Avatar,

To See, or Not to See?

That is the Question!

January 16, 2010

Richard J. Garfunkel

My wife Linda and I, along with our friends the Habers went to see Avatar in 3-D in White Plains. It cost $15 per ticket. The question is, was it worth it to see the film, apropos of the price, or not? One thing is for sure, that if you go to see it, see it in 3-D. If one needed a primary reason to see the film, it would be the special affects, and its sheer majesty. The incredible vistas, the flora and fauna and the animation are quite unique and incredibly enhanced by 3-D.

But, over the years there have been other films that used special affects and combined with an engaging and worthwhile story. Certainly, 2001, A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Superman, Batman, Spider Man and the new Transformer movies have broken incredible visual ground. Even the little regarded Starship Troopers achieved an incredible, but gory level of special affects depicting violence and a war against an advanced-level of aggressive giant insects.

In reflecting on Avatar, I came to some conclusions. One is the thought that the general premise of the film was not really explained. Here are some following questions that I had about the film:

a)      If Earth was dying, why was a corporate entity handling this effort to colonize and exploit the mineral reserves of Pandora?

b)      This effort had been going on for many years, why, if this effort was so critical, it was undermanned? Wouldn’t a world-wide effort been mobilized?

c)      What was the importance of this mineral, and if was indigenous to Pandora, why was it located in one place? (It seems illogical!)

d)      Had the other areas of this large planet been explored for this mineral?

e)      Why were there so few people on this planet? (One would feel that they had been around for countless generations and their population would have been a great deal more significant. In 1492 when Columbus reached the New World, it was estimated that there were three million Native Americans living above the Rio Grande, and multiple millions living in Mexico and to the south. It was also estimated that Native Americans had crossed the Bering Strait land-bridge between 12-15,000 years ago. As to all of North America’s indigenous population, in the 1890’s, an estimate of 1 million was published by one James Mooney. Later on in 1965 and in 1982 the estimates were risen to between 10-12 million, and then to 18 million.)

f)        Assuming that this effort had been an ongoing one for many years (it takes place in 2154 CE) why weren’t there many more colonists?

g)      The creation of the “Avatars” took years and a great deal of money, why did the corporation allow this incredible expense and give it such a short time to work?

h)      The Na’vi or – blue people, knew of the “Sky People,” did they have any clue of who or what the Avatars really were?

i)        Historically indigenous native peoples, all over the world: Native North Americans, Moros, Micronesians, Aborigines, sub-continent Indians, Aztecs, Incas, Maoris, sub-Saharan Africans, Indo- Chinese and others have been by easily dominated by technologically superior peoples with populations that were much, much smaller. In the Indian sub-continent, the British Raj dominated, the population was over 200 million and it remained in that range from 1800 to 1858 when the Raj affectively consolidated power. In 1861 there were 41,000 British civilians and 66,000 military personnel. Why was this historical scenario so different?

j)        How could the long bow be effective against modern 22^nd Century armor? (Medieval long-bow weaponry had the range, 165-200 yards, and was used with a great deal of affect when used en masse against unprotected soldiers or cavalry. But this type of weaponry peaked in the Battles of Crecy (1356) and Agincourt (1415). Even in an atmosphere thinner and with a gravitational field much weaker than Earth, could bow and arrow penetrate a modern air ship-of-war? During World War I, in the first era of modern aerial warfare, the ability of high-powered Vickers 7.7 mm machine guns to hit one another was questionable. Most planes had to line up directly behind their target and even with a minimum range of 1500 yards the movements of both planes made accuracy questionable. This range was minimally 5 times greater than a long bow!)

k)      How could any animal (the last charge from the armored triceratops) survive the fire power of modern 22^nd Century ordnance launched by high powered multi-chambered and barreled guns? (This ammunition could penetrate the skin of many WWI tanks and possibly lighter tanks of WWII.)

The film portrayed the corporation as obviously American, and the indigenous Native Peoples, the Na’vi as colored, aboriginal types that communed with nature, and lived off the forest. One never sees their societal infrastructure, their system of justice, how they ate, how they lived, and what they did as a people. The symbolism of the picture was not the survival of the dying planet Earth, but the greed of a corporate entity, to rape a planet and the destruction of its people. Was this depiction a reflection of European colonial policies all over the world in the 16^th through 19^th Centuries, or modern America’s struggle against regimes who shelter and sponsor terrorism as their way to strike back at soc-called economic exploitation?  In this modern age, one could easily blame the local regimes for exploiting their own countries mineral rights and wealth. I felt that both the disabled Jack Sully, the US Marine, who was recruited to help in this effort and the scientist, Dr. Grace Augustine were poorly supported by the script. Sully’s lines were sophomoric and his demeanor and build were uncharacteristic of a US Marine. He was disabled as a result of combat and left without rehabilitation. We learn that he cannot afford to have his legs rehabilitated because of the prohibitive cost in 2154 CE, but the stereotypical Colonel Miles Quaritch, who is the military commander of this multi-trillion dollar effort, promises him a “spinal treatment” if he performs to the level of the Colonel’s satisfaction. On the other hand, Dr. Augustine, who has spent years of her time and high intellect developing new Avatars, at the cost countless millions of corporate monies, is only given three months to succeed with her agreed to policy of social infiltration. If she cannot convince the Na’vi, with her cloned Avatars, to abandon their homes, their religion, and their way of life in 90 days, her effort is to be terminated, and their military arm will take immediate action, resulting of the destruction of the Na’vi! Who was this corporation responding to, public opinion back on Earth? It is hard to believe that a dying planet Earth would care one iota about how intergalactic politics were played out! At the end, after the victory of the Na’vi is achieved and former Jack Sully is transformed permanently into a Na’v1, the captured Americans- Sky People are marched into captivity to be sent back to Earth. How would they get there? Wouldn’t others follow with greater weaponry and a more aggressive attitude?

William Shakespeare’s

Henry V

“From this day to the ending of the World,

…we in it shall be remembered

…we band of brothers.”

I was never a member of George’s Band of Brothers. But they have gathered together here and now, once and forever, to pay tribute to one of their lost brothers. Here we all are paying tribute to an individual whose drive, passion and decency made up a fabric of success, admiration, and memories we so fondly recall.

I serendipitously breezed into contact with George, his family and his Band of Brothers through a small window of opportunity opened to me by my coach and friend Bill Sywetz, almost 50 years ago, in this city, where we now mourn. I had never met George before that first day at Hutchinson Field, and other than those two short and transient springs which ended in 1963, I never was part of his life again. In those chilly spring afternoons and bright weekend mornings it was this ageless wonderment of baseball that encapsulated our lives. Though I knew it not then, all of us were at the tail end of an idyllic age, when the world was simpler, and the old values were understood and respected.

When I came back to Mount Vernon some four years later I gazed into that same window to see his brother Brian also compete on the often, not so friendly, fields of athletic strife. But it was not the same, times were a changing.

Daniel Defoe, stated, “that the best of men cannot suspend their fate: the good die early, and the bad die late. In a sense, no matter how old the good are, they are too young, Though, I tried, I never got to meet George again. I have no idea what I would have said. In a sense our world was frozen forever in that moment of time.

I thought of a quote from Hamlet, “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god!

That is how I sum up my impressions of that glance back through that clouded window of time when we were all young and the world was in front of us to conquer. In retrospect, it seems he was the one who remained forever young.

Richard J. Garfunkel

January 13, 2010

The Harvard Club, Frances Perkins and Al Gore

January 14, 2010

Richard J. Garfunkel

The Harvard Club is located on the north side of 44^th Street just off 5^th Avenue. It’s a wonderful place with a lovely bar and great meeting rooms. Originally a few sons of the future Harvard Club met down on Astor Place and frequently at Delmonico’s Restaurant, but its membership started to grow dramatically and by 1886 it had reached 431. It needed more and more room and in early 1887 it signed a lease for a four story brownstone at 11 West 22^nd Street. The membership converted it into a club house, a restaurant, offices and ten bedrooms.

The success of the new location increased its membership 25% in one year, and the Club started to look for a new location in the 40’s where other clubs had located. It wasn’t long before the trustees found its current location at 27-9 West 44^th Street and hired the famous Charles McKim of McKim, Mead & White to design their new clubhouse which was opened in 1894. By the way, McKim’s partner was the equally famous and notorious Stanford White, who was shot to death by millionaire Harry K. Thaw in a dispute involving the lovely Evelyn Nesbit. Ms. Nesbit was the young wife of Thaw, and was reported to be deeply involved with White when she was 16 and he was close to thrice her age. But the shooting was years later in 1906 at a party thrown by White at the Madison Square Garden’s Roof Garden. The Harvard Club is a wonderful place, with the look of a late 19^th Century hunting lodge. It has an impressive great hall, a comfortable bar and sitting area, and a spacious dining room. My first visit there in the early 1970’s was as a dinner guest of my sister Kaaren and her husband Charles Hale, who was a graduate of the Harvard Business School. The first floor has pictures of all of Harvard’s presidents, and a number of its illustrious graduates. Back then I looked vainly for a picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but for the life of me, I could not find it until I went downstairs to the restrooms. There it hung in a corner. Was I shocked but not really surprised? No! Thankfully times have changed, and it now is in a prominent place in the dining room with portraits of Jack Kennedy, his illustrious fifth cousin Teddy Roosevelt and others.  

