to have invented the concept independently from Hudson. DST allows people to take advantage of having more sunlight and therefore affects energy costs and can extend the time work or sports can be done by natural light. An obvious drawback to DST is its complexity and non-uniformity. Also recent studies have questioned the effectiveness of DST’s energy savings. DST positively affects some businesses and professions (such as sports related professions and some farmers), but can also negatively affect some businesses and even the stock market (TV companies and farmers whose products depend on the dew evaporating). It has been argued that extra daylight in the summer also increases public safety and health because extra sunlight allows the body to produce vitamin D and generally makes people happier.

So while you’re soaking up those extra sunrays after work, just remember that its all manmade and subject to change.

America's First President

Well heyo I’m back! I know it has been awhile between posts, I apologize. But don’t worry, this is a good one. Or at least I think so because I am from Maryland, home of crabs and the Wire. So here’s some pre-weekend Maryland/Early American History for ya…

John Hanson: The First President of the United States of America

Wait, what? What about the infallible George Washington? Who is this John Hanson character? Well, first of all, his name is John, so you know he was important because half the important Americans during the Revolution were named either John or George. But John Hanson, was born in Charles County, Maryland in 1721 to wealthy landowners and a politically active family (his father served several terms in the Maryland General Assembly). As he grew older, he married, and moved to Frederick, Maryland becoming one of the most ardent patriots in the area. He was elected to the Second Continental Congress in 1779 and became a leading proponent of the Articles of Confederation. He was also largely responsible for convincing the Maryland General Assembly (the final holdout state) to ratify the Articles.

As you may know, before there was James Madison and the Constitution we know and love today, there were the Articles of Confederation. A document that gave a lose connection to all 13 states but left the bulk of governing authority to the states. The “federal government” (if you can call it that) consisted of a Confederation Congress with a President to manage the few powers it had. The one major action the Confederation Congress took, was in 1784 (after Hanson’s death) they approved the Northwest Ordinance, which created the Northwest Territory (modern-day Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois).

Enter our man, John Hanson. When the Articles of Confederation were approved, members of the Second Continental Congress (once led by John Hancock) automatically transferred to the Confederation Congress. The first official session of Congress met on November 5, 1781 after the surrender of the British at Yorktown, and John Hanson was elected to be its President. The Articles specified one-year terms in this position, which Hanson fulfilled, and then chose not to run again. As President, his official duties consisted mostly of signing official documents and presiding over the Congress, which he found rather boring. Thus the one-term. Hanson died a year after leaving office. The Constitution was proposed in 1787 and George Washington was sworn into office as the first President under this new government on March 4, 1789.

Hanson’s legacy was promoted by his son, Alexander Cotte Hanson, Jr. who later became a Senator for Maryland, and his grandsons who claimed he was really the first POTUS. In fact, George Washington (a close friend of Hanson’s) referred to him as President Hanson) when he appeared before Congress in 1781. April 13 is now remembered each year as John Hanson’s birthday in Maryland, and he represents one of the two statues from Maryland in the Capitol Statuary Hall collection (the other being Charles Carroll). The United States’ first governing document as a new nation were the Articles of Confederation, and he was the first president of the federal legislature, albeit with no real power. First President or not? You be the judge.

A Full House for 2 Years

It’s almost March! Can you believe it? Where did the time go? Well today’s post is a mixture of history and government, and a short one to start the week off…

The 86^th Congress: 2 more than usual

Some background information is necessary. First, the official Census is held every 10 years, as specified in the Constitution (this is the year for it by the way). This Census is used for the reapportionment of how many U.S. Representatives each state will have in Congress. Obviously each state gets 2 Senators, but Representatives are determined based on population, i.e. the Census. The number of voting Representatives has been 435 since 1913, and was officially capped at this amount in 1929. Today the average congressional district represents approximately 650,000 citizens.

So, onto the story. Alaska joined the United States on January 3, 1959 bringing 600,000 people and 500,000 moose into the union. Hawaii joined on August 21, 1959. This presented a problem for Congress. The number of representatives was capped at 435, but the next reapportionment couldn’t take place until after the 1960 Census. And there was certainly no way any state was going to give up seats. So they decided to give both new states one seat in the House until after the Census and all 435 seats could be reallocated. At the beginning of the 87^th Congress in 1961, the total number was reduced to 435.

Hawaii now has 2 congressional districts, and Alaska has an at-large seat (as does Vermont, North Dakota, and Wyoming) because their populations are smaller than the average district. The cap of representatives at 435 also does not include non-voting members, i.e. Washington, D.C., Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico, all of whom have a non-voting delegate. Further problems will arise if Washington, D.C.’s seat is given voting rights.

But that’s a story for another day.