December 8: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1936, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “LONDON (A.P.) — Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin reached Fort Belvedere this evening — summoned by his King — presumably to receive the final decision of Edward VIII on renunciation of either his throne or Wallis Warfield Simpson. The Premier hastened over the icy roads from London in an hour and 15 minutes to enter the gates of the royal lodge in the gathering darkness, while suspense hung heavy over London, England and the empire. It generally was believed the decision, even if given tonight at Fort Belvedere, would be withheld from the public until Baldwin has an opportunity to communicate it to Commons. If the answer is abdication, the King might give the tip-off by quick flight from the country. Edward’s youngest brother, the Duke of Kent, was believed to have participated in tonight’s crucial meeting. He drove alone to Fort Belvedere this morning. There also were reports that the motorcar of the Duke of York, Edward’s heir-presumptive, had been seen entering a side entrance of the estate.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — Congress today proclaimed existence of a state of war between the United States and the Japanese Empire 33 minutes after the dramatic moment when President [Franklin] Roosevelt stood before a joint session to pledge that we will triumph — ‘so help us, God.’ The Senate acted first, adopting the resolution by a unanimous roll call vote of 82 to 0, within 21 minutes after the President had concluded his speech. The House voted immediately afterward and by 1:13 p.m. a majority of the House had voted ‘Aye.’ The final House vote was announced as 388 to 1. The lone negative vote was cast by Representative Jeannette Rankin (R., Mont.), who also voted against entry into World War I. The resolution now has to be signed by Speaker Sam Rayburn and Vice President [Henry] Wallace before it is sent to the President at the White House. His signature will place the United States formally at war against the Japanese Empire, already an accomplished fact. The resolutions were before both Houses within 15 minutes of the time Mr. Roosevelt ended his seven-minute, 500-word extraordinary message.”