Tonight the Frances Perkins Center, named after FDR’s famous Secretary of Labor and the nation’s first woman to serve in the Cabinet of the United States, co-sponsored, with Mount Holyoke College, Frances Perkin’s alma mater, (Class of 1902, MA from Columbia in 1910), The Harvard Club, The Roosevelt Institute, the Friends of Columbia Libraries, and the Women’s City Club, a celebration of her life and the creation of Social Security, seventy-five years ago. The first panel discussion was hosted by my friend Chris Breiseth, formerly the President of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, (FERI), featured author Kirstin Downey, Adam Cohen of the NY Times and Larry DeWitt of the Social Security Administration. The second panel was moderated by Susan Feiner with Nancy Altman, Maya Rockymoore, and Professor Eric Kingson. The life and times of Frances Perkins and her impact, regarding the creation of Social Security and how the entitlement program works, was discussed in depth. The thrust of the evening was to oppose a new commission, headed by United States Senators Conrad and Gregg, which upon further analysis seems to be a threat to Social Security as we know it. The life of Frances Perkins has been well chronicled by one of the guest panelists, Kirstin Downey, formerly of the Washington Post, who wrote, The Woman Behind the New Deal, the Life of France Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and his Moral Conscience.  Ms. Perkins, who started a long career first in the settlement houses of New York, witnessed the tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaste fire and tragedy that claimed over 160 young women’s lives. Early in her career she needed the help and got it from Tammany Hall’s Big Tom McManus who was in charge of NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen. Ironically Linda and I were working on a New Democratic Coalition (NDC) screening committee of candidates for District Leader at the New Yorker Hotel. We were in our early 20’s and one of the first candidates that we interviewed was James McManus, the incumbent District Leader, and heir to the McManus politic dynasty who actually wanted a “reform” endorsement. How the mighty had fallen since Charles Murphy and the last Tiger of Tammany, Carmine De Sapio, ruled the Democratic machine.

Perkins rose up the ladder in government with the ascension of Al Smith as governor and her appointment to New York State’s Industrial Commission. As one of the leading women in the Democratic Party, along with Eleanor Roosevelt and Molly Dewson, Frances Perkins, who had worked with Theodore Roosevelt, became the state’s Labor Commissioner when Franklin Roosevelt was elected Governor of New York in 1928. She would later follow FDR to Washington and enter the cabinet of as Secretary of Labor and the nation’s first woman member. She stated that she came to Washington with the purpose, “To work for G-d, FDR, and the millions of forgotten plain workingmen.” She became the moral conscience behind the New Deal, and is credited with being the driving force behind many of the New Deal’s labor reforms, and the creation of Social Security.

At Al Smith's funeral in 1944 two of his former Tammany Hall political cronies were overheard to speculate on why Smith had become a social crusader. One of them summed the matter up this way: “I'll tell you. Al Smith read a book. That book was a person, and her name was Frances Perkins. She told him all these things and he believed her.”

After FDR’s death on April 12, 1945, Ms. Perkins finally resigned after serving over twelve years in one of the most difficult and pressure-packed positions in American history. She was appointed to the US Civil Service Commission by the new president, Harry S Truman and served there until 1952 and the end of his 2^nd term. In her later life, she began to teach and finally wound up in the late 1950’s at Cornell’s School of Labor Relations at the invitation of Professor Maurice Neufeld. Without a real home of her own, and with the encouragement and initiation of the young Chris Breiseth, who is our host tonight, she took up residence at Cornell University’s Telluride House. It was the beginning of a marvelous opportunity for both Perkins and a terrific contribution for Cornell. Some of her early friends at the Telluride House were, of course Chris, Allan Bloom and Paul Wolfowitz.

After the panel discussions ended, we broke for an hour of drinks and finger food. To the amazement and delight of all, Vice President Al Gore strode into the reception. He was mobbed by everyone, and I got a chance to say hello, have him sign a Frances Perkins stamped first day cover, get photographed, and invite him to be a guest my radio shoe, The Advocates. The Vice-president looked great. He was tan, much slimmer and quite charming. He was there because his daughter, Karenna Gore Shiff, the author of Lighting the Way: Nine Women Who Changed Modern America, is the co-producer with Catherine Gorman, who was also there, of a documentary on the life of Frances Perkins.

The evening ended with some more talk about the future risks that the Social Security system faces and the showing of the not quite finished Gore-Gorman documentary about the life of Frances Perkins. It was a fascinating five hours of information, great talk and wonderful memories of two titans of the 20^th Century, Frances Perkins, and her unequaled mentor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Memories of Time Gone By

Richard J. Garfunkel

1-10-2010

I met George Bochow in the early spring of 1962. It was on the baseball diamonds of Hutchinson Field, which is located going south just off  Sanford Boulevard in Mount Vernon, and almost to the Pelham line. Hutchison Field was right next to the more beautiful Parkway Field, which the Pelham High School Pelicans played. Even though we should have been natural rivals, we never played them in an official game, because their enrollment was too small. But we did play them in “unofficial” games, sort of like a scrimmage in football or basketball. The total amount of games was “set in stone” as we were limited by Westchester County and New York State regulations pertaining to high school athletics. The only members of the Pelham team, who I could remember were their handsome and very talented centerfielder who was rumored to have gotten an appointment to the Naval Academy and their very large and aggressive first baseman. I had a minor incident with him when he was on first base, and our pitcher was throwing over to keep him close to the bag and I tried to block him from getting to the base. That turned out to be a mistake.

I had gone to Horace Mann in ninth grade, and was a bit unfamiliar with the intra-school junior high school play that had existed on and through 9^th grade. In those days, AB Davis High School, which was, and is still located on Gramatan Avenue, was a three-year school. While I was away in that year, I missed out on many things that were happening. At Horace Mann, I played freshman baseball, basketball and freshman and junior varsity soccer. I didn’t play any Little League of Pony League baseball in Mount Vernon because I went away to camp and belonged to beach clubs in New Rochelle on Davenport Neck. But I honed my skills on the sandlots and the school yards. Because my choice to leave Horace Mann came on a bit late, my assimilation into Davis High School was a bit unplanned. Since I was not a rising freshman in the system, I registered late for all my courses and was a bit of an outsider even though all my classmates had started their sophomore year at the same time I did in the fall of 1960. It was a difficult year of adjustment after Horace Mann, and though I played junior varsity basketball at Davis, I had no clue about when and where baseball tryouts were held. In my junior year, my gym teacher, Bill Sywetz, who was also the varsity baseball coach, asked me to try out. We actually were very close friends and I spent countless hours in his tiny athletic department office as his assistant and runner. I loved and admired both Bill Sywetz, and the legendary Henry “Hank” Littlefield. They were great and I have the fondest memories of both men. Bill left for Scarsdale High School the next year, he eventually took over for the retiring Dave Buchanan as Athletic Director and I would stop in to say hello for years afterward. I was in his office many times, and for years I watched him referee high school wrestling meets. In the winter of my junior year, after a disagreement on style, I was cut from the varsity basketball team by the late Vinnie Olson. That unforeseen event opened up a great opportunity for me. I was able to meet and become associated with Hank Littlefield, one of the premier scholastic wrestling coaches in the United States. From that time on Hank and I became fast friends and we remained close until his untimely death in 2000 at the age of 66.

Those years with Henry were wonderful and I cherish every memory. I became his assistant, and later came back from college and ran the NY State Section I Wrestling Tournament (Westchester-Putnam-Dutchess Counties) in Mount Vernon for three years, 1965-6-7. It was all a fascinating run and great fun besides. After Mount Vernon’s first year of varsity wrestling in 1961-2, Henry’s teams won five straight Section Titles from 1963 through 1967, and the State Titles in 1966 and 1967, Henry’s teams were also undefeated in that period in Section I competition. The next year, Henry went off to Northampton, Massachusetts to work on a Federal History Project and then he headed on to Amherst College.

But in the spring of 1962 I was playing baseball under Coach Bill Sywetz with my neighborhood buddies; Joel Grossman and Jack Bromley. We basically had almost an all-junior squad with the exception of George Bochow and maybe a few other guys. I didn’t know George, and had never heard of him. He went to school across town at Nichols Junior High School, and according to everyone he had a great reputation. He did have an older sister named Beryl, and I know that I had met her in one of my classes, but to this day I cannot pin down where that happened. George was a natural athlete, very strong and quite carved for that era. He was shy, quiet and from my perspective a nice all around guy. Maybe because he was a year younger, he kept quiet. The rest of the team had some great personalities who loved to talk, have fun, and enjoy life. Bob Manfredonia, Bob Spana, Tony Castaldo, Steve Blankstein, Jack Bromley, Joel Grossman, Ricky Miller, Lou Nardone, Andy Mahler and Jim Seiler, were the guys from my class that I remember.

My strongest memories of those years were of the cold weather we endured during those springs and our home and home victories against regional powerhouse James Madison High School of the Bronx, which had in the past featured the legendary Hank Greenberg (Class of 1929) and Ed Kranepool (Class of 1962). We faced Vic Vergara, Danny Monzon and other talented other ballplayers at both Hutchinson Field and their barbed wire surrounded field which was located at  Boynton Avenue and172^nd Street in the Bronx. Monroe HS was closed down in 1994, and divided into four small schools. I only remember a few parts of that game in the Bronx, One was an incredible homerun hit by Vic Vergara, who challenged Eddie Kranepool’s school homerun record, the fact we won 2-1 and I made the running catch in right field to end the game, and preserve the victory for our tall left-hander Jack Bromley.

During one of our practices, Jon Murray, of the Daily Argus, one of the local paper’s sport’s reporters came out to Hutchinson Filed to pitch batting practice. He was a young guy in his late 20’s or early 30’s at the most, and he was a wild left-hander. We were sitting on the bench awaiting our turns at the plate. He was wild and dangerous and he plunked two or three of the first batters he faced. George Bochow turned to Jack Bromley and I and declared that if Murray hit him with a pitch he would throw the bat at him! Well, George’s turn came up, and Jack and I were encouraging George to dig in and try to hit Murray’s fast ball. Wouldn’t you know it, the first pitch hit George on the wrist, and he said nothing. We verbally reminded George of his earlier promise, but he just turned at us an sheepishly smiled. After a few more swings, he ran down to first base. I was next up, and before I stepped into the box, I warned Mr. Murray in the best way not to throw at me because I was less disciplined than George. It seemed to work, and Murray took something off his next few pitches and put them right down the middle.

After baseball season ended in the spring of my senior year, very little matter with regards to school. The next few weeks were the “mop up” days before high school came to a close. It was the end of childhood, and home as we knew it for most of us. Most of my friends went off to college, others went to work and some went into the service. A few months later JFK was killed, the fervor of the 1960’s was ramped up, and the Vietnam War started to get very hot. Those idyllic days of the spring and summer of 1963 were long gone. For me, and many, that year was the last year of peace and innocence that we enjoyed.

