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In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| USS Lexington raid on the Falkland Islands | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute | |
 A map of historic Puerto Soledad. | |
Operational scope | Naval expedition and landing |
| Location | |
| Commanded by | Silas Duncan |
| Date | December 28, 1831 – January 22, 1832 |
| Executed by | USS Lexington |
| Outcome | Americans released; settlement defences disabled |
The USS Lexington raid on the Falkland Islands was a United States naval action against the settlement at Puerto Luis between December 28, 1831, and January 22, 1832. It followed the seizure of three American sealing vessels by forces acting under Luis Vernet, whom the government of Buenos Aires had appointed political and military commander of the islands in 1829. The United States disputed the authority claimed by Argentina to regulate American sealing around the islands and demanded the restoration of the vessels and their cargoes.
American vessels had long engaged in sealing around the Falkland Islands, and the United States had not recognised the authority claimed there by Buenos Aires. In June 1829, the Buenos Aires government appointed Vernet political and military commander and charged him with enforcing regulations concerning the seal fishery. The following year, Vernet circulated warnings that vessels violating the regulations could be seized.[1][2]
On 15 January 1831, a complaint about the restrictions was forwarded to US Secretary of State Martin Van Buren. Van Buren instructed the American representative in Buenos Aires to investigate and protest measures interfering with what the United States regarded as established American fishing rights. The instruction also rejected the title claimed by Buenos Aires, but the American representative died before taking action on it.[3][4]
On 30 July 1831, Vernet ordered the seizure of the American vessels Harriet, Superior and Breakwater after their captains disregarded his restrictions. Vernet took the Harriet, Captain Gilbert Davison and its crew to Buenos Aires for legal proceedings.[5][6]
After the Harriet reached Buenos Aires in November 1831, United States consul George W. Slacum protested its seizure and demanded compensation. Slacum asserted that the United States did not recognise the jurisdiction claimed by Argentina over the Falklands and that American sealing there was lawful. Argentine foreign minister Tomás Manuel de Anchorena rejected Slacum's authority to submit a formal diplomatic protest and maintained that Vernet had acted under Argentine authority.[7][8]
The Lexington had been assigned to the United States Navy's Brazil Squadron in June 1831, before the American government learned of the seizure of the three vessels. Its general instructions were to protect American commerce and citizens by lawful means. The ship arrived at Buenos Aires on November 27. Slacum sought the support of Duncan and threatened military action against the settlement if Buenos Aires did not provide a satisfactory response.[9][10]
After efforts to obtain restitution at Buenos Aires failed, Duncan sailed from Buenos Aires with Davison as his pilot on 9 December 1831, . The Lexington entered Berkeley Sound on December 28. On 1 January 1832, Duncan sent a landing party of fifteen marines and naval personnel ashore while additional armed boats approached the settlement. The landing parties released detained Americans and took seven members of the settlement into custody.[11][12]
Accounts differ over the manner and extent of the operation. Testimony subsequently collected by Argentine authorities stated that the Lexington entered the harbour under French colours and that Duncan's men spiked cannon, seized weapons, burned gunpowder, entered buildings and removed property claimed by Davison. Duncan's own report emphasised the release of Americans and the disabling of weapons that could be used against American shipping.[12][13]
At the request of inhabitants who wished to leave, members of the Lexington helped pack their belongings for transportation to Montevideo. On January 22, the Lexington sailed for Montevideo carrying 20 men, eight women, ten children and seven prisoners. Some gauchos who had fled into the interior remained on the islands.[14]
After learning of the seizures, US President Andrew Jackson appointed Francis Baylies as chargé d'affaires and dispatched Captain George W. Rodgers with instructions to determine whether Vernet had acted under Argentine authority. If the seizures had been officially authorised, Rodgers was not to undertake punitive action. Duncan had already completed the raid before those instructions could be implemented.[15]
After the raid, Jackson nevertheless endorsed Duncan's conduct after receiving his report and was satisfied with their promptness and effectiveness. No court of inquiry or court-martial was convened concerning the raid.[15]
Argentine authorities condemned the operation and terminated official communications with Slacum. Rodgers returned the seven prisoners in April 1832 in an attempt to improve relations, while Baylies defended Duncan's conduct and rejected an Argentine proposal to refer the dispute to a neutral power. Baylies left his post in September 1832 after the dispute disrupted diplomatic relations between the two countries. Another United States chargé d'affaires was not appointed until 1844.[16][17][18]
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The USS Lexington raid on the Falkland Islands was a United States naval action against the settlement at Puerto Luis between December 28, 1831, and January 22, 1832. It followed the seizure of three American sealing vessels by forces acting under Luis Vernet, whom the government of Buenos Aires had appointed political and military commander of the islands in 1829. The United States disputed the authority claimed by Argentina to regulate American sealing around the islands and demanded the restoration of the vessels and their cargoes.
The Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week war in the South Atlantic in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over possession of the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and its dependencies of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The conflict began on 2 April 1982 when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, followed by the invasion of South Georgia the next day. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to regain possession of the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with an Argentine surrender on 14 June, which formally returned possession to Britain. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and 3 Falkland Islanders were killed during the hostilities. The conflict was a major episode in the protracted dispute over the territories' sovereignty. Argentina claimed and maintains that the islands are Argentine territory, and the Argentine government thus described its military action as the reclamation of its own territory. The British government, however, regarded the action as an invasion of a territory that had been a Crown colony since 1841. Falkland Islanders, who have inhabited the islands since the early 19th century, are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and strongly favour British sovereignty. Neither state officially declared war, although both governments declared the islands a war zone. The conflict had a strong effect in both countries and has been the subject of various books, articles, films, and songs. Patriotic sentiment ran high in Argentina, but the unfavourable outcome prompted large protests against the ruling military government, hastening its downfall and the democratisation of the country. In the United Kingdom, the Conservative government, bolstered by the successful outcome, was re-elected with an increased majority the following year. The cultural and political effect of the conflict has been less in the UK than in Argentina, where it has remained a common topic for discussion. Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina were restored in 1989 following a meeting in Madrid, at which the two governments issued a joint statement. No change in either country's position regarding the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands was made explicit. In 1994 Argentina amended their constitution, which declared the Falkland Islands as part of one of its provinces by law. However, the islands continue to operate as a self-governing British Overseas Territory.
The Brewster–Sanford expedition was an ornithological collecting expedition which procured specimens, principally of South American seabirds, for the collections of the American Museum of Natural History. It was initiated by Dr. Leonard Cutler Sanford and financially supported by Frederick F. Brewster, both of New Haven, Connecticut. The expedition took place from 1912 to 1917, with its core members the experienced bird collector Rollo Beck and his wife Ida, though additional assistance was used at many places. Although most of the nearly 8,000 specimens collected were seabirds, land birds were opportunistically acquired as well. Various watercraft were used in the course of the expedition, where much of the collection work was carried out at sea.
The Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE) was an aerial survey of the Falkland Islands Dependencies and the Antarctic Peninsula which took place in the 1955–56 and 1956–57 southern summers. Funded by the Colonial Office and organized by Peter Mott, the survey was carried out by Hunting Aerosurveys Ltd. The expedition was based at Deception Island and utilized the Oluf Sven, two Canso flying-boats, and several helicopters. The photographic collection, held by the British Antarctic Survey as the United Kingdom Antarctic Mapping Centre, comprises about 12,800 frames taken on 26,700 kilometers of ground track.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.