5 Weird Facts about the Ancient Olympics

The Ancient Olympics were held in Greece from 776 BC until they were stopped in 393 AD; however they were very different to the modern Olympics. Here, Adrian Burrows returns and tells us five odd facts about the Ancient Olympics.

You can read a past ancient history article from Adrian on The Weapon that Conquered Ancient Egypt here.

A 19th century depiction of Olympia, Greece in ancient times.

Notwithstanding a short break (what’s a millennia and a half between friends ay?), the Olympics have been a part of humanity’s story for the last 2,800 years – ish. The start of the Ancient Olympics is usually attributed to the year 776 BC - that’s when the first Olympic Games took place in the town of Olympia; situated somewhere between the city-states of Elis and Sparta on the west coast of the Peloponnese. The first Games consisted of only one event, the Stade race, in which runners had to run 280 meters (or a Stadion, the word we derive ‘stadium’ from). The race was unremarkable, should 20 competitors decide to run a Stade race today it would be remarkably similar to a modern sprint – other than the fact that male competitors would all be naked of course. Which would certainly make for some unflattering media coverage, or perhaps a 21st century resurgence of the Stade race would make the Olympics more popular than ever? 

There are many other ways that the Ancient Olympics differ to our modern Olympics but this list represents by far the weirdest.

Only Men Could Compete

The Ancient Olympics was both primarily a religious event and also a strictly man only affair. That’s not to say that women couldn’t take part in their own sporting events - they could compete in the Heraean Games, though many of the finer details of this event have been lost to the mists of time – but they were forbidden from entering the Olympics. In fact, if you were a married woman you were prevented from even watching the Olympics. The punishment for ogling the jiggling glutes of the male competitors for a wed woman was severe - if you were caught you’d be thrown off a mountain.

That’s not to say that a woman never won the Olympic Games however. Who achieved this seemingly impossible feat? That would be a Spartan woman called Kyniska, daughter of the Archidamos. Oddly, the winner of a chariot race was not the rider, rather it was the owner of the horses who received the glory – enabling Kyniska to win the event, without actually being there. The rider - despite being in command of a rickety chariot pulled by four muscle bound horses over some 12 laps and 14,000 metres – received a grand total of zilch for their efforts. 

They Were Stinky. Very Stinky

Today, a country fortunate enough to hold the Olympics must invest millions into creating custom built stadiums. Not only are they perfectly constructed in every conceivable way, providing the ideal environment for the athletes competing within them, they also offer comprehensive comfort for the spectators. Offering food, drink, seating and – most importantly – lots and lots of toilets. 

The spectators of the Ancient Olympics had no such luxury, Every four years (that’s an Olympiad) over 50,000 people descended on the ordinarily virtually uninhabited Olympia (a few priests kept things ticking over but that was about it). 50,000 people sat in the hot sun with only a river to poop in. Just imagine the stench. Add to that the fact that 100 oxen would be sacrificed and burnt on the Alter of Zeus in the middle of the festival. There’s one thing for certain though - no candle manufacturer will ever be making an overpriced candle infused with the scent of the Ancient Olympics.

A Dead Person Won the Olympics

The Ancient Olympics were a brutal affair, boxing and wrestling were much more violent than the modern versions we are used to seeing on our televisions today. Though both these blood soaked spectacles paled in gore levels compared to Pankration – the mixed martial arts of the Ancient world. Pankration had only two rules, no biting and no poking out anyone’s eye. Other than that, anything went!

One remarkable account details the final fight of Arrhichion of Phigalia. Arrhichion was trapped in the vice like grip of his formidable opponent. Arms like steely vein covered greasy oil coated pythons were wrapped around his neck, and try as he might Arrhichion could not free himself. As his vision began to fade Arrhichion stamped as hard as he could on his opponent’s foot. The pain was so intense that this unknown fighter released Arrhichion and submitted. The crowd went wild, Arrhichion had overcame the odds and won. But while the crowd went bananas Arrhichion remained unmoving on the sand and dirt. He was dead.

That didn’t dampen the celebration however. Despite being very deceased, Arrhichion was crowned the victor and returned to Phigalia a hero.

More Gore than Ever Before

Arrhichion’s final victory was not the goriest event to take place in the Ancient Olympics, instead that honour would fall to the boxing match between Damoxenos and Creugas. In Ancient Boxing there were no weight classes and the matches were randomly picked. So you could end up with a bout in which one fighter had a significant size and weight advantage over the other. Which reportedly was the case when these Damoxenos and Creugas, two undefeated champions, went up against each other. 

Damoxenos was a massive slab of humanity, whilst Creugas was smaller but incredibly nimble. And a good thing too, with no boxing gloves fighters instead just wrapped their fists in leather; one punch from the giant Damoxenos would have levelled Creugas, and with no rules stating otherwise, the bigger man could keep on punching Creugas in the head – regardless of whether or not he could defend himself. Either way power vs agility had led to a draw, meaning a ‘klimax’ was enforced. Here each man takes it in turns to hit the other with full force; this is an unprotected blow taking at their liberty. Like some sort of blood soaked penalty shootout the fight ends when only one man is left standing. 

Creugas went first, he punched the bigger man in the head as hard as he could. But to little avail, Damoxenos just shrugged off the assault. Then it was Damoxenos’ turn, Creugas braced himself as this terrifying beast punched him with full force with straight fingers into the bread basket. Damoxenos clearly needed a manicure as his sharp nails ripped at Creugas’ skin. Damoxenos then ripped his fingers once more along Creugas’ abdomen, gutting the fighter like a pig and causing his innards to come tumbling out like meat and potato from a freshly bitten pie. 

It was all over, Creugus had won. That’s right, Creugus. Damoxenos had been disqualified as the rules of the ‘Klimax’ state one punch at a time only. Sure, Creugas’ guts were getting a sun tan but it was all worth it for that laurel wreath.

The World’s Greatest

These days, in every Olympic event, multiple world records are smashed. Athletes are lucky to hold on to their world record for a decade but it is rare for a competitor to hold a record for fifty years, let alone a hundred. Yet there was one ancient athlete who held his record for over two thousand years. Yes, TWO THOUSAND YEARS. This phenomenal specimen of a Homo Sapien was Leonidas of Rhodes. 

He first competed in the Olympic Games of the 154th Olympiad in 164 BCE, where Leonidas captured the laurel wreath in three different races; the stadion, the diaulos (a foot race of 400 metres) and the hoplitodromos (a diaulos where the runners wear armour – talk about exhausting!). He then went on to win these three events over the next three consecutive Olympiads. Bear in mind that in the Ancient Olympics there was no second or third place, you were either a winner… or a massive loser.

This astonishing act, of winning twelve individual Olympic victories, was unmatched until 2016; when Michael Phelps, the American swimmer, won his 13th Olympic Gold.

Adrian is a co-owner of Imagining History workshops. Imagining History provides educational history workshops for primary schools that captivate and entertain.

Their interactive sessions combine role-play, storytelling, demonstrations and drama and performance to bring history to life for students.

Imagining History offer loads of free digital history resources for teachers and parents. You can find content on Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt and more at www.imagininghistory.co.uk/blog.

You can also check out their biweekly Youtube series ‘Headlines from History’. 

The Greatest Trick of WWII? How Operation Fortitude Fooled Nazi Germany and Enabled the D-Day Landings

Almost anyone with even a passing interest in the Second World War knows of Operation Overlord (D-Day) and its immense importance. Yet, far fewer have heard of another great military operation that helped to ensure Overlord’s success: Operation Fortitude. Here, Nathan Richardson explains what happened in the 1944 operation to fool the Nazis and make them think that the D-Day landings would take place in Calais, France and Norway – and not in their actual location of Normandy.

A dummy British RAF aircraft in October 1943. Source: The National Archives, available here.

In 1944, the combined British and American military chiefs, along with their various allies, were intently planning an invasion of Western Europe. They all knew Hitler’s “Fortress Europe” must be breached if the Western Allies were to bring the war effectively to Nazi Germany and take the pressure off of the beleaguered Russians. Fighting in Italy had taken a terrible toll on the Allied armies. Regrettably, Italy had not turned out to be the “weak underbelly” that Churchill had thought. Though the operations in Sicily and Italy had successfully forced the fascist Mussolini out of power and switched Italy over to the Allied side, German troops barred the Allies from crossing the Alps into Europe proper. The Allies decided that they must find another invasion route into Europe.

The Combined Chiefs of Staff, the Allied generals made up of both British and American commanders and headed by General Eisenhower, determined that an amphibious assault must be made from Britain into Western Europe. Where and when were the only remaining questions. Ultimately, Normandy, France and June were the location and time decided upon. Yet, keeping this information from the Germans could very well decide the success or failure of the invasion. Churchill, though convinced of the necessity of an invasion, nevertheless greatly feared its results if it turned out to be a disaster, which it very well could have been (Keegan 164-5). 