Sports in New York

January 3, 2010

Richard J. Garfunkel

Yesterday was a surprising day for sports fans in New York. I had the pleasure of going to Madison Square Garden as the guest of my old buddy Alan Rosenberg. We met in the YMHA in Mount Vernon back in the late 1950’s. It was there that we played our own version of the Mount Vernon City Ping-Pong Championship. Alan, a successful CPA in New York, has one of the most remarkable sport’s memorabilia collections on this planet, and as friends for 50 years, we have never had a “discouraging” word between us!

It was a bitterly cold early evening, but we both had the pleasure and convenience of being driven right up to the Garden and we hustled in before the long sharp tongue of Jack Frost chilled our aging bones. Meanwhile the seats were great, and the usually toothless Knicks won 132-89, their greatest margin of victory in their history. I am old Boston Celtic fan, dating back to the pre-Bill Russell days, and other than a short period in the early 1950’s and 1970’s and the part of the Pat Ewing Era of the mid 1990’s the Celts dominated the Knicks. I was actually impressed by a few of the Knicks and sort of glad they won. Even though the Pacers were obviously tired and missing a few of their better players, the Knicks played quite well.

During halftime, Alan took me over to where Cal Ramsey, the record-setting and venerable star of the NYU Violets from the middle 1960’s usually sits. Cal had been on The Advocates this past March 11, and one can listen to the interview at http://advocates-wvox.com. It was a pleasure to say hello once again. Cal never misses a Knick home game, and has been a part of their family for decades.

Across the Hudson River, the snake-bit Jets had a remarkable victory over the Division-winning Cincinnati Bengals 37-0. It was a well-earned triumph for a team that has lost an uncountable amount of big games since Joe Namath predicted and authored their Super Bowl III victory 40 years ago. In a strange, up and down, season, the Jets actually earned their playoff spot after last week’s gift from the Indianapolis Colts, who mailed in their second half effort. That strange and unusual “beau geste” left the door open for the desperate Jets. As for the Giants, after an almost unprecedented 5-0 start, they collapsed by winning only 3 games in the last 11. It is hard to believe that the Giants, who were known historically for defense, were obliterated in the last two games. This season, they gave up the second most amount of points in their long history. Of course they are now playing more games per year now than they did in their first 50 years in business. I haven’t been a Giant fan since they fired Allie Sherman and the emergence of Joe Namath. I had been a Giant fan from my earliest days, and I had the unique pleasure of seeing them play at the Polo grounds against the pre-Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts. The Polo Grounds has long been demolished, the Baltimore Colts (whose franchise actually could be traced to the NFL’s Dayton Triangles in 1913) are now in Indianapolis after being spirited out of town in the middle of the night in 1984, and the legendary Johnny Unitas passed away at the age of 69 in 2002. It was therefore, an unusual and a unique start to the new decade. I am sure there will be more surprises to come!

RJ Garfunkel

Newport, Christmas and Cuisine

December 25, 2009

Richard J. Garfunkel

Newport is a unique place which has many venues for the casual visitor to enjoy. It has the harbor, which offers boating, fishing and great shopping. It has Bellevue Avenue and the mansions, which during the Gilded Age were summer cottages for the rich, especially Mrs. Astor’s 400. Newport is also home to the Casino, which is an old name for its tennis club and courts. The Tennis Hall of Fame is a wonderful place to stroll through and its artifacts, old pictures, and displays are second to none. For a tennis player, Newport is nirvana. Besides all of the above, there is a lot of history that abounds in Newport. One could go to Touro Synagogue and its grounds which are in the heart of old Newport. Old Newport has a wonderful collection of 18^th century homes and commercial buildings along Spring and Division Streets. Down by the water, where we stayed at the Newport Bay Club and Hotel, one can walk all along Thames Street and buy any type of shirt, sweater or collectible commemorating Newport.

We came up for the Christmas weekend, and Newport was still recovering from a massive snow storm that buffeted the coastline from Virginia to Boston. Our drive up from Tarrytown along 1-95 was quite uneventful; the traffic was pleasantly light after we passed through Fairfield, Norwalk and New Haven. The City was inundated with about two feet of the white stuff, and when we arrived on Thursday evening of the 24^th much of it was still on the ground. We checked into the Newport Bay Club and went for a walk in the damp and misty evening air towards the Brick Market. We learned that one of the few restaurants open on Christmas Eve was the Sea Shai Hibachi Garden at the Black Market Mall, http://www.seashai.com/.

After making our way around the piles of snow and the numerous puddles we found our destination. The place is huge, but since we wanted Japanese-style cuisine, we had to wait until our table was filled. It didn’t take long, because a family of eight, which included three generations, including people from Seattle, NYC, and New England, sauntered in and before long we were all served. They offered a special hibachi chicken dinner for $10 and we ordered a few of the appetizers. Along with the miso soup, the traditional salad, and the usual Japanese grilled vegetables and shrimp the bill came to less than $38.  It was a very fulfilling and reasonably priced meal, especially since our choices were quite limited. We walked back to the Bay Club and slipped into the arms of Morpheus.

Christmas Day, was a bit brighter, and we had breakfast in our rooms. The hotel offered all sorts of muffins, fruits and juice. We brought our own eggs, cereal and milk. Since everything in Newport was basically closed, it was a perfect day for a driving tour which took us along Bellevue Avenue. The streets were virtually empty and we cruised to the end, where the late Doris Duke’s mansion, Rough Point is located. The famous blond and lanky socialite departed Newport and the world in 1993 at the age of 81, and her mansion is now open to the public through early November. She also had a few other places to “crash” when she was on the road.

Over the years Doris acquired a number of homes. One, which was her official principal residence, was Duke Farms, her father's 2,700 acre estate in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey. Here she created Duke Gardens, 60,000-square-foot public Display Gardens that were among the largest in America. Duke's other residences were private during her lifetime: she spent summer weekends working on her Newport Restoration Foundation projects while staying at Rough Point, the 115-room English manor-style mansion that she inherited from her father. Winters were spent at an estate she built in the 1930s and named “Shangri La” in Honolulu, Hawaii; and at “Falcon's Lair” in Beverly Hills, California, once the home of Rudolph Valentino. She also maintained two apartments in Manhattan: a 9-room penthouse with a 1,000-square veranda at 475 Park Avenue that is currently owned by journalist Cindy Adams ^]; and another apartment near Times Square that she used exclusively as an office for the management of her financial affairs. She purchased her own Boeing 737 jet and redecorated the interior to travel between homes and on her trips to collect art and plants. Rough Point was deeded to the Newport Restoration Foundation in 1999 and opened to the public in 2000. Tours are limited to 12 people each.

As Bellevue curves to the right from Rough Point the vistas of the Newport coastline opened up as we drove onto Ocean Drive. There are some wonderful views of the craggy coastline, and over the years the hills that look down upon the ocean have become dotted with some magnificent homes. They are not like the “cottages of Bellevue Avenue, but all in all they are quite nice. In our earlier trips we would drive out to Ocean Drive and swim at one of the public beaches that are at the beginning of the “Drive.” In the past we visited Hammersmith Farm, where Jackie Bouvier Kennedy lived with her mother, and her sister Lee.

Hammersmith Farm is a Victorian mansion that hosted the wedding reception of Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy. Linda’s cousin, the late Frederick W. Rosen,  Lt. Cdr, USNR (Ret.) was a friend of JFK and joined the PT Boat with him on the same day. Fred commanded PT 207 in the Mediterranean and was one of the 2000 guests invited to his wedding reception at the Farm. During his presidency, Kennedy spent enough time at Hammersmith Farm that it was referred to as the “Summer White House.” Hammersmith Farm was built in 1887 for John W. Auchincloss, the great-grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy's stepfather, Hugh D. Auchincloss. The house was located in an area in Newport known as “Hammersmith” after the hometown of the first settler of the region, William Brenton, a 17th century governor. The house was opened for public tours in 1978. Following the death of Hugh Auchincloss, Jr., Fruit of the Loom executive William F. Farley bought the main house for $6.675 million in 1997. In 1999, he sold it for over $8 million to Peter Kiernan, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, who converted the home back to private use. The furnishings of the Farm were sold off in a Christie's auction in 2000 that fetched $233,620. We were there the last day it was open to the public!

After enjoying the sights along Ocean Drive, we turned back into Bellevue, and headed toward Ruggles which leads to the Ocean and the Breakers. The Breakers, which is the crown jewel of Newport, was closed for the holiday, though it is opened for touring throughout the winter. The Breakers is a Vanderbilt mansion located on Ochre Point Avenue. It is a National Historic Landmark, a contributing property to the Bellevue Avenue Historic District, and is owned and operated by the Preservation Society of Newport County.

The Breakers was built as the Newport summer home of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy United States Vanderbilt family. Designed by renowned architectRichard Morris Hunt and with interior decoration by Jules Allard and Sons and Ogden Codman, Jr., the 70-room mansion boasts approximately 65,000 sq ft of living space. The home was constructed between 1893 and 1895 at a cost of more than $7 million (approximately $150 million in today's dollars adjusted for inflation). The Ochre Point Avenue entrance is marked by sculpted iron gates and 30-foot high walkway gates are part of a 12-foot-high limestone and iron fence that borders the property on all but the ocean side. The 250' x 120' dimensions of the five-story mansion are aligned symmetrically around a central Great Hall.

I parked on Ruggles and stepped over the snow and onto the famous Cliff Walk, which was impassable. I was able to take a few photos before we headed back into town. We turned right from Bellevue to Memorial Drive and drove down the land bridge to Easton’s Beach and Middletown. Incredibly there were a handful of surfers who were braving the wind, chilly air and frigid waters. From Easton’s beach it was back again to Memorial Drive. This time we turned right at Bellevue, which became Touro Street and we drove passed Touro Synagogue and the old part of Newport. On Touro Street is the old and venerable Viking Hotel, which at one time was one of the nicest places in Newport. Jackie Bouvier’s father, who was a handsomely tanned alcoholic, a notorious womanizer and Wall Street manipulator named John Vernou Bouvier III. His nickname was “Black Jack” because of his deep tan and he stayed at the Viking Hotel for the wedding. It was said that his former wife reportedly did not want him to escort Jacqueline down the aisle for her wedding to John F. Kennedy. Jacqueline was instead escorted by her stepfather, Hugh D. Auchincloss. It was rumored that some of the Kennedys helped “Black Jack” Bouvier become to intoxicated to escort his daughter, and this was the reason Auchincloss stepped in to give the bride away.

