Milestones: January 18, 2024

January 18, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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UNPOPULAR PRESIDENT — FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT JOHN TYLER BECAME A CONFEDERATE CONGRESSMAN-ELECT JUST BEFORE HIS DEATH ON JAN. 18, 1862. Tyler had been vice president to President William Henry Harrison, who died suddenly just a month after his own inauguration. Tyler was awakened by the news of President Harrison’s death, but stirred up controversy when he claimed the office of president as well as the constitutionally-provided “powers and duties.” The 10th president, Tyler became intensely disliked, particularly after he vetoed important economic groundwork legislation, such as Sen. Henry Clay’s bill to reestablish a national bank (which had wide appeal but was not immune from controversy). The Whigs, angry over Tyler’s repeated vetoes, excommunicated him from their party. In fact, in July 1842, Rep. John Botts of Virginia introduced the very first impeachment resolution in American history — against a president who had been ousted from his own party, according to a September 2019 Washington Post article and “American Heritage” online magazine.

However, it wasn’t until after the Civil War that Congress would first impeach a president, in this case, Andrew Johnson. He was a staunch opponent of the Tenure of Office Act —which he had vetoed, as it would have denied him the power to remove office holders without the Senate’s consent.

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WON CASE FOR DARTMOUTH — ONE FAMOUS STATESMAN DURING PRESIDENT JOHN TYLER’S TIME WHO MAINTAINED A VISIBLE ALLIANCE WITH HIM WAS DANIEL WEBSTER, BORN ON JANUARY 18, 1782 IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. Educated at the prominent New England schools Exeter and Dartmouth in New Hampshire, Webster represented that state in Congress and became famous as a lawyer, arguing for his alma mater in the Dartmouth College v. Woodward case before the Supreme Court. The case centered on Dartmouth’s First Amendment rights as a religiously founded institution after the State of New Hampshire attempted to turn it into a public university and install a new board of trustees. Webster became a widely respected orator and even argued cases while serving in Congress. Later, President William Henry Harrison appointed Webster as secretary of state; and he served in that role for President Tyler as well, negotiating an agreement with Britain over the boundary between Maine and Canada that historians credit with preventing another War of 1812.

When President Tyler in 1841 vetoed the bank bill, Secretary of State Webster was the only cabinet member who did not quit. He also served in the Senate for 19 years and was again appointed Secretary of State, this time by the 13th President, Millard Fillmore. Webster held the position up until his death in 1852.

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THE VERSAILLES TREATY — A GROUP OF THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL WORLD LEADERS CONVENED ON JAN. 18, 1919, IN PARIS TO START THE COMPLEX NEGOTIATIONS, in what would become the Versailles Treaty to end the First World War. France, Great Britain, the United States and Italy, which was an Allied nation during World War I, would make crucial decisions while divided on how harshly to punish Germany. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, determined to have his “peace without victory” idea adopted, struggled against Prime Ministers Georges Clemenceau of France and David Lloyd George of Britain, who argued that Germany, the main loser, had to be punished and prevented from regaining strength to justify the war’s huge cost. However, Wilson wound up compromising on punitive measures on Germany to promote his brainchild, the League of Nations.

Even though Wilson had been an architect of the League of Nations, Congress never ratified it, and the United States never joined.

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SCHOLAR ON ECONOMY AND RACISM —THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S FIRST BLACK CABINET MEMBER, ROBERT CLIFTON WEAVER, was sworn in as secretary of housing and urban development on Jan. 18, 1966, during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, and served for two years until 1968. The great-grandson of a slave, Weaver received a Harvard education, earning his baccalaureate, master’s and doctorate (Ph.D.) degrees as an economist. all from the Ivy League university. He then held several positions in various agencies of the U.S. government and was the first African American adviser on racial problems in the Department of the Interior. Weaver also authored several monographs (a specialist-written work): “Negro Labor” (1946), “The Negro Ghetto” (1948) and “The Urban Complex” (1964). He also wrote “Dilemmas of Urban America” (1965).

After President Johnson left office, Weaver became president of Bernard Baruch College of the City University of New York. From 1970 to 1978, he was professor of urban affairs at Hunter College.

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‘MOVIN’ ON UP…’ — “THE JEFFERSONS,” A SITCOM ABOUT AN UPWARDLY MOBILE AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY, MADE ITS TV PREMIERE ON JAN. 18, 1975, some four years and a week after the debut of a series from which it was a spinoff. The character of George Jefferson (though originally played by a different actor) had made appearances as the neighbor of Archie and Edith Bunker on the Emmy-Award series “All in the Family.” Jefferson ran a successful dry cleaning business and prospered enough to move his family to the Upper East Side in Manhattan, heralded in the opening song, “Movin’ on Up. “The Jeffersons” starred Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson, Isabel Sanford as Louise Jefferson and Marla Gibbs as maid Florence. Rounding out the characters was Lionel Jefferson, George and Louise’s adult son, who was friends with Gloria (Bunker) and Mike Stivic.

“The Jeffersons” was nominated for several Emmy Awards,(particularly for Isabel Sanford as Best Actress) winning two

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BROOKLYN COMIC FLAIR — THE ICONIC AMERICAN ENTERTAINER, ACTOR AND SINGER DANNY KAYE WAS BORN IN BROOKLYN AS DAVID DANIEL KAMINSKY, OF UKRAINIAN-JEWISH PARENTS, ON JAN. 18, 1913 — though some say his birth year was 1911. Gaining renown and love for his impeccable comic timing, Kaye starred on both stage and screen. Foremost among his movies were “The Kid from Brooklyn” (as Burleigh Sullivan, a milkman with a killer pugilistic punch); “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (1947); “Hans Christian Andersen” (1952); and “White Christmas” (with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney). Also a philanthropist, Kaye raised millions of dollars for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and musicians’ pension plans.

Danny Kaye was also the featured storyteller for children’s albums, particularly “Stories from Faraway Places” and “Grimm’s Fairy Tales,” the latter of which featured “Clever Gretel” “Thee Musicians of Bremen” and “Rumpelstiltskin.”

See previous milestones, here.