However, Eisenhower, who held the gut-wrenching last word on when the invasion took place, went to impressive lengths to keep the Germans as much in the dark as possible. That an invasion was coming, the Germans knew for a fact—it was inevitable that the Allies would attempt to retake Occupied Europe. Indeed, Hitler had been making enormous preparations on his coastal defenses, stretching from Norway in the north, down the whole coast, all the way down the English Channel. However, this impressive length of coastline defenses was never completed, and never lived up to its propaganda—nor did it live up to the faith that Hitler placed in it (Esposito 66). Naturally, the Germans knew they must decide which areas were most likely to be assaulted, and to build their best defenses there. Deciding that the Allies must need a port to sustain an invasion, the Germans centered their heaviest weapons and fortifications at port-cities such as Cherbourg, Calais, and Antwerp (Weinberg 685).

Not illogically, the German High Command decided that the most likely invasion point was the Pas de Calais, with its port close at hand, and it being the closest point between Europe and England. Why would the Allies travel farther than necessary? Would not the Allies enjoy greater air cover from their powerful air forces the closer they were to England? Thus, the Germans centered the bulk of their divisions in the West around Calais, and there put their best forces, ready to repel at this likely invasion site (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 88). However, this was exactly why the Allies knew they must not attack where the Germans expected them. Eisenhower knew he must keep the Germans from knowing the true invasion point. In order to do that, he made sure the Germans found evidence that seemed to confirm their preconceived ideas. The Germans must be convinced that Calais was the true planned site of the invasion, and that any other attack was just a diversion (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 82, 88). To accomplish this trickery, the Allies employed some truly ingenious schemes.

German Spies Flipped

World War Two was a war of spies and espionage. In an age of rapidly advancing weaponry and innovative tactics, spies were absolutely essential in keeping the commanders on both sides knowledgeable of the enemy’s capabilities and plans. Yet, the Allies were able to effectively deprive the Germans of their ability for espionage, and turn any German spies into Allied agents, who would turn around and feed the Germans false information about the Allies. How was this done? The British Secret Service identified German spies and carefully evaluated them. If German spies were deemed suitable (i.e., most likely to cooperate with the Allies), they were convinced to turn ‘double-agent’, and to report to the Abwehr (the German military intelligence) exactly what the British wanted them to know. Those spies who were not deemed suitable or who did not cooperate were either executed or imprisoned. This system was known as the Double-Cross System. Thus, not only did the Allies control the German spies, but with the ability to intercept German coded radio transmissions due to British code breaking (known as ULTRA), the Allies could confirm that the Germans were receiving the information the Allies wanted them to receive, and could also confirm whether the Germans believed what they were being told (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 77). This system of turning German spies into double-agents had carefully been built up since the beginning of the war. Yet, British intelligence knew that using the Double-Cross System to the Allies’ advantage could likely only be used once, since the Germans would eventually realize they had been duped, and the Allies would never have such an opportunity again. So, the British were forced to sit by and patiently wait to use this weapon until the perfect time. That time was D-Day. Until then, the British carefully fed the Germans true and valuable information to ensure the Germans trusted and valued their agents, while also taking care not to feed them information that would be militarily damaging (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 78).

Operation Fortitude

The last thing the Allies wanted was for the Germans to realize that their spies had become compromised. The Germans must see tangible evidence that what their spies were reporting was true. Enter: Operation Fortitude. Operation Fortitude was designed to fool the Germans into believing that the Allies were attacking at Calais, France and southern Norway, which would hopefully cause the Germans to concentrate their best defensive efforts at these points - and away from Normandy (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 82). 

A seaborne invasion, of course, necessitates a massive buildup of men and materials. Shipping of all sorts must be concentrated at the embarkation points. Supplies of every sort, including a massive number of vehicles, such as tanks, trucks, and jeeps. Fighter and bomber aircraft, ready to provide air support for the attackers, must be kept in readiness at airfields close to the invasion beaches. For a Normandy landing, this massive buildup must be assembled in and around ports in the south of England, at important port cities such as Plymouth, Dartmouth, Portland, and multiple others (Esposito 67). How could these preparations be kept hidden? They could not fully keep them hidden, despite the Allies’ best efforts. No amount of care and camouflage could keep German scouting planes from picking up the U.S. 4th Infantry division near Plymouth or the British 50th Armored Division west of Poole or the Canadian 3rd Infantry division near Portsmouth (Esposito 67). The location of these troops, if spotted, would show the Germans that Normandy was a more likely invasion site. Contrarily, the empty fields and ports of southeast England around Dover (the closest point between England and France), would indicate that Calais was not the target. Despite all of the Allied efforts to hide and disguise their readying of forces and to muzzle or flip the German spies, the Germans might still catch on, and the result might lead the Allies to an enormous defeat. 

Thus, the only way to keep the Germans from guessing the true invasion point, was to provide a distraction. This distraction was Operation Fortitude. Operation Fortitude was a dummy Operation, involving dummy formations of troops. In Scotland, the completely fake British “Fourth Army” was stationed, ready to assault southern Norway. In the southeast of England, the bogus First United States Army Group (FUSAG) was stationed, across from Calais, right where the Germans expected to see such an Army Group stationed (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 82). To make FUSAG look like a real army group to the Germans (from far enough away at least), the Allies built poorly camouflaged dummy landing craft and fields of papier-mâché tanks. To make the tanks look more legitimate, jeeps were used to drag chains around the tanks to create “tank tracks” and to kick up dust, indicating movement. Hitler’s spies obediently reported all of these fraudulences as the real thing (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 84). Fake radio traffic was also broadcast around the assembly areas for these fake armies. The British Fourth Army, which was entirely fictional (FUSAG was made up of some real units, though not all were even in England yet), knew that the Germans, due to their expertise in intercepting and decoding their enemy’s radio transmissions, were able to geographically pinpoint the location of the Fourth Army headquarters (which was Edinburgh Castle), as well as locating and identifying divisional and corps command posts (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 82-3, 85). The Allies would use the Germans’ proficiency against them with great effect. 

The already-famous General George S. Patton was placed in command of this force, giving further credence to the Army Group he supposedly led, since the Germans believed him the best Allied general. In reality, Eisenhower considered Patton more in his element when the time came for an impetuous drive across France, so Patton was given this unconventional role and saved for later (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 85). With control over the German spies in Britain, the Allies could control in large part what information the Germans received, and what they did not receive. Also, with the ability to read the German codes, the Allies could see the Germans’ react to the false reports, and could tell whether the Germans were buying it or not. Even if some information indicating Normandy as the main landing area came into German hands, this information would be buried amidst a far greater volume of reports that said the Allies were getting ready to attack Calais (Weinberg, 682).

Dummy landing craft used as decoys in south-eastern England harbours in the period before D-Day, 1944.

The German Defenses Affected by Fortitude

Operation Fortitude worked so successfully that the Germans believed not only that the Pas de Calais was the main target (which Hitler and General von Rundstedt, the commander in the West, both agreed would be the case), but that the Allies actually had far greater capabilities than they actually possessed (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 84, 87). From the intercepted and decoded German radio messages, the Allies could tell that the Germans figured Eisenhower had twice as many forces as he actually had (the Germans counted eighty-nine Allied divisions, rather than the forty-seven Ike actually had), and that he had four times as many landing craft, which were actually in very short supply (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 87, 83). Believing that Eisenhower had so many men and landing craft at his disposal, the Germans easily believed that Ike had enough power for diversionary assaults in addition to the main assault—which, in the end, kept the Germans from reacting swiftly and with enough force against the Normandy assault. In fact, the lie that Normandy was just a diversion for a Calais assault lasted until nearly two months after the Allied invasion, well after the beachhead had been secured and the push inland accomplished (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 100; Esposito 83). Fifteen German divisions, the bulk of the Fifteenth Army, which were the best-equipped the Germans had in France, were kept out of the fight in Normandy altogether, awaiting another threat that never came (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 88, 100). The distraction caused by the bogus British Fourth Army was no less successful. Hitler was so convinced that an attack was coming that he reinforced the Norwegian garrisons, leaving them with thirteen divisions—twice as many troops as were needed for the occupation. An additional 90,000 naval and 60,000 air personnel were also left to guard Norway, along with an armored division—all of which would have served a far better purpose in Normandy (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 84).

Conclusion

In summary, Operation Fortitude, which masterfully employed the resources that the Double-Cross System provided, managed to utterly fool the Germans into believing that the main attack was coming anywhere but Normandy. It can even be said that if Operation Fortitude had not succeeded, Operation Overlord would have failed. The Allies simply did not have the means to transport enough men to France quickly enough to meet the full force of the German occupation troops in the West if Fortitude failed to hold them back (Ambrose, Ike’s Spies 88-9). Eisenhower wrote frankly in February of 1944, just months before the great invasion, that “The success or failure of coming operations depends upon whether the enemy can obtain advance information of an accurate nature” (Ambrose, D-Day 83). The success of the Normandy invasion was just the first step in the freeing of all Europe from the terror of Nazi occupation. Thus, Operation Fortitude did incalculable service in the Allied effort to rid the world of Nazism.

What do you think the significance of Operation Fortitude was? Let us know below.

References

Ambrose, Stephen Edward. D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II. Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Ambrose, Stephen Edward. Ike’s Spies: Eisenhower and the Espionage Establishment. Doubleday, 1981.

Esposito, Vincent J. The West Point Atlas of War. European Theater. Tess Press, 1995.

Keegan, John. Winston Churchill. Viking Penguin, 2002.

Weinberg, Gerhard. A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II. 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, 1994.

