Tagged: presidential succession

SUPERHEROES AND UNDERDOGS

December 6 in history:

Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in Maryland on December 6th, 1849, and then helped other slaves to freedom through the network known as the “Underground Railroad.”  It was on Tubman’s birthday in 1865 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted, banning slavery in the U.S.

The 25th Amendment was used to choose a vice president for the first time on December 6th, 1973, when the House confirmed Congressman Gerald Ford as VP.  Ford was sworn in the same day, nearly two months after former VP Spiro Agnew resigned.

Jerry Ford was a college football star long before joining Congress in 1949.  Jerry Rice of the 49ers set a pro football record on this date in 1992, catching the 101st touchdown of his NFL career.  Rice needed only eight seasons to break the old record.

Rapper Chuck D mentioned Jerry Rice in the lyrics of his 1996 recording “Underdog.”  Wally Cox, who spoke in rhyme as the animated super-hero Underdog, was born on December 6th, 1924.  Cox also played schoolteacher “Mr. Peepers,” and was a regular panelist on “Hollywood Squares.”
And underdogs are featured frequently in the work of Judd Apatow, born December 6th, 1967.  Apatow has produced, directed, and/or written “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “Bridesmaids,” “Anchorman,” and the TV series “Freaks and Geeks.”
 

THE PRESIDENT’S KIDS

November 25 in history:

The British occupation of New York City, which began in 1776, ended on November 25th, 1783.  That was several weeks after the Treaty of Paris was signed to end the American Revolution.  New York became the capital of the U.S. for several years, through the inauguration of George Washington as president in 1789.
President Dwight Eisenhower had a stroke on this date in 1957.  Although it was a minor stroke, the health scare was serious enough for the president to write a letter authorizing Vice President Richard Nixon to assume power, if Eisenhower was unable to carry out his duties.  The crisis was one factor leading to the creation of the 25th Amendment, which also permits the appointment of a vice president if that office becomes vacant.

An amendment dealing with presidential succession was discussed again after the John F. Kennedy assassination.  President Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on November 25th of 1963 — the day his son John Junior turned three years old.  Film footage shows young John saluting at his father’s funeral procession.

Two other presidential children — twins Jenna and Barbara Bush, the daughters of George W. Bush — were born on this date in 1981.  Their grandfather George Herbert Walker Bush was in his first year as vice president at the time.