Within walking distance from Newport Harbor the Viking is nestled in the Historic Hill district off famed Bellevue Avenue. Once the summering destination of America’s wealthiest, the Hotel was opened in 1926 to accommodate their haute monde guests. With the most recent multi-million dollar renovation finished in 2007 this hotel is a convenient choice for a historic stay in the heart of historic Newport. It was quiet in the Viking, but for whoever was there, the Christmas trees, warm sitting areas, and wood paneled bar were great places to congregate.

We went back to our rooms at the Newport Bay Club, and Linda found an advertisement for lobsters and fresh fish. We headed down to America’s Cup Way, turned left into Bannister’s Wharf and walked along to Bowen’s Wharf where we found the fresh fish purveyor, and we bought a 1.5 pound lobster, had it boiled, and brought it back to our rooms, where we had New England clam chowder, salad and the lobster. We were a bit worried how to crack the shell, so we went to CVS to look for a nutcracker. We wound up buying a small hammer, which we wound up not needing, and we brought back, but I was able to use a manual can opener to break the claws. We melted butter, enjoyed that delicious crustacean and rested until late afternoon when we headed out to see “Sherlock Holmes.”

The movie was quite enjoyable, and Robert Downey Jr and the whole cast was marvelous. Again it was a challenge to find a restaurant in Newport on Christmas Day. But there is a wonderful one called Sardella’s which was founded in 1980, and is located right on Memorial Drive, about halfway between our hotel on Thames and Bellevue Avenue. The restaurant was crowded, and we had a small table, which was quite adequate. We ordered lobster bisque soup which was quite reasonable at $6 for a bowl, and Linda chose a Caesar salad with chicken, and I chose a linguini with Bolognese sauce. The total bill was $46 and we had a pleasant time talking to the people sitting next to us. Here are the reviews for Sardella’s; http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60978-d443215-Reviews-Sardella_s_Italian_Restaurant-Newport_Rhode_Island.html.

On Saturday we again had breakfast in our rooms, and we headed out to visit the newly opened stores on Thames Street. We headed toward the Armory Market, an antiques mall, where we found a sailing ship, a Breakers Hotel cup, a wrought-iron plate holder, a chopping bowl and a few other items. I brought them back to the car we continued our tour of the stores of Newport. We then headed for the Tennis Hall of Fame, where we spent an entertaining two hours.The Newport Casino, which opened up on August 2, 1880, still sits on Bellevue Avenue across from where Bennett’s home used to be. Now there is a shopping center. It was immediately a great success. One can still sit today in the La Forge Restaurant and look out on the original lawn tennis court. Newport and tennis became synonymous and the first United States National lawn tennis championships were held there in 1881. Richard Sears, a 19-year old Harvard student won the inaugural event and went on to win six more championships without losing a set. Eventually there was doubles competition and Sears entered into it in 1882, and with both James Dwight and Joseph Clark, won five titles in a row. The championships stayed there until the onset of World War I and after 1914 never returned. Time and democracy moved on, and the Nationals moved to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, NY for the next 63 years. Even the Forest Hills facility became antiquated as the Nationals eventually became an “Open” and the professionals started to dominate the game. The National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows became the next and present venue.

The reason The Casino was built in the first place was a strange incident, involving the quirky newspaper man James Gordon Bennett, Jr., who had earlier caused a stir by sending reporter Henry Stanley to Africa to find the lost and reclusive Dr. David Livingston, of “Dr. Livingston, I presume!” One dull day in 1879, in a fit of spirited good times and fun, Bennett dared Captain Candy, a visiting polo player, to bring his horse into Bennett’s club, The Reading Room. His fellow members weren’t amused by having a horse cantering around their sanctum and threw the horse out along with Bennett. Therefore since they couldn’t take a joke, Bennett established his own place, The Casino. Years later, another Candy- Candace Van Alen, asked her tennis-playing enthusiast husband, Jimmy Van Alen, “Why doesn’t tennis have a Hall of Fame like baseball.” A year later, in 1954, Van Alen posed the question to the US Tennis Association. Therefore, with that question posed, the Tennis Hall of Fame started to come into existence. A few of the early inductees were Oliver Campbell, James Dwight, Richard Sears, the first champion, Henry Slocum, Jr., Malcolm Whitman and Robert Wrenn. Even Jimmy Van Alen was inducted in 1965. It only took another 21 years, for the Hall of Fame to be renamed the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1975 with the induction of the great Englishman Fred Perry.

After our self-guided tour, we headed back to our hotel for lunch. This time it was sandwiches and salad. After lunch we drove over to Beechwood, the Astor’s mansion and made the 2pm tour. One of Newport's oldest, oceanfront summer “cottages”, Astors' Beechwood Mansion was originally built in 1851 for a New York merchant, Daniel Parish. The Italianate-style mansion was destroyed by fire in 1855 and two years later, a replica was constructed on the property closer to the Atlantic Ocean frontage. Real estate mogul William Backhouse Astor, Jr., the grandson of John Jacob Astor, purchased the mansion in 1890 as an anniversary gift for his wife, Caroline. More commonly referred to as “The Mrs. Astor”, the undisputed Queen of American Society, Caroline hired architect Richard Morris Hunt and spent two million dollars renovating Beechwood into a place worthy of America's highest society.

Although Mrs. Astor only spent two months of the summer at Beechwood, she packed them full of social activities, including her renowned “Summer Ball.” For 25 years during the Gilded Age, Astors' Beechwood Mansion was the center of American Society, with Caroline reigning as its Queen. She was the creator of the first American social register, “The 400.” a list of 213 families and individuals whose lineage could be traced back at least three generations, she was the mother of John Jacob Astor, IV, the richest man to perish on the RMS Titanic. The Mrs. Astor’s 400 (all who could fit in her ballroom) has all but disappeared, except for a small mention in the paper regarding the conviction of one Anthony Marshall, who couldn’t wait until his mama, the legendary Brooke Astor departed from her earthly journey. Mrs. Astor, whose third husband was Vincent Astor, who was the great-great grandson of John Jacob Astor, America’s first multi-millionaire, died 50 years ago. Brooke, who lived to 105 years young, left an estimated $168 million. She had intended to give it all to charities, and that obviously frightened her only son. In his 80’s he decided to loot as much as he could before the needy got their “greedy” hands on his 2^nd step-father’s loot.

Beechwood is unique because all the hosts are in period piece costumes, and their characters are frozen in the year of 1891. This is the only “cottage” among the Newport mansions that provides a living history tour. The cast of The Beechwood Theatre Company takes on the roles of servants, guests and members of the Astor family in the year 1891 (or 1920s on Tuesdays). We were on a self-guided tour through the home by the cast as if you were a guest coming to call on the Astor family. Through interaction with the actors, a wealth of information on the dress, customs, activities, class structure and opulence of the era is shared in an intimate and interesting format. Once you enter the mansion, you have stepped back in time, and it is virtually impossible to get the actors out of character. Meanwhile at the end of the tour, we were entertained by wonderful singing and a cotillion in the Great Hall. The cast of characters were talented, good-looking, charming, young  and recent college graduates.

After Beechwood, it was off to Washington Square where we parked. We visited the Brick Market Museum and Shop. Being fans of British Royal history, our next choice was to see the afternoon, 4:30 pm showing of Young Victoria, with Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend at the Jane Pickens Threater which is right on Washington Square. It was a sumptuous film chronicling the ascension of the young Victoria, the niece of William the IV of England to the throne after his death in 1837. The film depicted her early struggles with her family, her ascension to the throne and her marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Victoria was born in Kensington Palace in 1819. At the time of her birth, her grandfather, George III, was on the throne, but his three eldest sons, the Prince Regent (later George IV), the Duke of York, and the Duke of Clarence (later William IV), had no surviving legitimate children. Her godparents were Emperor Alexander I of Russia, the future King George IV of the United Kingdom (her uncle), Queen Charlotte of Württemberg and Duchess Augusta of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield. The film was enjoyable, well-constructed, and Victoria was beautifully portrayed by Ms. Blunt. At its conclusion, we walked directly across Washington Square to Yesterday’s Ale House & Restaurant where we had eaten twice before on earlier visits to Newport. Yesterday’s is a comfortable eatery, founded in 1974, with the look of a 19^th Century ale house, constructed with wooden beams and comfortable booths. There are plenty of reviews for Yesterday’s at this site: http://www.yelp.com/biz/yesterdays-and-the-place-newport.

On Sunday, after breakfast, we packed up our car, and headed down to the Bannister’s Wharf, stopped in a few stores, and got on the road to meet our children, Dana and Jon in Providence. We had arranged to meet them for lunch at around 2:00 pm. In between, we decided to drive to Fall River, MA, which is about 20 miles north of Newport. I wanted to see the battleship Massachusetts, which is docked at the Battleship Cove. TheMassachusetts was built in Quincy, Massachusetts at the Fore River Shipyard of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. The ship was launched on September 23, 1941, and holds the record as the heaviest ship ever launched in Quincy. “Big Mamie”, as her crew knew her, was delivered to the Boston Navy Yard in April 1942 and commissioned the following month.

Following her shakedown period Battleship Massachusetts went into action on November 8, 1942, as part of Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. While cruising off the city of Casablanca, Morocco, the Battleship engaged in a gun duel with the unfinished French battleship Jean Bart, moored at a Casablanca pier. In this battle, Massachusetts fired the first American 16″ projectile in anger of World War II. Five hits from Big Mamie silenced the enemy battleship, and other 16″ shells from Battleship Massachusetts helped sink two destroyers, two merchant ships, a floating dry-dock, and heavily damaged buildings and docks in Casablanca. Along with Massachusetts one can board both thesubmarine USS Lionfish and the USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., which are also anchored in the cove.