The Radical Nature of American Politics: A Perspective

America’s society seems increasingly divided these days – but such division has deep origins. Here, Daniel L. Smith offers his perspective on the division of American society and his take on radical politics by going back to slavery and the US Civil War.

Daniel’s new book on mid-19th century northern California is now available. Find our more here: Amazon US | Amazon UK

An 1884 depiction of a cotton plantation on the Mississippi. Such plantations were key to the southern US economy for much of the 18th and 19th centuries.

When America was established, it was based not in only one region, but three regions. Northern, Middle and Southern Colonies - each with their own various political charters and slightly differing Christian doctrine. Political and cultural expansion is a complex political and cultural process that takes decades to accomplish, but only at a snail’s pace. The American Colonies started off representative of what the nation would come to be founded upon—an orderly Christian society. One based upon the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, guaranteeing prosperity, as promised in Scripture. Over time, corruption of American doctrine and certainly poor pastoral leadership weakened throughout our nation’s existence, and would give way to the adaptation of certain aristocratic principles, including the slave-driven aspect of the economy in the South.

This flaw in their radical method of economics, politics, and culture would begin to slowly emerge over time. The Democratic Party officially formed in the 1828 election when Andrew Jackson ($20 bill) defeated (Federalist) John Quincy Adams in the presidential election that year. Now before moving ahead, we have to step back for a moment and look at the economics of the South at that time. The economy of the South was largely based on agriculture. Cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar cane, and indigo (a plant that was used for blue dye) were sold as cash crops. Cotton ultimately became the most important staple crop after Ely Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin. More slaves were now needed to pick the cotton and as a result of this slavery became absolutely essential to the South’s economy.

Moving ahead, lead positions in the local governments of the South were typically elected by the minority of farm owners, whom also were elected due to their status as the wealthy farm-elite. Because of this, the South’s policies were ultimately determined by the upper-class plantation owners and their families. It was primarily children of plantation owners who received education. Essentially, the South revolved around plantation life. It’s no surprise that the Southern government municipalities were all monopolized by the "Democratic Elite", this gave the government and business elite the ability to manipulate the decentralized laws set in place for individual states and local governments. Remember, slaves were considered property and not of human value, so giving them zero political or human rights whatsoever.

The Confederacy (composed of Democrats, along with some radical Republicans) fought and lost the Civil War with the fundamental basis of slavery as their way of life. May I remind you all that just because you lose a war it does not mean that you completely lose or even change your ideology? The slaves were 'freedmen' with no social or economic safety net, nor given any formal re-education into American society. At the end of the Civil War, much of the conquered Confederacy lay in ruins. The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 and 1868 placed most of the southern states under military rule, requiring Union Army governors to approve appointed officials and candidates for election.

Enfranchised to Disenfranchised

They enfranchised African-American citizens and required voters to recite an oath of allegiance to the Constitution, effectively discouraging still-rebellious individuals from voting, and led to Republican control of many state governments. This was interpreted as anarchy and upheaval by many residents. However, Democrats had regained power in most Southern states by the late 1870s. Later, this period came to be referred to as "Redemption". From 1890 to 1908, the Democrats (who will now also be called the ‘radicals’ for the rest of this article) passed statutes and amendments to their state constitutions that effectively disenfranchised most African Americans and tens of thousands of poor whites. They did this through devices such as poll taxes to vote and literacy tests to “qualify” (among other underhand tactics).

By the late 1950s, the Democratic Party again began to embrace the Civil Rights Movement, and the old argument that Southern whites had to vote for Democrats to protect segregation grew weaker. The Democratic Party realized that regardless of the outcomes of the Civil War and Reconstruction, the policy of "slavery-by-color" was over. Even segregation became an option not viable to their party’s ethics, which was to oppress the poor regardless of color. So how did they do this? Well, modernization had brought factories, national businesses, and a more diverse culture to cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Charlotte and Houston. This attracted millions of northern migrants, including many African Americans. They gave priority to modernization and economic growth over preservation of the "old ways" of the Democratic Party.

The radicals shifted their focus to an emphasis on societal engineering that would ultimately program our society into being ego-driven, self-centered, ignorant, and constantly pushed by the media to chase a never-to-arrive dream of money, fame, and power. This new programming in our society started with television (ads and sitcoms) and its ability to mass-manipulate American society, full well knowing that the most vulnerable place to attack a person’s psyche is their own home and place of comfort. Scientists, psychologists, and technologists have all contributed to this - knowingly and unknowingly. Radical leaders have set up institutions specifically aimed at buying up mainstream media outlets and funding universities for the benefit of pushing their political agenda and ethos. Keeping the average family divided morally, and constantly in debt -- morally and financially. This ultimately attacks one’s own personal and fundamental direction in life.

A Wake Up Call

President Lyndon B. Johnson (a Democrat) was a President whom I believe is the first President to come into the full knowledge of certain political shifts and the public’s manipulation. The quote appeared for the first time anywhere on page 33 of Ronald Kessler’s book, Inside the White House: The Hidden Lives of the Modern Presidents and the Secrets of the World’s Most Powerful Institution, published in 1995. Johnson, like other presidents, would often reveal his true motivations in asides that the press never picked up. During one trip, Johnson was discussing his proposed civil rights bill with two governors. Explaining why it was so important to him, he said it was simple: “I’ll have them (African Americans) voting Democratic for two hundred years.” Further, “That was the reason he was pushing the bill,” said MacMillan, who was present during the conversation. “Not because he wanted equality for everyone. It was strictly a political ploy for the Democratic Party. He was phony from the word go.” The “MacMillan” referenced above was Ronald M. MacMillan, a former Air Force One steward Kessler interviewed for Inside the White House.

This example illustrates today's radical establishment, which does not reflect the earlier Northern-Democratic party of the early 19th century that carried moderate principles. It seems as though radical policies had been adjusted to remake the Democratic Party of the 1860s. This is not a political rant slamming the Democratic Party, as much as it is a historical discussion to certain facts pertaining to our political and cultural origins. America has been fighting the same cultural battles since the Civil War; however, these battles are being fought in the much larger context of what is American culture.

The information received by the public is much more complex to grasp today; indeed it is harder than ever to find an individual understanding of what “truth” actually means. I guess Phil Collins was right when his band Genesis made the music billboards in the late 1980s with their hit song “Land of Confusion.” It was not just a play on American societal direction and what was to follow in the aftermath of the 1980s, but a seriously powerful and honest observation by a common man with a gift. Misleading the public is a serious pitfall that will have consequences for our society.  Discernment about everything today from our life choices made daily, to the information we are taking into our heads.

You can read a selection of Daniel’s past articles on: California in the US Civil War (here), Spanish Colonial Influence on Native Americans in Northern California (here), Christian ideology in history (here), the collapse of the Spanish Armada in 1588 (here), early Christianity in Britain (here), the First Anglo-Dutch War (here), and the 1918 Spanish Influenza outbreak (here).

Finally, Daniel Smith writes at complexamerica.org.

What if Queen Victoria never made it to the Throne? Part 3 – The Impact of Queen Victoria on Europe

Queen Victoria is one of the most famous monarchs in history. Her reign of 63 years was the longest in the history of the United Kingdom until Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her, reigning 68 years and counting. Her name is synonymous with an entire time period. Surely there was never an individual that made such an impact on a country, if not the world.

But what if that had never happened? What if she never came to the throne?  What if the original heir presumptive had lived to take the throne? And most importantly, how would the world have been different? This is an examination of those scenarios and how one death changed the entire world.

In part one (here) we discussed the tragic death of Charlotte, Princess of Wales, and her stillborn son. Her death had major ramifications on the royal succession. In part two (here), we discussed the sons of George III and how the lack of heirs prompted the events that led to Victoria’s birth.

Here in part 3 we’ll consider Victoria’s children with Prince Albert, how the genetic disease hemophilia spelled disaster for Europe in the 20th century, and various ‘what if’ scenarios.

Denise Tubbs explains.

Prince Albert, Queen Victoria and their nine children, 1857.

To start, let’s consider hemophilia. It is a disease whereby a person’s blood does not clot. Clotting of blood is essential as clotting helps stop bleeding. As a result, the affected person will bleed for longer than those without the disease. They will bruise easily, take longer to heal, and can bleed internally. Any of these can lead to death. In the 19th century, a disease like this would likely result in a limited life span.  A lot has been learned about the disease since the time of Victoria and her immediate family. In fact, al lot of what was learned was from the study of Victoria herself and her children. 

So how does one get a disease like this? We already established that it is a genetic disease; so, the individual must carry that gene and then pass it to their children. Putting on our high school biology hats we learned that humans have 46 Chromosomes. So 23 from mother and 23 from father combine to make the next person. In that same class we learn about dominant and recessive genes. A large ‘X’ for example would denote a dominant gene, while ‘x’ means recessive genes. Now, women’s chromosomes are represented by ‘X or x’ symbols, and men are just ‘Y’. Hemophilia is a recessive disease that is carried in the ‘x’ chromosomes. Since we know that men only inherit one ‘x, X’ from their mother, the man will inherit one or the other. Men will have a 50/50 chance of getting the disease from their mother. And yes, in case you’re thinking, women can get hemophilia but only if she receives both recessive ‘x’ genes. 

Victoria’s impact

Victoria was a carrier of the disease and had a total of nine children with Albert. Of her four male children, only one had the disease. Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, made it to adulthood and had two children; but the disease killed him after a fall in 1884. His daughter Alice would inherit the gene from her father and went on to pass it to her son Rupert of Teck. This would become a pattern in all of Victoria’s children, influencing the world. 

Calling Victoria the ‘Grandmother of Europe’ was an understatement. All her children made it to adulthood, and all married into prominent families of Europe. And she would have a total of 87 grandchildren. Through this, her daughters brought the disease right into the heart of Europe. Daughters Beatrice and Alice both would pass on the gene to their daughters: Alix (future Empress Alexandra of Russia), Irene, Victoria (future Queen of Spain) all carried the disease. We already know how the story ends for Empress Alexandra and her son Alexei, Tsarevich of Russia. His disease would in part be the catalyst for the fall of the Russian Empire. 

But what of the other two? Beatrice’s daughter born Victoria Eugene married into the Spanish royal line. Later as Queen of Spain two of her three sons inherited the disease. Alphonso, Prince of Asturias, died after a car accident; his injuries exacerbated by the hemophilia inherited from his great-great grandmother Victoria. Eerily his brother Infante Gonzalo of Spain also died in a car accident years before and also had the disease. 

Irene, or Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, had three sons with her husband Prince Henry of Prussia. Two of her sons would inherit the disease, with one (Heinrich Viktor) dying at age four. The other son Prince Waldemar Wilhelm not only lived to adulthood; he lived the longest of all the men afflicted with the disease. Waldemar lived until the age of 56, by far the oldest of any of his cousins. During the final stages of World War II, Waldemar had fled the safety of his home in Bavaria when word came of a Russian advance. He relied on blood transfusions to keep his hemophilia in check. 

After leaving Bavaria, he and his wife made it to the town of Tutzing and Waldemar was able to get a blood transfusion. Unfortunately, the United States entered the city and took over all available resources.  The army had moved all medical supplies and personnel to the nearby concentration camp of Dachau. With no other option of medical assistance Prince Waldemar died in May of 1945, due to complications from the disease.

The importance of Victoria’s family

In looking at the impact of Victoria and her family, clearly, we see that this one family controlled more than just the fates of each other. They also held the world in its hands. Even after her death, her eldest son Albert (later Edward the VII) came to be called the ‘Uncle of Europe’ because of the number of relations by blood and marriage. Indeed, if Victoria had not been born, the world could look very different. It’s an interesting thing to contemplate - a lot of ‘what if’s’ begin to emerge. 

Starting with the circumstances of Princess Charlotte. If she had lived, and by extension her child (who was a boy), the line of Hanover would have continued through him. We can only guess who he would have married and subsequently the impact it would have had on Europe.

But in a situation where Charlotte had lived, and her son did not, there are two scenarios. Firstly, that the young age of Princess Charlotte would surely have allowed another chance to have a child with Prince Leopold. This could have prevented his crowning of Leopold as the first king of Belgium. Leopold stayed in London after Charlotte died, and the Belgian revolution resulted in a list of candidates to take the throne of the country. Leopold, who had already turned down the crown in Greece, may have opted not to take the crown and instead remain with his wife. With no Leopold as the king of Belgium, it could also mean that his son Leopold II would not have been born and the exploitation and atrocities in the Congo would not have happened.

The second scenario is that with Charlotte surviving and the child dying, there would still have been a succession issue since she and Leopold were still childless. It could be theorized that if she had become pregnant with a second child and still died, the crown is in the same position as before. Only in this scenario, if Victoria is not born, the crown would go to Ernst Augustus and subsequently his son George. The line of Hanover would then exist in Britain and Germany through the unification of Germany in 1866.

There are more ‘what ifs’ out there, regarding the line of Victoria; however I think these are probably the two largest. 

What do you think would have happened if Princess Charlotte of Wales had not sadly died? Let us know below.

Richard Kyle Fox: The Irish-born publisher whose Publication Documented America's Gilded-Age

Standing on the roof terrace of his recently opened publishing house at Franklin Square, Lower Manhattan on May 24, 1883, Richard Kyle Fox witnessed the opening of The Brooklyn Bridge. As the festive nuptials between Manhattan and Brooklyn proceeded, the millionaire's decision to send out ten thousand invitations to his palatial new building ensured that many of New York's dignitaries were afforded a unique vantage point from which to witness this "wire wedding" extravaganza.

Though President Chester A. Arthur could not avail of Fox's hospitality on this occasion due to his ceremonial engagements, he did find time to give a special salute by "doffing his cap repeatedly to the cheers that resounded from the gay and festive sporting palace." Who was Fox and how had he achieved such eminence?

Liam Hayes explains.

Richard Kyle Fox, c. 1908.

Born in Belfast on August 12, 1846, Richard Kyle Fox truly was the epitome of that "rags to riches" narrative popularised in many a Horatio Alger novel. Before arriving at Castle Garden immigration station (now Castle Clinton) in 1874, Fox's formative years were spent as an office boy at the Banner of Ulster newspaper and later as a debt collector for the Belfast News-Letter.

His background in the publishing industry in the Old World served him well as he almost immediately found employment. Following a brief period at the Commercial Bulletin, Fox secured a full time position at the then struggling National Police Gazette, a weekly newspaper which was mainly concerned with exposing rogues, racketeers, and all things nefarious.

Such was the Irishman's impact at the Police Gazette's advertising department, he was able to relieve the owners of their debt-ridden rag within a year in lieu of wages owed to him. Now at the helm, Fox doubled the pages to sixteen, began printing on eye-catching pink paper, and targeted young men who frequented Gotham's myriad of barrooms, brothels and barbershops. The Fox journalistic doctrine was simple: "Tell your story in three paragraphs at most; if you can't tell it in three, tell it in two, and if you can't tell it in two, get the hell out of here!"

An 1891 version of the National Police Gazette.

Boxing promoter

Fox's breakthrough occurred in 1880 following his decision to cover the much anticipated pugilistic contest between Tipperary's Paddy Ryan and Joe Goss of England. The fight, in which Ryan was victorious, created an unprecedented demand for the Police Gazette, and the accompanying woodcut illustrations of the event afforded those unable to travel to the illegal prizefight at Collier's Station, West Virginia a unique journalistic experience.

Subsequently entering the surreptitious world of prizefight promotion, the young publisher eventually encountered a young braggadocious Bostonian by the name of John L. Sullivan. Sullivan and Fox's less than cordial relationship, supposedly ignited by the former's refusal to accept the publisher's hospitality at Harry Hill's notorious Bowery entertainment establishment, ensured an evidently convenient discord, as both men profited handsomely from the publicity.

Becoming the biggest boxing promoter in the United States by pitting opponents against Sullivan, sales of Fox's Police Gazetteincreased rapidly. The practice of awarding championship belts was popularised by Fox, including the famous Police Gazette Diamond Belt. Other belts included Jack "nonpareil" Dempsey's middleweight belt, Jack McAuliffe's lightweight belt and Ike "Belfast Spider" Weir's featherweight championship belt. For his contribution to the fistic phenomenon of the late 1800s the publisher was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997.

Sports promotion

In addition to the Police Gazette's boxing coverage, the prescient publisher also promoted all manner of athletic contests, including wrestling, weightlifting, baseball and many peculiar feats of human endeavour, most notably the exploits of French-Canadian strongman Louis Cyr and famed Irish-American wrestler William Muldoon. Annie Oakley, the celebrated female sharpshooter from Ohio was extremely proud of the medal awarded to her by Fox. In 1896 he sponsored Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo's successful crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in an eighteen-foot rowboat. In all, Fox is estimated to have donated almost $1 million in trophies and medals.

Not confining his publication to sports, Fox's Gazette was teeming with titillating woodcut illustrations of Gilded-Age beauties, voluptuous Victorian ladies, and many of the leading stage soubrettes of that era.

It was for the gratuitous nature of these illustrations that Fox came to the attention of Anthony Comstock (1844-1915), United States Postal Inspector and founder of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. "These weekly illustrated papers are staunch, well-constructed traps of the devil, capable of catching and securely holding the mind and heart of the young, until they yield a ready service to the father of all evil," wrote the Connecticut native in 1883. Comstock had Fox prosecuted on many occasions but this only resulted in increased interest and circulation for the wily Belfast man’s weekly. 

As the 1800s drew to a close, Fox was spending more and more time at his new offices in London's Fleet Street. He became a popular figure amongst Britain's aristocracy and was made an honorary member of the infamous Pelican Club. When Hugh Lowther, the extravagant Earl of Lonsdale required a lightweight carriage for his much anticipated race against Lord Shrewsbury in March, 1891, Fox had one specially shipped-over from New York.

Legacy

Richard Kyle Fox died on Nov. 24, 1922, at his home in Red Bank, New Jersey. He was interred in an elaborate, Egyptian-themed mausoleum at Woodlawn cemetery in the Bronx, New York. His beloved National Police Gazette, once the most popular perusal wherever men gathered to escape the confines of Gilded-Age propriety, had long been imitated and succeeded by the larger daily newspapers of media moguls such as William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer.