We had been to see the Massachusetts on previous trips, and we then headed north east to Providence, the capital of Rhode Island. Providence is a very interesting city that has gone through a major renaissance. Providence, the home to over 170,000 souls was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams and used to be a known as the “Bee Hive of Industry.” Today it has re-created itself into an arts and creative center. It is the home to Brown University, Providence College and the Rhode Island School of Design. Once we arrived in the city, we met our children at the Red Stripe, http://redstriperestaurants.com/?page_id=34 , an American Brasserie restaurant at 465 Angell Street. It was busy, noisy, but convenient. The menu was a bit limited, but the food was good. I had lox and bagels, and the nova scotia was plentiful and tasty. Linda, Dana, and Jon had omelets, vegetable wraps, and a tomato soup. The bill came to $59. All in all, we enjoyed the brunch and we walked to our cars which were parked right on Angell Street and made our way to the Rhode Island School of Design museum, http://www.risdmuseum.org/ , at 224 Benefit Street. RISD’s museum is a real gem. They have great collections of modern art, Egyptian artifacts, bronzes and interior design creations. It was a great place to spend an afternoon. We finally finished with RISD, Providence, and our weekend in Newport, and it was time to go home. Jon went back to Boston, and Dana joined us for a ride to New York. Happy New Year- 2010, a new year, a new decade!

New York in Early December.

12-6-09

Richard J. Garfunkel

Since yesterday was Linda’s birthday, we had decided to drive into New York and see some of the sights. For all of you former New Yorkers, the Henry Hudson toll is now $3.00. It seems like yesterday that it cost only a thin dime. We traveled down to historic Fraunces Tavern, which is located at 54 Pearl Street. There was little traffic on the Henry Hudson, the West Side Drive and 12^th Avenue which leads directly past the old World Trade center site, and the “new” Stuyvesant HS, the most expensive high school built in history. At Battery Place we circled past the Staten Island Ferry slips to Water Street and we found parking in lower Manhattan at a premium. But persistence won the morning and we squeezed into a spot only two short blocks just east of Pearl Street and facing directly at the East River.

We made a brisk walk to 54 Pearl Street where the restaurant museum stands. It was sunny and brisk outside, but even though cars were parked every where it was eerily lonely in this part of town. The quaint weekday lunchtime eateries were mostly bordered up on this pre-Christmas Sunday. The shoppers and tourists were somewhere else, and one could look at the ancient Magna Carta in the solitude on loneliness. So we had plenty of time to gaze at many of revolutionary era paintings and some of the artifacts from that bygone age, now over 230 long years ago.

After coming downstairs, we thought about eating at the restaurant, but there was no one there, and it was still early so we decided to leave and decide whether to cross into Brooklyn and stroll around Boro Park or go for lunch on City Island. While we were making up our minds, we made our way up Water Street and decided we would stop at a Jewish bakery named Moishe’s on 2^nd Avenue and 7^th Street. On our way north on the Bowery, we also figured that we would look for a pickle outlet like the Pickleman or Guss’s I knew that if we could find Essex Street, we would find pickles. We turned right on Houston and headed east towards the East River. Not far up the block was Essex and we turned right and headed straight down that wide street until on the right was the Pickle Guy. Linda hopped out, bought a mixed quart of half-sours and sour pickles and we made a u-turn and headed back to Houston.  

Back on Houston Linda forbade me from stepping a foot into Katz’s Deli, so once on Houston, we headed west to 1^st Avenue, drove up to 7^th Street and found a space directly in front of Moishe’s where they were happy to see us. With a little questioning we found out they make pletzels, a type of onion board, during the week, but if you really wanted one, you could order it during the week, and they could hold it for you. Since the famous Gertel’s, which was located at 53 Hester Street for years closed in June of 2007, to make room for another “badly needed” high rise, this type of delicacy has been not easy to find. So after getting a sliced seeded rye, a few egg rolls, an onion roll and a small piece of seven-layer cake, it was off to 23^rd Street and the FDR Drive.

Why the New Deal and Its Enduring Legacy!

October 23, 2009

Richard J. Garfunkel

As to the New Deal it has remained popular because it basically worked and brought stability to an unstable environment. That Depression era destroyed democracy all over the world. Countries that had elected parliaments or at least had nominally representative government failed in wake of the economic cataclysm of WWI. In the United States our democratic ideas of representative government endured. By the late 1930’s, even with the set back of the recession of late 1937, world wide events were catching the attention of the public. The emergence of a powerful and dangerous Germany, the Spanish Civil War, Italian invasion of Ethiopia, Japan’s aggression first in Manchuria and then in China started to change perceptions in the American populace. FDR was seen as a stable world level leader. But the country was overwhelmingly isolationist and becoming more and xenophobic and race conscious. That is why it opposed immigration, especially of Jews or Eastern Europeans. Its attitude towards Japan and Japanese-Americans or Japanese resident aliens was fraught with racial fears and hatred. American sympathies toward China exacerbated that hatred towards the aggressive Japanese warlords. This attitude would foreshadow the Japanese internment.

Therefore the regulation of the New Deal, and the concerns over foreign problems and military defense started to take over the thinking of the public. In fact, the WPA and the CCC employment strengthened the physicality of many Americans who had been malnourished during years of the depression. The building up of public works, though both the PWA and the WPA all over America, which included airports, the railroads, the roads and the airline and the automobile industries allowed America to eventually become “The Arsenal of Democracy.” In fact, without the New Deal we would have never been prepared for the build-up needed to equip a modern army, build a vast naval fleet and prepare to win the greatest war in history. That is one reason why the New Deal is remembered with a high level of positive nostalgia.

As to FDR, his leadership of America, the United Nations, and the free world was unprecedented. His military appointments were considered, by all historians, as second to none. He put excellent and sometimes controversial people, like King, Marshall, Leahy and Arnold as his top leadership corps and staff, and his support for successful theater commanders deserves and gets high marks from history. The next level of commanders, Nimitz, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Clark, and Stillwell were not all loved, but respected and that success translated down to Halsey, Spruance, Hodges, Patton, Bradley, Eaker, Doolittle, and many others.

FDR was re-elected overwhelmingly in 1936, and faced a greater electoral challenge in 1940. It is true, if there had not been the threat of war, most feel that FDR would have retired. There was no legal inhibition against anyone running for a third term. It was just tradition. Most American presidents were elected in their late 50’s and the toll on their health was always an issue. But remember, no president had served out two consecutive terms other than Wilson, who became quite ill and disabled in his last two years in office since, since Andrew Jackson 100 years earlier.

As to FDR’s popularity, on a personal level it was always quite high. On a political level the conservatives and Wall Street did not like him. But as to respect, he engendered high levels in every poll with almost every demographic group. He still remains to the seminal figure of modern history. James MacGregor Burns, the well-respected and renowned historian called him in his two great biographical books, “The Lion and the Fox,” and “The Soldier of Freedom,” and little has changed regarding that view. He was called the “Indispensible Man” by his idolaters, and later said in a well-known speech that there was no “indispensible man.”  But to many of us that was just sheer modesty, and in fact, he may have been just that “man.” The world has never seen his type of leadership since. His premature death at 63 was as great a loss to the world as Lincoln’s. I am sure, as a student of FDR, that had he been healthy he would have served out his term, seen to the nurturing of the UN and would have retired to work on the issue of world peace and reconciliation.

The American Presidency

October 19, 2009

Richard J. Garfunkel

With regards to the Presidency, a subject that I have long studied, I decided to add my views regarding the intellectualism of our 20th Century Presidents and how their mental skills related to their success. As to our earlier history, other than Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Jackson and maybe Polk few stand out. Certainly almost all of American’s recognized historians, through the decades of the Schlesinger Poll and others less regarded polls rank Washington, Lincoln and FDR in the top three with Jackson, TR, Wilson, Jefferson, Truman following in no solid order. As to the last slots, Polk, Clinton, and even Eisenhower have gotten high marks. Jackson and Wilson have suffered in recent days over racial issues, the Indians and African Americans. Jefferson also has his detractors. Eisenhower has moved up because of the failures of most of the post-war presidents. As to the bottom rung, Pierce, Buchanan, Harding, Coolidge, Nixon, Hoover, Bush II, will be vying for last place over the next number of years! Carter was stuck with the oil embargo and the hostage crisis, and his legacy is poor but not on the bottom rung.

I am glad people still think seriously about the IQ and mental health of our leaders. It would surprise me greatly, and almost everyone else I have known, that George W. Bush was reported to have an IQ near JFK. If George W. Bush has IQ of 115 and that sounds reasonable, then Bill Clinton has one of 215. I know of no example that George W. Bush has ever read a book of any consequence and he was by all accounts a barely passing student in college (560 Verbal on his SATs and a legacy!). I do not know what his core curriculum was, or whether he just didn't care, as many rich boys (and poor boys) don't. But, all in all, it is the poor boys that must excel to succeed. Certainly Bill Clinton was a poor boy, and he excelled, was incredibly well read, and his language and overall skills reflected that intellect. Yes, he was flawed, like many of us.

But, all in all, good political leaders do not have to be intellects, and in a sense the public has a tendency to mistrust them. Certainly Stevenson was labeled an “egg head” and the country rejected him, by wide margins, over the affable, but non-intellectual Dwight Eisenhower, who favored Zane Grey western novels as a way to intellectually test his gray matter or just relax. He spent more days on vacation, and away from work then any President, except maybe Calvin Coolidge or GW Bush in his term up to 9/11.

Jack Kennedy was a bright, and talented young man, who had many more advantages then most of his presidential peers. His great communicative skills were not hurt by his Hollywood good looks, and he had terrific political instincts fostered by his close connection to world events and the political theater of his upbringing. FDR raised himself to be President in the model of his cousin TR, but JFK, after the death of his brother, was fast-tracked to the job by the incredible heavy-hitting Kennedy political machine. Despite his incredible advantages he still had to produce, and he was quite capable of reflecting those skills on all of his campaign venues. As President he was inexperienced, a bit too young, and therefore pushed around by his own Congress. In a potential second term he would have had a short window of opportunity to succeed before morphing into the traditional lame-duck status that befits presidential 2nd terms. Certainly Michael Dukakis, who was and is quite bright, suffered from some of the same fear that the public has of intellectual superiority. In the modern era, only Teddy Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson, two true intellects were elected to the Presidency. Few people saw TR as an intellect and he was elevated initially by assassination, and not the direct will of the electorate. Ironically Wilson, former President of Princeton, an intellectual reformer, historian, and a writer, besides being the popular reform Governor of New Jersey, was elected as a true minority President, when his eventual political enemy, the former president, Teddy Roosevelt, split the vote in  the three-way election of 1912.