Fox's Police Gazette went bankrupt in 1932 and changed ownership many times before it eventually ceased publication under the ownership of Canadian publisher Joseph Azaria in 1977. The Police Gazette building (once one of the most impressive buildings in New York) from where Richard Kyle Fox had proudly witnessed the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883 had been demolished a decade earlier. The building’s ornate railings, their glorious gilding long since disappeared, were fortunately salvaged by Pop-Art aficionado Ivan Karp and later donated to the Brooklyn Museum by the William and Marian Zeckendorf Foundation.

What do you think of Richard Kyle Fox? Let us know below.

The Role of the Baptists in the Pursuit of Religious Liberty in America: Part 4 – How Baptists Ensured Religious Freedom

When thinking about the Constitution of the United States, names like James Madison usually come to mind. But a friend of the great "architect of the Constitution," John Leland, a Baptist minister, had much to do with Madison's giant accomplishments. In fact, without Mr. Leland's influence the establishment clause in the First Amendment may not exist as we know it. In this series of articles we explore the critical but little-known role played by the Baptists in helping to secure America’s cherished religious freedoms. In the fourth and final article we will see how Baptists, in particular John Leland, played an important role in ensuring religious freedom in America.

Victor Gamma explains. You can read part 1 on the persecution suffered by Baptists in 17th century America here, part 2 on Roger Williams and religious freedom here, and how Baptists became tolerated (here).

A depiction of John Leland. Available here.

And now the main event! We will see that Religious liberty is enshrined in the constitution of the new nation thanks, at least in part, to the Baptists. It was a long, hard road to get there. If you were a Baptist, Pennsylvania life would be good. Founded by such a broad-minded fellow as William Penn, Pennsylvania offered a level of tolerance rare in the world at that time. But in places like Massachusetts and Virginia, matters were different, and here the battles over religious freedom were fought the hardest. Back in Massachusetts, Henry Dunster, none other than the first president of Harvard College, had abandoned Puritan doctrine and come to accept Baptist theology regarding baptism. Dunster was subject to earnest efforts by the colonial magistrates to return to Puritan orthodoxy. He refused to give up his beliefs, holding firmly to the conviction that only adults could be baptized.  Forced to resign his position at Harvard, Dunster exiled himself and became pastor of the First Church of Scituate, Massachusetts. Charges were brought against him but they never made it to court. The incident was a shock to the Puritan community; if the president of Harvard could become a dissenter, Baptist beliefs could not be ignored.

Going to Court

A tiny band of Baptists, founding a church in June, 1665, found themselves ordered to attend the Congregational Church. In September, upon refusing to attend the Standing Order, several members, including a Mr. Gould, were ordered to stand before the court where they presented their confession of faith. The court heard them but ordered the nonconforming Gould and his followers to “desist from their schismatic practices.” Upon refusing to pay a fine, the group was charged with “Schismaticall opposition to the Churches of Christ here settled” and jailed. They were released, but Gould and a few others were jailed again in 1668 for participating in a “public disputation” at the First Church in Boston on April 14-15, 1668. Once brought before the court, the defendants were not allowed to speak. David Benedict, a contemporary, commented, “When the disputants met there was a long speech made by one of their opponents, showing what vile persons the Baptists were and how they acted against the churches and government here, and stood condemned by the Court. The Baptists desired liberty to speak, but they would not suffer them, but told them that they stood there as delinquents and ought not to have liberty to speak.”

Transcripts of the offending debate at the First Church have come down to us. John Trumble, although not himself a Baptist, defended the Baptist position, while Jonathan Mitchell, a Congregational Minister, argued the case for the Standing Order. The exchange displayed the fundamental differences between Baptist and Puritans regarding the wisdom of allowing religious freedom or equality for any dissenting sect:

Thrumble: We came for liberty of conscience as well as yourselves. You had not a patent for such a form: and you are not perfect. We are daily exhorted to be growing [in] grace and knowledge: and if you be not perfect: we are to look for light as well as you.

Mitchell: You say the patent give us liberty of conscience. Lo there is no such word as liberty of conscience. This people had made a sad bargain for themselves and their posterity if they had come hither for . . . liberty."

John Leland and the US constitution

Such persecution continued into the revolutionary era. Through the colonial era Baptists persevered in advocating for freedom of religion. When the struggle for independence from Great Britain got under way, most Baptists joined the American cause despite generations of harassment at the hands of their fellow-colonists. They were determined, though, to leverage the conflict to their advantage and put an end, once and for all, to religious persecution. Among the leaders that emerged to head the fight for religious liberty was John Leland of Virginia. 

After American independence was secured and the young nation tackled the challenge of writing a constitution John Leland was determined that the new nation would guarantee the freedoms that Baptists had long been denied. Leland was an articulate and effective spokesman for the Baptist cause. He was also uncompromising in his conviction for the absolute separation of church and state. In a strongly-worded essay, he declared, "The liberty I contend for, is more than toleration. The very idea of toleration, is despicable, it supposes that some have a pre-eminence above the rest, to grant indulgence whereas, all should be equally free, Jews, Turks, Pagans and Christians. Test oaths, and established creeds, should be avoided as the worst of evils." The Baptists supported the like-minded Jefferson and Madison as they drew up Virginia’s Statute for Religious freedom. But this milestone needed to be applied on a national level, which brings us to the Bill of Rights. 

If you happen to be in Virginia visiting historic sites and you are on your way to Monticello, you will most likely miss a small park. It is the Leland-Madison Memorial Park. This is where a meeting took place which had a direct impact on the First Amendment. But first, the back story.

Religious freedom

Leland had written a letter to Madison asking him to include stronger guarantees of religious liberties.  He put that at the very end of the letter to make sure Madison would not forget. For his part, Madison needed little convincing. As a young man fresh out of college, he was keenly offended by the persecution of religious minorities, such as Baptists, in his native Virginia. On exactly how to implement religious freedom in the Constitution, however, the two men did not agree. Madison did not feel that an amendment specifically to safeguard religious liberty was necessary. Leland and his fellow Baptists, having suffered generations of persecution, strongly disagreed.  When Madison didn’t respond to Leland’s letter, the Baptist firebrand decided to turn up the heat. Since Baptists represented an important voting block in the district Madison represented in the First Congress under the new Constitution, Leland threatened to run against him if he did not provide a firm guarantee of religious liberty. Leland, in fact, had more votes than Madison for the Orange County seat that would go to the convention to ratify the Constitution.  Madison needed Leland’s support to win. This prompted a visit to Leland by the great lawyer. In the fine traditions of American politics, a deal was struck whereby Leland agreed to drop his bid for Madison’s seat and Madison committed to push for the clear guarantee of religious freedom in the Bill of Rights. When this hallowed document became the law of the land in 1791, Baptists knew that at last their long-delayed dream of religious freedom had been realized. 

Leland continued his career as a fiery preacher, political leader and fierce advocate of the separation of church and state. In a July 4 address in 1802 he thundered, “Never promote men who seek after a state-established religion; it is spiritual tyranny — the worst of despotism. It is turnpiking the way to heaven by human law, in order to establish ministerial gates to collect toll. It converts religion into a principle of state policy, and the gospel into merchandise. Heaven forbids the bans [sic] of marriage between church and state; their embraces therefore, must be unlawful.” When the stout-hearted champion of liberty finally succumbed on January 14, 1841 his tombstone included these words: “Here lies the body of John Leland, who labored 67 years to promote piety and vindicate the civil and religious rights of all men.” It was not only a fitting epitaph for Leland but could very well serve as an appropriate tribute for all Baptists.

How important do you think John Leland was in guaranteeing religious freedom in America? Let us know below.

References

Leonard, Bill J. Baptist Ways: A History. Valley Forge PA: Judson Press, 2001.

Shurden, Walter B. (2008). Turning Points in Baptist History. Mercer University Press. 

Ferguson, John E. The First Amendment Encyclopedia, https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1219/john-leland

McCarthyism Before McCarthy: Vincent Hartnett in the 1940s

American Senator Joseph McCarthy remains well known due to his Communist witch-hunts in 1950s America. But others were giving similar messages a decade earlier. Here, Alex Reid explains how Vincent Hartnett was discussing the rise of Communism and its threat to America in the 1940s.

A colorised image of Joseph McCarthy, a man much more famous for his anti-Communism than Vincent Hartnett. Available here.

McCarthy and the 1950s

The 1950s for the United States proved to be a time in which it could flex some of its muscle as a new world superpower after the conclusion of the Second World War. Consumerism was flourishing amongst citizens and Rock n’ Roll was hitting the mainstream. However, the same decade in which Elvis Presley was swinging his hips on the new media platform of television is synonymous with Communist anxiety. No one better personifies this anxiety, arguably, than Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy was a Senator from Wisconsin during the 1950s who reached a level of infamy that few can claim to have without leaving behind a body count. His ascent into notoriety as well as fear mongering began with a speech he delivered in Wheeling, West Virginia on February 9, 1950. As we know, the speech mostly consisted of McCarthy ranting that he held a list of known Communists that had infiltrated the State Department. The ensuing panic gave McCarthy his own “ism” and the early 1950s became known as the McCarthy era.

It is no secret that McCarthy was not the first person to spread fears of an impending Communist takeover, he does get the most attention though. He also wasn’t the only one to do so using religious overtones due to his strong Catholic upbringing. During the 1940s, before McCarthy was the face of anti-Communism, a writer named Vincent Hartnett was polluting the air with Communist fears. Hartnett would obtain some notoriety himself in the Faulk v. AWARE Inc. court case. Hartnett was one of the founders of AWARE Inc. in 1953 which was one of the organizations responsible for the blacklisting of celebrities during the 1950s due to possible Communist affiliations.[i] In 1962 Hartnett was being sued by actor John Henry Faulk for lost wages and libel. Faulk was fired from his job as a radio host due to the publications by AWARE Inc. labeling him as a Communist. Hartnett’s publications during the two decades before the court case show that he was no stranger to condemning people for what he saw as the downfall of the country.

Hartnett’s Fears During the 1940s

Hartnett wrote numerous articles for America Press Inc, the subjects of which ranged from book reviews to critiques on society. The former usually turned into the latter, however. One of his favorite themes was the impending collapse of western civilization due to the rise of naturalism and society’s shift away from religion. In an article Hartnett published in 1941, he discussed the dire need for Catholic leadership against expanding paganism in the United States.[ii] He stated in the article that “At the present day, when the powers of hell are attacking the Mystical Body of Christ with almost unparalleled violence” not referring to anyone specifically but bringing attention to what he believed was a crisis. Hartnett wasted no time in placing blame for the destruction of religious values. He traced the causes back to English desists, French Encyclopedists and the Illuminati in Germany. Scientists and patent offices also received their own share of the blame for bringing too much comfort and convenience to our everyday lives.

Like McCarthy, Vincent Hartnett was a staunch Catholic. Both were obsessed with what seemed like an unseen nemesis to the American way of life. Harnett even went as far as to call naturalism an “invisible toxin” that was poisoning Catholics. According to Hartnett, Western civilization was almost beyond the point of saving. In another article he wrote for America Press in October 1941, he cited a census taken in 1926 that stated less than half American citizens attended any church regularly.[iii]Hartnett excelled at using religious rhetoric to stir up fear and anxiety in the community. However, after the United States became directly involved in the Second World War his writing shifted in attempts to disfigure the causes and meaning of the war.

Communism and Soviet Attacks on Faith

Hartnett published an article in 1942 titled “Wanted: More Saint Justins in the Church’s Serious Crisis” that heavily discussed the book Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson published in 1907.[iv] Immediately Hartnett points out that the novel is set at the end of the world in a time of universal Socialism.  He praises Benson for his far-sightedness but stated that he did not predict the rise of Communism or Nazism. Once again Hartnett tries to convince readers that Christianity is facing a time of absolute crisis. According to Hartnett, the true evil of Nazism and Communism is not the Holocaust or the Great Purge by Stalin, it was their attacks on spiritual values. In fact, he makes no mention of Nazi or Communist actions outside of religious perspectives. Hartnett goes as far to say that Nazism and Communism are nothing but the tip of the iceberg hiding the true enemy, naturalism.

Even though Nazism and Communism were discussed, Hartnett condemns the latter more so. The root of his condemnation was that “Communists have been more forthright in their abjuration of religion than have the Nazi leaders.” Death tolls did not seem to be a problem for Hartnett but what he believed was a Communist attempt at building a Utopia without God was. He argued that not only does Communism attempt to destroy religion, Communism is a logical reaction of the rejection of God. Without God, Hartnett argued, the United States would fall into a totalitarian government. The spread of Communism meant the spread of paganism which meant the downfall of the United States.

Hartnett proposed this supposed war on faith was being waged on the United States by the Soviet Bezbozhniki, or Union of Militant Godless.[v] Not only was this Soviet group attacking Christianity, it was attacking the American democratic way of life. He sincerely believed this group had been slowly poisoning the United States. The article culminated in a call to arms of all Catholics especially writers and journalists. He was charging these writers with the task of stopping the expansion of paganism through Communism in the United States. It should be noted that he mentioned that action must be taken quickly because America might already be losing to Communist despotism. Hartnett drew on emotion by relating the story of Saint Justin in which he became a martyr and wrote one last Christian message with his own blood. He stated that the United States needed more people like Saint Justin.

Harnett turned the Second World War into a religious battle between Christianity and Atheism. He believed a victory in the war without faith was no victory. Communist ideals would bring about the end of Western civilization. Hartnett’s constant crisis rhetoric as well his anxieties about Communist subversion serve as a precursor to McCarthyism. Although Hartnett has not obtained the infamy or notoriety that McCarthy has, his goals were the same. Hartnett continued his fear mongering from the 1940s into the 1950s. More broadly, there is a lack of current writing on Vincent Hartnett and this lack has led to a weak spot in the historiography of McCarthyism.

What do you think of Vincent Hartnett? Let us know below.

[i] Doherty, Thomas. Cold War, Cool Medium. New York: Columbia University Press. 2003. 

[ii] Hartnett, Vincent. “Accent on Catholic in Catholic Action.” America Vol. 65, Issue 9 (1941): 233-234. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.dax.lib.unf.edu/

[iii] Hartnett, Vincent. “Tertiarism: Sanctity with Action.” America Vol. 66, Issue 1 (1941): 7-9. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.dax.lib.unf.edu/

[iv] Hartnett, Vincent. “Wanted: More Saint Justins in the Church’s Serious Crisis.” America Vol. 66, Issue 16 (1942): 430-432. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.dax.lib.unf.edu/

[v] Ibid. Pg. 431. 

The Life of Princess Anastasia Romanova, the Youngest Daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova (1901-1918) was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, Russia’s last Tsar. While many of us know how Nicholas II and his family were killed by the Bolsheviks, so ending the Romanov Dynasty, many of us know less about Nicholas’ children. Here, Jordann Stover tells us about Grand Duchess Anastasia.

Grand Duchess Anastasia in court dress, 1910.

We’re all familiar with the auburn haired beauty drawn up by 20th Century Fox, the orphaned girl rescued by a young boy at the height of an attack on her family’s palace. The animated movie, Anastasia, was released in 1997 and has since become a childhood classic for a generation of children. We watched Anya slowly transform into the missing Grand Duchess; we cheered as she fell in love with Dimitri and hid our eyes when the menacing Rasputin appeared on screen in an eerie green hue. For many of us, this story was the first time we’d dipped our feet into the subject of history, marveling as our parents told us the true story-- that there had once been a powerful Romanov family that was murdered but the remains for the youngest daughter had never been found. As young kids, we hoped that Anastasia would one day remember who she was, that this real princess would get the happily ever after awarded to her fictional counterpart.

The life of Anastasia

In 2007, the final two remains of the Romanov family were found in a Siberian forest. The state of their bodies was consistent with the executioners’ notes and were then confirmed to be Romanovs via DNA testing. With that case closed and any chance of the Grand Duchess or any of her family members surviving their basement room assassination in the Ipatiev House, the real story becomes inherently more interesting. Who was Anastasia? What is the story behind those ghost-like characters who danced along to the iconic “Once Upon a December”? Anastasia was born Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, the youngest daughter and fourth child of the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, on June 18, 1901. While her parents had been hoping for a son and heir, they loved their little Anastasia. She was named for St. Anastasia in the Russian Orthodox Church, the saint known as "the breaker of chains". A fitting title as Anastasia broke nearly every rule set in order to chain her to the idea of what an imperial daughter should have been.

Even when Anastasia was a small baby, her personality was larger than the Alexander Palace itself. She was best friends with her big sister, Maria with whom she was fondly referred to as “the Little Pair” in contrast to her older sisters Olga and Tatiana who were the “the Big Pair”. The four were close but so incredibly different; unlike the introspective Olga, the dutiful Tatiana, and the loving Maria-- Anastasia was referred to as “Schwipsig” meaning “little mischief” in German. She did the same needlework, the same chores and academics as her three sisters but she desired something far more fun than listening to tutors lecture for hours. Anastasia had a knack for comedy, often performing little skits with her sisters. She not only thrived on making people laugh, she excelled at the art. Helen Azar notes in her short biography of the fourth Grand Duchess that “some remarked that [Anastasia] was destined for the stage. Even in the darkest of times for her family following her father’s abdication and their arrest amidst country-wide revolution, she managed to draw laughter from her loved ones, the sound surely echoing off the walls of their prison house in Ekaterinburg for the Bolshevik guards to hear. 

Her personality, though fun-loving and entertaining, was not always charming to the people around her. As a small child, she was known to be a bit of a brat, her will too strong to be held back by her English, Victorian nannies. She would climb trees, hide away in cupboards, and refuse orders. She was a master at pranks and naughtiness, the blue eyed, strawberry blonde haired little girl dissolving into fits of giggles as she tripped servants and her siblings. She was not always the ideal playmate with other children, even noted by her cousin, Princess Nina Georgeivena, as being “nasty to the point of being evil”. Anna Vyrubova notes of an instance in her memoirs where Anastasia played a bit too rough with her sisters-- the four sisters had been having a snowball fight in the yards of their Polish palace when Anastasia knocked Tatiana to the ground with a snowball full of rocks.