So we do not have a long wonderful history of electing truly bright people. Maybe, in his own way, Nixon would be considered bright, a law school graduate from Duke, along with the highly educated and successful businessmen and engineers Herbert Hoover and Jimmy Carter. Certainly anyone smart enough to captain a nuclear submarine and to pass Admiral Hyman Rickover's rigorous tests was no dope. But few give or gave him good marks as a President, and he was never perceived as an intellect. Most people saw him as a country-boy peanut farmer! William Howard Taft, our largest president was an educated man, a lawyer, territorial governor, a cabinet official and also a Supreme Court Justice. But no one accused him of being overly gifted as an intellect. Warren Harding was a handsome fellow, with an eye for the ladies, and a political hack, as was Gerald Ford. Harry S Truman, like Coolidge, Teddy Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson and Gerald Ford was elevated to the job and unlike those I just mentioned, did not attend college. But Truman, who was never thought of as an intellect, was certainly not a fool, and now is widely recognized as near-great President, but still an unpopular one. LBJ was a political animal with a minor college education, who was quite bright, and incredibly energetic and ambitious, but not an intellect either. Coolidge was a dour fellow who slept through most of his five years in the job and had little vision or transferable ideals. Reagan certainly would never be accused of being well educated or bright, and was at best a line-reciting puppet with a primitive understanding of almost anything. His familiarity with the scientific world was appalling and his total inability to react with a spontaneous thought was embarrassing. Again he never had high marks regarding his reputation of being well read or an intellect, but he was and remains popular. He certainly could deliver a quippish line and was well-liked as a genial non-malevolent soul. History may just flay him to shreds as he will probably fall significantly in the minds of future generations of historians. This recent meltdown of our financial system may relegate him as being a modern day Coolidge to Hoover. Of course no two circumstances in history are exactly the same.

Of course we are left with one President who has always confounded everyone. FDR, the most successful politician and statesman in the history of the western world, was not an intellect. Everyone remembers Oliver Wendell Holmes “supposed” remark that he (FDR) was “a second rate intellect, but (had) a first-class temperament.” (Denied by Oliver Wendell Holmes to his death!) According to Thomas Corcoran, his former and favorite clerk when he was on the Court, Holmes, when he met FDR at his home, confused him for a moment with his old rival Theodore Roosevelt. Holmes was thinking of TR has a “first rate-rate intellect with a second rate temperament.” Then in contemplation he reversed it with FDR. He never thought FDR was a “second-rate” intellect, but second to his 5th cousin!

FDR was reasonably better educated then most, and had very high communication skills. His great strength really resided in his exceptional “people” skills. He knew how to get good people to do good and loyal work. He engendered great loyalty and love from his staff, and even received grudgingly given respect from his political enemies. Even the Japanese, in the midst of the war and on the edge of defeat, offered moments of silence, over the radio, at the news of his death and recognized him as a “great” man. No man in history had the combination of domestic, worldwide and posthumous acclaim. He owned the office and almost no one, even his great and most vicious opponents, could discount his power and skills. In a sense, an eternally healthy FDR would have gone on and on. His supporters were never tired of him, and his opponents were plum worn out by his skills, charm and worldwide support. Today he remains an almost unchallenged icon, far above his contemporaries and all who have followed. Most collective memories of FDR are unique and reverential. Though he was secretive, at times vindictive, and often politically too bold, his legacy remains unprecedented in history

Richard J. Garfunkel

The Magna Carta, the Divine Right of Kings, Fraunces Tavern,

and the Development of Individual Rights

by

Richard J. Garfunkel

October 14, 2009

(Charles Lucas of the Sons of the American Revolution

Is a guest on the Advocates)

On Monday, September 14, 2009, WVOX Radio, celebrated its 50^th anniversary. Bill O’Shaughnessy, who runs this station, has established a long and respected reputation as a defender of free speech. Throughout the past 50 years WVOX, (vox populi – the voice of the people) has been the home for commentary from every possible perspective, and Bill O’Shaughnessy has been its head cheer leader and a most vocal proponent of freedom of speech and the press. With this in mind it was fitting that I was invited down to the Fraunces Tavern to see the latest unveiling of the Magna Carta, one of the great symbols of freedom that we have in the world.

This same day, the almost 800 year old Magna Carta’s made its latest visit, ending a long journey from Lincoln Cathedral, a new generation of Americans were now able to view this most precious document. The Magna Carta is known by most students of history as the first document that articulated a break away from the power of the divine right of the monarchy. Its crafting was arguably the most important primary influence in the long, involved and almost tortured history that led to the rule of codified law today in the Anglo-American and English speaking world. Many would say that with the Petition of Right in 1628 and the later English Bill of Rights in 1689 the foundations were build for our Constitution. In a sense the rule of law that emanates from the people was germinated with the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. With the development of common law, its influence on how legal systems evolved during the Middle Ages was profound. Of course the original concepts articulated in the Magna Carta were modified greatly through the ages and most of its provisions disappeared in the later part of the 19^th Century. To read the Magna Carta, please open this attachment: http://www.constitution.org/eng/magnacar.htm .

As its temporary home for the next three months, no more historical place could be found in New York than Fraunces Tavern. It was originally constructed in 1719, and built as an elegant residence for the Frenchman Stephan Delancey, a New York merchant and his growing family. In those days pirates boosted the sagging local economy. New York merchants, Dutchman Frederick Flyspe, and Steven Delancy, financed wind-powered ships that sailed across the Atlantic and halfway around the world to sell foodstuffs and arms to New York pirates operating out of the African island of Madagascar. Potential large returns on investments–some promising great multiples–were publicly traded in bourses within taverns not too far from the town wall that still stood on Wall Street. The most famous of these American brigands was one Scotsman Captain Kidd.On the fourth of July, 1696, Captain Kidd in the Adventure Galley entered New York harbor, and saluted the people of Manhattan with a couple of  cannon blasts to announcing his triumphant return to the city. As he had hoped, the boom of his guns helped awaken the local community.

Captain William Kidd, who would eventually become the most famous of the American pirates, often felt he never was adequately respected by his adopted home town. His vessel, the Adventure Galley, was an immense ship-of the-line was laced with over thirty cannon. It was an impressive site as it sailed into Manhattan harbor. Kidd, who called New York his home port, had left almost a year earlier in a dinky lightly gunned merchant ship, and now he was returning in this incredible personal man-of-war. Tax records of that day reveal Captain Kidd to be amongst the wealthiest citizens in his affluent neighborhood. Kidd had certainly earned some money from his merchant sailing days, but was helped mightily by his marriage five years earlier to an attractive, young wealthy widow. With her financial help, they purchased five prime parcels of lower Manhattan real estate, including 56 Wall Street and a large tanning mill.

Later on in 1762, and many years after Captain Kidd’s hanging as a pirate, Samuel Fraunces (1722–1795), bought the tavern. It was here, on December 4, 1783 that General George Washington, in the famous Long Room, said farewell to his officers at the close of the Revolutionary War. When Washington became the first President of the United States in 1789, he selected Fraunces to be the steward of his executive mansion. Fraunces Tavern is located still at 54 Pearl Street not far from today’s South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan. After the American Revolution, it was used to house a number of government offices. At one time, or another, the Department of War, Treasury and Foreign Affairs (State) were housed there.  

Samuel Fraunces's origins are somewhat nebulous. He was born about 1722-23 in the West Indies, and was of French ancestry. Although the U.S. Census and other records document Fraunces as having been white, there remains some question about his racial identity. There are historical references in which Fraunces is referred to as Black Sam, but there are no contemporaneous references in which Fraunces is described as being of African descent. Every citing, in which he is portrayed as having been of African blood, dates from much later.

Though Washington’s Farewell forever links him to the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, and many patriots, it is his part in feeding and supporting the 13,000 prisoners kept by the British in NYC that really honors him in history. Many of these men were kept on prison ships in New York harbor. One of whom was the poet, Captain Philip Freneau (1752-1832 later editor of the National Gazette) who wrote the poem,  The British Prison Ship and also immortalized Fraunces with the name Black Sam.

There is a tradition that Fraunces's daughter Elizabeth “Phoebe” saved Washington's life during the Revolutionary War by having her father remove poison peas intended for Washington. There are multiple versions of this event including a fictional children's book. One Jacob Corwin reports the event in his application for a service pension. Jacob Corwin was the Pastor at Wading River Church in Wading River NY and had been a witness to the execution of Thomas Hickey. The poison pea incident is then reported again by Benson John Lossing in 1870. This story was relayed to Lossing by Peter Embry who was born about 1766 and was a contemporary of Elizabeth “Phoebe” Fraunces. “Phoebe” Fraunces was a 10-year-old in June 1776, the time of the Hickey execution.

In 1904, the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York purchased the tavern and hired preservation architect William Mersereau to return the building to its colonial appearance. The Fraunces Tavern Museum opened to the public in 1907. Today, the museum complex includes four 19th century buildings in addition to the 18th century Fraunces Tavern building. Over its long history, The Sons of the Revolution has devoted it organization to educating the public about the struggle to achieve American liberty. Members are descendants of someone who fought in the Revolutionary War or otherwise placed themselves at risk for the American cause. For 125 years, the society has been involved in preserving the memory of the Revolutionary Patriots. Major projects have included erecting the statue of Nathan Hale in City Hall Park, purchasing, restoring and preserving Fraunces Tavern, purchasing and restoring Nathan Hale's Schoolhouse in Connecticut and placing plaques and memorials at important Revolutionary War sites in New York City.  In Magna Carta’s first visit to the United States it was displayed in one of the two buildings that housed the British Pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair, held in Flushing Meadows, NYC. During the royal visit of George VI and Queen Elizabeth, they were hosted by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt both at Hyde Park and the White House. In June of 1939 they visited the British Pavilion which not only displayed the Magna Carta, but also coinage from the Royal Mint and replicas of the crown jewels. During its stay at the New York World Fair in 1939-40, where it became a sensation, thousands lined up daily to see the parchment. However, within months Britain was engaged in World War II, and it was deemed safer for it to remain in America until the end of hostilities. It was carefully stored away in Fort Knox – next to the original copy of the American Constitution, until 1947.