Birth of a male heir

When her little brother, Tsarevich Alexei, was born, the family and country rejoiced. Russia remained one of the only monarchies at the time to refuse women the throne. Because of the Law that had been put into place by the son of Catherine the Great, the fact that Tsar Nicholas already had four daughters, they meant little to nothing for the Romanov line of succession. The birth of a little boy in 1904 meant that the Tsarina had fulfilled her duties as Empress and that the four sisters had a little one to dote on. When it was discovered that their baby brother was sick, that he had the dreaded Hemophilia, the four young girls became even more protective of the boy. They kept a close eye on him, sitting by his bedside when he was sick and writing letters when they were not permitted to visit. Despite his sickness that often left him bedridden, Alexei was a vivacious, curious boy. Who better than to be his partner in crime? His big sister, Schwipsig. The two of them were incredibly close, the absolute best of friends. Together, they no doubt ran their governesses ragged.

Towards the end

As Anastasia aged to the seventeen year old she would forever be frozen as, she mellowed out. She still enjoyed making people laugh, still pushed the boundaries of what was allowed-- for example, during the family’s time under house arrest Anastasia was nearly shot for peering out a window and then stuck her tongue out at the guard who had fired at her. Anastasia went from playing silly pranks and sticking pins on the chairs of her tutors to becoming the relief that her family desperately needed. One can hardly imagine what it must have been like for the teenage girl locked up with her future in constant danger. She and her family had no clue what awaited them, they did not know if they’d ever be allowed outside for more than an hour under guard ever again, they had no clue if they’d be allowed to see their friends, to dance, paint, sing, or any of the other number of activities they’d so loved prior to the Russian Revolution. Anastasia, determined to maintain her status as the joy of the family, must have felt an enormous weight on her small shoulders. How was she to make her father, who had lost his kingdom, laugh? Her eldest sister, Olga, who was becoming thinner and more depressed with each passing day-- how was she to bring a smile back to her face? Her brother who was in agonizing pain, her mother who was suffering from her own ailments-- could she make things better for them? We will never know if Anastasia was able to accomplish these goals but we can hope. We can hope for this Anastasia, the real girl with messy hair and skinned knees who lost her life before it had truly begun, just as we hoped for the animated princess of our adolescence. 

What do you think of Princess Anastasia? Let us know below.

References

Azar, Helen (2017). GRAND DUCHESS ANASTASIA NIKOLAEVNA: 18 JUNE, 1901 – 17 JULY, 1918. theromanovfamily.com

Eagar, Margaret (1906). Six Years at the Russian Court. Alexanderpalace.org

Massie, Robert K. (1967). Nicholas and Alexandra. New York: Dell Publishing

Vyrubova, Anna. Memories of the Russian Court. Alexanderpalace.org.

7 of Nostradamus’s Most Shocking Prophecies

Nostradamus (1503-1566) is perhaps the most famous prophesier in history. Despite being born more than 500 years ago, he remains well known. Here, Jamil Bakhtawar introduces Nostradamus and tells us about 7 of his most shocking prophecies.

An 1846 portrait of Nostradamus.

Michel de Nostredame (also known as Nostradamus), was a French physician and astrologer who was born in December 1503 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Provence, France.  He is also known as a reputed and prolific seer. He published a collection of prophecies that have since become widely famous and is best known for his book Les Propheties (The Prophecies – Amazon US | Amazon UK), the first edition of which appeared in 1555.

Since the publication of the book, which has rarely been out of print since his death, Nostradamus has attracted a following that, along with much of the popular press, credits him with predicting many major world events. 

Most academic sources maintain that the associations made between world events and Nostradamus’ predictions are largely the result of misinterpretations or mistranslations (sometimes deliberate) or else are so tenuous as to render them useless as evidence of any genuine predictive power.

Nostradamus in his own time

His book The Prophecies, received a mixed reaction when it was published. Some people thought Nostradamus was a servant of evil, a fake, or insane, while many of the elite evidently thought otherwise. 

Catherine de’ Medici, wife of King Henry II of France, was one of Nostradamus’s greatest admirers. After reading his almanacs for 1555, which hinted at unnamed threats to the royal family, she summoned him to Paris to explain them and to draw up horoscopes for her children. At the time, Nostradamus feared that he would be beheaded, but by the time of his death in 1566, Queen Catherine had made him Counselor and Physician-in-Ordinary to her son, the young King Charles IX of France. Since his death, the Prophecies have continued to be popular.

Nostradamus’s predictions

Nostradamus has been credited, for the most part in hindsight, with predicting numerous events in world history, from the Great Fire of London, and the rise of Napoleon and Adolf Hitler, to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

The prophecies retold and expanded by Nostradamus figured largely in popular culture in the 20th and 21st centuries. As well as being the subject of hundreds of books (both fiction and nonfiction), Nostradamus’s life has been depicted in several films, and his life and writings continue to be a subject of media interest.

1.     9/11

Perhaps the most famous assertion made in the past 20 years was that Nostradamus predicted the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It's a story that circulated widely in late 2001, and is still widely believed. One verse in particular sent shockwaves throughout the world: 

"Two steel birds will fall from the sky on the Metropolis. The sky will burn at forty-five degrees latitude. Fire approaches the great new city. Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up. Within months, rivers will flow with blood. The undead will roam the earth for little time."

2.     The Great Fire of London

The following passage is often linked with the devastating Great Fire of London of 1666:

‘The blood of the just will commit a fault at London,

Burnt through lightning of twenty threes the six:

The ancient lady will fall from her high place,

Several of the same sect will be killed’.

In regards to the date, 20 times three is 60. Add six to that, and you've got 66 — or the year '66. London's infamous three-day blaze began on September 2, 1666. This prediction is one of the weaker prophecies, as it's often quite a stretch to link the historical events of the Great Fire of London with Nostradamus' words.

The fire wasn't set off by lightning, however. A hot, arid summer and a spark in the bakery of Thomas Farriner on Pudding Lane set the stage for the inferno. Peasant and middle class deaths were not recorded at the time, according to the Smithsonian Magazine, but it's likely that hundreds or even thousands of people perished in the flames.

3.     The French Revolution

‘From the enslaved populace, songs,

Chants and demands

While princes and lords are held captive in prisons.

These will in the future by headless idiots

Be received as divine prayers’.

This was a verse that related to the French Revolution. Starting with the storming of the Bastille in 1789, the French Revolution saw the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a new republic. The Third Estate (enslaved populace) took control of Paris and forced their demands on royalty (princes and lords).

Ultimately, the revolution turned bloody. Nobles and commoners alike were declared traitors to the revolution and beheaded at the guillotine (headless idiots).

4.     Adolf Hitler

This was one of the most shocking of Nostradamus’ predictions. The verse as follows:

From the depths of the West of Europe,

A young child will be born of poor people,

He who by his tongue will seduce a great troop;

His fame will increase towards the realm of the East.

Also:

Beasts ferocious with hunger will cross the rivers,

The greater part of the battlefield will be against Hister.

Into a cage of iron will the great one be drawn,

When the child of Germany observes nothing.

On April 20, 1889 Adolf Hitler was born in Austria. But his family was middle class, not impoverished. Hitler did rise to power in part due to his oratory abilities (by his tongue will seduce), and did initiate World War II (a great troop) by invading Poland.

5.     Natural disasters

The prediction of ‘Floods and drought for forty years and the rainbow will not be seen and there will be great floods when it is seen’, could relate to the recent devastating earthquakes, floods and hurricanes that we are witnessing in the world. 

6.     US conflict with North Korea and Iran

 ‘Thunder and conflict - The great man will be struck down in the day by a thunderbolt. An evil deed, foretold by the bearer of a petition’ could relate to the war of words amongst the US, North Korea and Iran.

7.     The assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy

‘The great man will be struck down in the day by a thunderbolt,

An evil deed foretold by the bearer of a petition.

According to the prediction, another falls at night time.

Conflict at Reims, London and a pestilence in Tuscany’.

This verse has been most associated with the assassinations of the Kennedys. President John F. Kennedy (great man) received numerous death threats (petition) over the course of his presidency. While visiting Dallas on November 22, 1963, the president was gunned down (thunderbolt). The assassination shocked and devastated the US.

His brother Bobby Kennedy was later assassinated just after midnight on June 5, 1968 (another falls at night time).

The conflict in Reims and London and sickness in Tuscany, however, doesn't fit in with the assassination of the Kennedys. So this verse could go either way when talking about the actual foretelling of the Kennedy’s deaths. 

Conclusion

Nostradamus has been in the spotlight for many years and his predictions have been shocking yet notorious at the same time. While his words aren’t necessarily absolute, it is worthwhile noting how interesting certain predictions can be.

What do you think of Nostradamus’s predictions? Let us know below.

Now read Jamil’s previous article on Leonardo da Vinci’s 9 greatest inventions here.

Abraham Lincoln: The Story of how he Became a Wrestling Champion

Widely considered the greatest President in American history, much has been written about the man, the myth, the legend: Abraham Lincoln. From his acclaimed debates with Stephen A. Douglas, to his creation of the Emancipation Proclamation, to the Gettysburg Address, and finally his tragic death by the hands of John Wilkes Booth after the Civil War, President Lincoln will forever be an icon of US history. Even Lincoln’s childhood and early adulthood has come under scholarly examination. However, what is less spoken of is the strange but prolific wrestling career of the Great Emancipator. Brenden Woldman explains.

A painting of Abraham Lincoln reading as a boy. By Eastman Johnson, 1868.