I was invited to see the first viewing of the Magna Carta since its last visit in the 1980’s. It was also here in the United States in 1976 for the Bi-Centennial. In the museum, besides the Magna Carta, there are fabulous artifacts from the Federalist Era, George Washington’s time and the American Revolution. Also, for the first time on display is one of the original four copies of the Declaration of Independence. For the Magna Carta’s fifth visit to America, since its signing in 1215, it will be on view for all to see through December 15^th, 2009. The Magna Carta, was assisted in its travels by Mr. Chris Woods, an archive conservation consultant, who also just arrived from London. Mr. Woods consults for the Lincoln Cathedral, which owns the British document. It was carried in a steel briefcase lined with climate-controlled boxes and tissue paper. He traveled with an armed escort from London to Heathrow Airport, and as he travelled first class it was placed in the front cloakroom of the British Airway’s plane. Normally, the document, which is insured for $30 million, rests at Lincoln Castle, an 11^th Century Norman fortress. At its arrival, Mr. Woods and the staff at Fraunces Tavern spent an hour preparing it for safe keeping and its display in a $70,000 vacuum-sealed display case. Finally when the museum’s president Charles C. Lucas, closed the lid an audible sigh was heard.

Historically the Magna Carta was the first document thrust successfully onto an English monarch by a group of his subjects. These subjects were not specifically the voice or even representatives of the people, but landed gentry, or barons, who sought to limit or restrict his authority by law. It was preceded by the Charter of Liberties in which King Henry I in 1100 CE, voluntarily stated that he was also limited by the rule of law. Realistically the Magna Carta did not cause a “sea change” regarding the relationship of the King and his subjects, nor his power and relationship with the powerful landed and title gentry of that day.

Latin for Great Charter, the Magna Carta set lasting precedents for English and subsequently for American law regarding trial by jury, representative government, and freedom of the church,. It also addressed rights of women and ironically Jewish money lenders (Lincoln, in that day was home to one of the largest Jewish communities in England.). Former United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said, “To this day, the Magna Carta remains a beacon for nations and peoples committed to the ideals of democracy and individual freedom.” Colonel Charles C. Lucas, the president of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York and Fraunces Tavern Museum president said, “Fraunces Tavern Museum wanted to bring the Magna Carta to New York, because this document is at the root of the American Revolution-which is what our Museum is about. Even though it was drafted over five centuries earlier, the Magna Carta established rights and principles on which The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution rest.”  

The signer of the Magna Carta, was King John, the brother of Richard I, the Lion-Hearted, who reigned from April 6, 1199 until his death in 1216. He acceded to the throne as the younger brother of Richard , who died without any heirs. Richard, known as the Lion-Hearted, lived from 1157 to 1199, and reigned from 1189 to his death. John was the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine. He was their second surviving son to ascend the throne; thus, he continued the line of Plantagenet or Angevin kings of England. Prior to his coronation, he was Earl of Cornwall and Gloucester, but this title reverted to the Crown once he became King. Apart from entering popular legend as the enemy of Robin Hood, he is perhaps best-known for having acquiesced —to the barons of English nobility— to seal Magna Carta. Before his accession, John had already acquired a reputation for treachery, having conspired sometimes with and sometimes against his elder brothers, Henry, Richard and Geoffrey. In 1184, John and Richard both claimed that they were the rightful heir to Aquitaine, one of many unfriendly encounters between the two. In 1185, John became the ruler of Ireland, whose people grew to despise him, causing John to leave after only eight months. During King Richard's long absence on the Third Crusade from 1190 to 1194, John attempted to overthrow William Longchamp, the Bishop of Ely and Richard's designated justice minister. This was one of the events that inspired later writers to cast John as the villain in their reworking of the legend of Robin Hood.

The first and oldest mention of Robin Hood is not codified in written accounts, or even traditionally sung lyrics regaling his life and legend, but vague remembrances found in various works. From 1228 onwards, the names Robinhood, Robehod or Hobbehod are seen in some ancient judicial documents. The most of these accounts emanate from the latter third of the 13^th Century.. Between 1261 and 1300 there are more than a few references to Rabunhod in various parts of England, from Berkshire in the southern part of Britain to York in the north. The term seems to be applied to any fugitive or miscreant coming in conflict with the established order. Basically, a Robinhood was a law breaker or felon. Early on it seems that the name Robin Hood is used for a proto-typical individual who breaks the law, or is a highwayman. This catch-all name seems to be of common use throughout the Middle Ages. Parliament, in 1439, was presented with a document officially describing that the name is to describe an itinerant felon. The name was still used to describe sedition and treachery in 1605, when Guy Fawkes (1570-1606, hung, drawn and quartered for his involvement in a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament.) and his associates were branded “Robin Hoods” by Robert Cecil. The legend of Robin Hood seems to dart in and out of historical reference and there are numerous references in the 16^th Century to even King Edward, but it could have been any of the first three Edwards. The names Robert Earl of Huntington, Robert of Locksley, or even Robert Fitz Ooth are often associated by legend to Robin Hood. Other sources pictured him as from the yeoman class. In the 15^th Century his name became associated with May Day celebrations with men dressed up as Robin or members of his band. In this same 16^th Century the prevailing common view was that Robin was a character from the late 12^th Century at the time when Richard I was fighting in the Crusades.

By the Victorian Age, new and distinct versions of Robin Hood started to evolve. The traditional tales were often adapted for children, and most of these versions characterized Robin as a man who takes from the rich to give to the poor. Often King Richard's participation in the Crusades is mentioned in passing, but Robin takes no issue with Prince John, and the raising of funds from the Normans through extortion or robbery to bring Richard back from the Holy Land is never mentioned. These conclusions regarding the evolution of Robin Hood are part of the 20th Century myth. The concept of a nativist Robin Hood as a high-minded Saxon fighting Norman lords also originates in the 19th century. Much of this thought emerges from works by Jacques Nicolas Augustin Thierry and Sir Walter Scott.  

The 20th century has grafted still further details on to the original legends. The 1938 film, with Errol Flynn, Oliva de Havilland, Claude Raines, and BasilRathbone,portrayed Robin as a hero on a larger-than-life national scale, leading the oppressed Saxons in revolt against their Norman overlords while Richard the Lion-Heart fought valiantly against the Saracens in the Crusades. This classic Hollywood favorite established itself so definitively that generations of viewers, fans, and other film producers accepted its story as a historical truth.

As to the real King John, he was more popular than William of Longchamp, who was Bishop of Ely, and Richard’s appointed regent while he was off fighting in the 3^rd Crusade. In October 1191, the leading citizens of the city opened the gates to him while they confined Longchamp in the Tower of London. John gave assurances to the city regarding the right to govern itself in return for recognition as being Richard's heir. Unfortunately, while returning from the most recent Crusade, (The 3^rd Crusade, 1187-1192, was promulgated after Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, recaptured Jerusalem.) Richard was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and handed over to Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who held him and demanded the payment of a huge ransom. Meanwhile, John had no real interest in the return of his brother to England and the throne and joined forces with Philip Augustus, King of France to delay any effort to free him. They sent a joint letter to Henry asking him to keep Richard in his custody for as long as possible and even offering a large bribe to keep Richard sequestered indefinitely. Henry refused to their offer, and once Richard's ransom was paid by his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine, he was set free. It was said she placed the Crown Jewels with pawnbrokers to raise the capital. Upon Richard’s release and return to England, John pleaded for forgiveness from Richard, who granted it and strangely named him heir presumptive.

Years later, as king, in November of 1209, John fell into disfavor with Pope Innocent III and was excommunicated. In February 1213, the same Pope threatened stronger measures unless John submitted to Papal edict. John accepted the papal terms for submission and they were accepted in the presence of the papal legate Pandulph in May 1213. With this submission, formalized in the Bulla Aurea (Golden Bull), John gained the valuable support of Pope Innocent III in his new dispute with the English barons. Coming to terms with Llywelyn I, Prince of Gwynedd, following the Welsh Uprising of 1211 and settling his dispute with the papacy, John turned his attentions back to his overseas interests. The European wars culminated in an English defeat at the Battle of Bouvines (1214), which forced the king to accept an unfavorable peace with France.

This finally turned the barons against John (some had already rebelled against him after he was excommunicated), and he met their leaders along with their French and Scots allies at Runnymede, near London on June 15, 1215, to seal the Great Charter, called in Latin Magna Carta. Because he had sealed under duress, however, John received approval from the Pope to break his word as soon as hostilities had ceased, provoking the First Barons' War and an invited French invasion by Prince Louis of France (whom the majority of the English barons had invited to replace John on the throne). John travelled around the country to oppose the rebel forces, directing, among other operations, a two-month siege of the rebel-held Rochester Castle. In practice, the Magna Carta, in the medieval period, mostly did not restrict the power of Kings; or bring him under the control of another equal branch of government.

King John's reign has been traditionally characterized as one of the most disastrous in English history, earning him the nickname Bad King John. It began poorly with military defeats — he lost Normandy to Philip Augustus of France in his first five years on the throne — and ended with England torn by civil war and himself on the verge of being forced out of power. In 1213, he made England a papal fiefdom to resolve a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, and his rebellious barons forced him to sign and seal the Magna Carta in 1215, the act for which he is best remembered.

As far as the administration of his kingdom, John functioned as an efficient ruler, but he lost approval of the English barons by taxing them in ways outside those traditionally allowed by feudal overlords. The tax known as scutage, payment made instead of providing knights (as required by feudal law), became particularly unpopular. John was a very fair-minded and well informed king however, often acting as a judge in the Royal Courts, and his justice was much sought after and admired. Also, John's employment of an able Chancellor and certain clerks resulted in the first proper set of records, the Pipe Rolls. Tudor historiography was particularly interested in John’s reign, for his independence from the papacy (or lack of it) – this atmosphere produced not only Shakespeare's own King John, but also its model The Troublesome Reign of King John and John Bale's Kynge Johan. Winston Churchill summarized the legacy of John's reign: “When the long tally is added, it will be seen that the British nation and the English-speaking world owe far more to the vices of John than to the labors of virtuous sovereigns.” Medieval historian C. Warren Hollister called John an “enigmatic figure.”

As to the Magna Carta itself, one copy resides at the Lincoln Cathedral. The Bishop of Lincoln was one of the signatories to the Magna Carta and for hundreds of years the Cathedral has held one of the four remaining copies of the original. One copy has resided at the Ronald Reagan Museum in Simi Valley California until June of 2009 when it returned to the Lincoln Castle, Lincoln Castle is a major castle constructed in Lincoln, England during the late 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fortress. It remained in use as a prison and law court into modern times, and today it is one of the better preserved castles in England. There are three other surviving copies, two at the British Library and one at Salisbury Cathedral. Lincoln Cathedral (in full The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, or sometimes St. Mary's Cathedral) is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln and  seat of the Bishop of Lincoln of the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for nearly a quarter of a millennium (1300–1549), though this height has been questioned. The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt. It is highly regarded by architectural scholars; the eminent Victorian writer John Ruskin declared, “I have always held… that the cathedral of Lincoln is out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any two other cathedrals we have.”

By the time of the English Civil War, the Magna Carta had become an important symbol for those who wished to show that the King was bound by the law. Generally speaking the Magna Carta was thought of as being a single document, but over the next 80 or so years until 1297 it had been amended into various versions. During the English Civil War, which lasted for ten years from 1641 through 1651, many changes regarding the English Monarchy were put in place.

In this period there was a series of battles and political restructuring between Parliamentarians and Royalists, which involved the supporters of King Charles I against the adherents of the Long Parliament. In the last historical segment of this struggle, the third war (1649–51) saw a prolonged struggle between King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament. The Civil War ended with the Parliamentary victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651.

Historically, after the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, James I (formerly James VI of Scotland) ascended to the unified thrown, and had described kings as “little Gods on Earth,” ordained by the Almighty to rule with the power and the authority of the doctrine of the “Divine Right of Kings.” Charles I, James’s son certainly believed in that inherent right. One of the first events to cause concern about Charles I came with his marriage to a French Roman Catholic princess, Henrietta-Marie de Bourbon. The marriage occurred in 1625, right after Charles came to the throne. Charles' marriage raised the possibility that his children, including the heir to the throne, could grow up as Catholics, a frightening prospect to Protestant England.  

Charles also wanted to take part in the conflicts underway in Europe, then immersed in the Thirty Years' War (1618 – 1648). Foreign wars, then as now, required heavy sources of revenue, and the Crown could raise the necessary taxes only with Parliamentary concurrence and imperator. In fact it was always the gentry that enabled the crown to raise and collect taxes. Charles had even more financial difficulty and financial constrictions on his actions when Parliament refused to allow him the right to collect customs duties in perpetuity for the length of his reign. They decided to grant him that right on a year to year basis. Forced with problems of funding expeditions to Europe, he dissolved Parliament. Having dissolved Parliament, and being unable to raise money without it, the king assembled a new one in 1628. The elected members, including Oliver Cromwell, drew up the Petition of Right, and Charles was forced to accept it as a concession in order to get his funding. Amongst other things, the Petition referred to the Magna Carta. Therein the Magna Carta served as a useful precedent regarding future Parliamentary checks and balances over the monarch. Furious that Parliament continued to countenance Charles as a ruler the Army marched on Parliament and conducted “Pride's Purge” (named after the commanding officer of the operation, Thomas Pride) in December 1648. Troops arrested 45 Members of Parliament and kept 146 out of the chamber. They allowed only 75 Members in, and then only at the Army's bidding. This Rump Parliament received orders to set up, in the name of the people of England, a High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I for treason. Therefore, as a consequence,the Civil War, or the Great Rebellion, brought about the arrest, indictment, trial, of Charles I. At the end of the trial, Charles I  was found guilty of high treason, as a “tyrant, traitor, murderer and public enemy” His beheading took place on a scaffold in front of the Banqueting House of the Palace of Whitehall on January 30, 1649.

This period of what is now collectively known as the Protectorate brought about the removal of the monarchy with first, the Commonwealth of England (1649–53), and then with a Protectorate (1653–59), under Oliver Cromwell's personal rule. The dominance of the Church of England ended with the victorious Parliament consolidating the established Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. Constitutionally, the Civil War, which was fought in three separate periods, established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without Parliament's consent, although this concept was legally established only with the Glorious Revolution (1689) later in the century.

Following the deaths of Oliver Cromwell and his heir, his son Richard, the monarchy was restored, with Charles II on the throne. But his rule would only be with the consent of Parliament. The civil wars effectively established England and Scotland to be the basis of the Kingdom of Great Britain under the rule of law and a parliamentary monarchy form of government. Eventually in 1707 under the Acts of Union, this law would manage to forestall the kind of often-bloody revolutions, typical of European republican movements that followed the Jacobin revolution in 18th century France. Specifically, future monarchs were leery of pushing Parliament aggressively. The Bill of Rights was passed by Parliament in December 1689 and was a re-statement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right, presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in March 1688, inviting them to become joint sovereigns of England.

The bill was enacted to a degree regarding the events of the Glorious Revolution. The revolution had occurred due to a religious conflict in England regarding the death of Charles II in 1685, and the ascension of his Catholic brother King James II.  Because of intense opposition from the English Protestants, numerous groups pressed for the Dutch Protestant Prince William of Orange to replace King James II. In November 1688, William landed in England with a sufficiently large, invading force, and was successful in ousting James II and was crowned king. The Bill of Rights enumerates certain rights to which subjects of a constitutional monarchy were believed to be entitled to in the late 17th century. It asserted the subjects' right to petition the monarch, as well as to bear arms in defense of the realm or their hearth and home. It also restates again certain constitutional requirements of the monarch to seek the consent of the people through their representatives in parliament. Parliament also effectively established its right to determine the line of royal succession with the Glorious Revolution, the Bill of Rights, and in the 1701 Act of Settlement.

Of course, not all insanity, bigotry and enlightenment ended with the signing of the Magna Carta. In 1255, not long after the signing of the Magna Carta, not far from, England where it has been preserved and protected, all the Jews of Lincoln, England, gathered for a wedding. The next day, the body of a boy named Hugh, who had been missing for a month, was found. He had probably drowned in a cesspool, but the Jews were accused of abducting him, hiding him for a month and fattening him up. It was charged that the wedding party was really a celebration of Hugh’s crucifixion and that everyone had partaken of his blood. Nineteen Jews were hung without benefit of a trial.

More blood libels followed in London and Gloucester. By a decree signed on Tishah b’Av, July 18, 1290, all Jews were banished from England, not to be legally readmitted until the middle of the nineteenth century. Even in their absence, however, the blood libel accusation was perpetuated and the deleterious image of the Jew reinforced. A century after the banishment of the Jews of England, Chaucer wrote The Prioress’ Tale, which centered around, “Jew demons” who were handmaidens of the devil and murdered Christian children.

The enemies of the Jews promulgated these false accusations for a variety of reasons, whether as a solution for an unsolved murder or to create an opportunity for the confiscation of Jewish property or to divert the attention of a restless populace from the injustices of their own societies. And by and large, the validity of the blood libel went unquestioned, even if a particular accusation was disproved. Perhaps this particular Jew had been found innocent, but there was no doubt that the Jews and their religion still bore the guilt of the blood libel.

As the charges flourished, so did the accompanying literature, further validating the authenticity of these attacks. One theory, published by a Dominican monk in 1263, purported the Jews would have to commit this crime on a yearly basis, because as a punishment for having shed the blood of the Christian savior, they were afflicted with a terrible disease that could only be treated with innocent Christian blood. The ritual lie and the portrayal of the Jew as a bloodthirsty demon to be hated and feared had become an accepted part of Christian dogma. Holy shrines were erected to honor innocent Christian victims, and well into the twentieth century, churches throughout Europe displayed knives and other instruments that Jews purportedly used for these rituals. Caricatures of hunchbacked Jews with horns and fangs were depicted in works of art and carved into stone decorating bridges. Proclaimed by parish priests to be the gospel truth, each recurrence of the blood libel charge added to its credence, thus prompting yet more accusations. This vicious cycle continued to spiral. 

But, for sure over the next number of centuries, the Magna Carta influenced generations of free people.It has influenced international law as well: Eleanor Roosevelt referred to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as “a Magna Carta for all mankind.” The signing of the Magna Carta is thought to be that pivotal point in history where the effort to establish freedom becomes the essential element in the relationship between men/women and government. When Englishmen left their home and hearth to settle in the new world, they brought with them the traditions that were guaranteed first by the Magna Carta. These charters guaranteed that they and their progeny would “have and enjoy” all the natural “rights of Englishmen.” In 1606, Sir Edward Coke, who drafted the Virginia Charter, incorporated the values and themes into their colonial document. Colonists understood clearly the tradition of rights articulated in the Magna Carta. When American colonists objected to their treatment from the Crown, they were fighting, not so much for new freedom, but for the “rights of Englishmen” that dated from the 13th century Magna Carta. In 1787, when American representatives met at Philadelphia to draft a constitution, they certainly took into account the legal system they knew, understood and admired from English common law that had evolved from Magna Carta.

The United States Constitution is the “supreme law of the land,” recalling the manner in which Magna Carta had come to be regarded as fundamental law. This heritage is quite apparent. In comparing the Magna Carta with the Bill of Rights: the Fifth Amendment guarantees: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” In addition, the United States Constitution included a similar writ in the Suspension Clause, article 1, section 9: “The privilege of the writ habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it.” Written 575 years earlier, Magna Carta states, “No free man shall be taken, imprisoned, disseised, outlawed, banished, or in any way destroyed, not will we proceed against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by the law of the land.” Each of these proclaim, “No man may be imprisoned or detained without proof that they did wrong.” The connection is obvious, and the tradition is sound. We are a nation of laws, and when our laws are compromised our freedoms are challenged.

It would take centuries more of blood-letting, revolution, and World Wars along with the Petition of Right, the English Glorious Revolution. The American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the ratification of the United State Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Four Freedoms articulated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his January 6, 1941, State of the Union address, the Atlantic Charter signed by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the creation of the United Nations and the authorship by Eleanor Roosevelt of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  to articulate and broaden these freedoms to where they are today.