In the moderately sized city of Stillwater in Payne County, Oklahoma stands the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Enshrined within those hallowed halls are America’s greatest wrestlers, from collegiate athletes to Olympic champions. But there is one man who was granted a spot within the Hall for his grappling tactics within the ring, and earned him an “Outstanding American” honor.[1] Though his gangly stature became a point of insult for his political rivals and contemporaries, with one man once telling Lincoln that he did not possess the “features the ladies would call handsome,” the future president as a young man was, surprisingly, built from stone.[2]  Lincoln may have been a thin, wiry young man standing at 6 feet, 4 inches and 180 lbs., but years of working manual labor as both a farmer in the Kentucky backwoods as well as a rail splitter helped forge a naturally strong specimen of a man who towered over any and all who stood beside him.[3]

Wrestling fame

Though he had no dreams of sporting grandeur, the future president, like many of his contemporaries who worked manual labor jobs, enjoyed physical activities like wrestling as a leisure activity. But just like in his political career Lincoln was a calculated and ambitious wrestler. Still, conversely to his political persona the young Lincoln was a confident sportsman who could be simply described as cocky. Lincoln’s confidence in his ability stemmed from his mastery of the “catch-as-catch-can” manner of wrestling, a brawling and combative style known for its bull-like aggressive rushes and hand-to-hand combat tactics to the opponent. Nevertheless, this bar fight style of wrestling still needed more than a hint of skill to pin a rival.[4] Lincoln’s rare mix of thin and wiry but broad, strong, and smart athlete made him nearly impossible to beat. His physical prowess made Bill Green, a local store owner from New Salem, Illinois, note that “[Lincoln] can outrun, outlift, outwrestle and throw day any man in Sangamon County,” after the young man beat multiple opponents in one day.[5] Moreover, Lincoln matched his reputation as an in-ring force with his loud public trash talking. After decisively defeating another opponent with a single toss in the ring, Honest Abe being as honest as he could be looked into an entire crowd and challenged any and all who dared to face him. Lincoln shouted, “I’m the big buck of this lick. If any of you want to try it, come on and whet your horns.”[6]Unsurprisingly, there were no takers.

The legend of Lincoln the wrestler continued to grow during the late 1820s and into the early 1830s. But what made Lincoln a local wrestling legend came in 1831, when the Great Emancipator was only 22 years old. Lincoln was quietly tending to the store he worked at as a clerk in New Salem when his boss Denton Offutt out of the blue challenged any of the local Clary’s Grove Boys to a good natured wrestling match with his star clerk.[7] The Clary’s Grove Boys, who were known for their rowdy, fraternity-like attitude toward frontiers life, enjoyed drinking and fighting more than anyone around.[8] After Offutt boasted that no one could beat his employee, the Clary’s Grove Boys’ “champion wrestler” Jack Armstrong took the challenge, believing, that he “had found only another subject by which [they] could display its strength and prowess.”[9] Lincoln accepted the challenge, getting up from behind his counter, and prepared to wrestle the feared Armstrong. 

Confident that he could outmatch the taller but gawky Lincoln, Armstrong felt no fear. Who could blame him? Lincoln had been, and would continue to be, judged by his physical appearance his entire life. However, soon after the match began, the Clary’s Grove Boys champion realized he had bit off more than he could chew. Lincoln from the start was able to control the match due to his enormous reach, forcing Armstrong to fight dirty as a means of desperation.[10] Annoyed by the lack of sportsmanship, Lincoln lost his temper and, according to legend, won the match by grabbing Armstrong by the neck, raising him above his head, shaking him around, and slamming him on the ground.[11] The crowd was shocked by Lincoln’s clear victory, and the rest of the Clary’s Grove Boys were angered by the result. Enraged, the Clary’s Grove Boys began to threaten Lincoln. Luckily, Armstrong bounced back up and defended the future president. Smiling, Armstrong looked at his friends and said, “Boys, Abe Lincoln is the best fellow that ever broke into this settlement. He shall be one of us.”[12]

A very impressive career

Lincoln gained the respect of Jack Armstrong and the rest of the Clary’s Grove Boys. As a result of his victory, the young Lincoln gained the reputation as the champion wrestler of New Salem, gladly taking on, and easily defeating, any and all opponents who came to challenge him. Amazingly, Lincoln was nearly impossible to beat. According to historians who have researched the win/loss record of Honest Abe, Lincoln has only one confirmed lose in allegedly more then 300 matches over the course of 12 years.[13] That sole lose came at the hands of Pvt. Lorenzo Dow Thompson, the St. Clair wrestling champion whom Lincoln met when he was a Captain during the Black Hawk War. Upon hearing of Thompson’s prowess at wrestling, Lincoln was certain in his own ability and “told my boys I could throw [Thompson].”[14] As confident as ever, Lincoln set up a match between himself and the private when both of their regiments had down time from fighting. Unfortunately, much like how Armstrong underestimated Lincoln, Lincoln underestimated Thompson. Though still in his physical prime, Lincoln realized rather quickly after the match began that he was wrestling “a powerful man” in Thompson, and that “the struggle [of winning] was a sever one.”[15] Shockingly, Lincoln for the first time in his career was thrown out of the ring and lost the match. When his men came to the defense of their captain claiming Thompson had cheated, Lincoln laughed and said Thompson won fairly. When asked how did he know, Lincoln simply said, “Why, gentlemen, that man could throw a grizzly bear.”[16]

In retrospect

There is something funny when we read or write about famous historical figures like Abraham Lincoln. For the most part, we think we know everything there is to know about a figure because we have been indoctrinated about the “greatest hits” of these figures. We all know about the stoic Lincoln who unified the Union during the Civil War, freed the slaves, and was assassinated, but we should never think we know everything about someone. Moreover, the importance of Lincoln as a wrestler transcends something more than an interesting tidbit of information about America’s greatest president. Lincoln learned about his own strength and confidence as well as humility through the sport. Writer and historian David Fleming said it best, noting that “when his wrestling skill diminished, Lincoln’s leadership qualities emerged.”[17] Without what he learned from wrestling, Abraham Lincoln would not have been the same man that became America’s sixteenth President.

Do you think Abraham Lincoln’s wresting career was important for his later political career? Let us know below.

 

You can read Brenden’s previous article on US politics: Violence in the Senate – Slavery, Honor and the Caning of Charles Sumner here.

[1] Christopher Klein, “10 Things You May Not Know About Abraham Lincoln,” History.com (A&E Television Networks, November 16, 2012), https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-abraham-lincoln)

[2] Susan Bell, “Lincoln's Looks Never Hindered His Approach to Life or Politics,” USC News (USC, February 19, 2015), https://news.usc.edu/75846/lincolns-looks-never-hindered-his-approach-to-life-or-politics/)

[3] “The Railsplitter: Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life,” National Museum of American History (National Museum of American History, n.d.), https://americanhistory.si.edu/lincoln/railsplitter)

[4] Bob Dellinger, “Wrestling in the USA,” National Wrestling Hall of Fame (National Wrestling Hall of Fame, n.d.), https://nwhof.org/stillwater/resources-library/history/wrestling-in-the-usa/)

[5] David Fleming, “The Civil Warrior,” Sports Illustrated (Sports Illustrated, n.d.), https://vault.si.com/vault/1995/02/06/the-civil-warrior-on-the-us-frontier-young-abe-lincoln-was-a-great-wrestler-and-sportsman)

[6] Klein, “10 Things You May Not Know About Abraham Lincoln,” https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-abraham-lincoln

[7] Dellinger, “Wrestling in the USA,” https://nwhof.org/stillwater/resources-library/history/wrestling-in-the-usa/, R.J. Norton, “Abraham Lincoln's Wrestling Match,” Abraham Lincoln Research Site (Abraham Lincoln Research Site, n.d.), https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln48.html)

[8] Norton, “Abraham Lincoln’s Wrestling Match,” https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln48.html

[9] Dan Evon, “Is Abraham Lincoln in the Wrestling Hall of Fame?,” Snopes.com (Snopes.com, n.d.), https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lincoln-wrestling-hall-of-fame/

[10] Dellinger, “Wrestling in the USA,” https://nwhof.org/stillwater/resources-library/history/wrestling-in-the-usa/

[11] Dellinger, “Wrestling in the USA,” https://nwhof.org/stillwater/resources-library/history/wrestling-in-the-usa/, Norton, “Abraham Lincoln’s Wrestling Match,” https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln48.html

[12] Norton, “Abraham Lincoln’s Wrestling Match,” https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln48.html

[13] Bryan Armen Graham, “Abraham Lincoln Was A Skilled Wrestler And World-Class Trash Talker,” Sports Illustrated (Sports Illustrated, February 12, 2013), https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2013/02/12/abraham-lincoln-was-a-skilled-wrestler-and-world-class-trash-talker)

[14] Evon, “Is Abraham Lincoln in the Wrestling Hall of Fame?,”https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lincoln-wrestling-hall-of-fame/

[15] Ibid.,

[16] Ibid.,

[17] Graham, “Abraham Lincoln Was A Skilled Wrestler and World-Class Trash Talker,” https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2013/02/12/abraham-lincoln-was-a-skilled-wrestler-and-world-class-trash-talker