American History By The Day: May 20th

The Civil War - The Confederacy:  On this day in 1861 the state of North Carolina votes to secede from the Union.

Post Civil War America - Law:  On this day in 1895 Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Company the Supreme Court finds that the income tax clause of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act of August 27th, 1894 is unconstitutional on the grounds that it is a direct tax on only a section of the counrty.  The clause had stipulated an income tax on incomes over $4,000.  Fifteen years earlier the Court had upheld the income tax as constitutional.

Twentieth Century America - International:  On this day in 1902 the United States withdraws its troops from the island of Cuba as its first President is installed.

Twentieth Century America - Aviation:  On this day in 1927 Charles A Lindbergh's gasoline-stuffed Spirit of St. Louis limps off the runway of Roosevelt Field in New York barely clearing the telephone lines.  Inside a sleepy Lindbergh had with him only a few sandwiches, a quart of water, and some letters of introduction that were unnecessary to say the least.  His arrival in Paris 33 1/2 hours later was met by a wave of shouting French citizens who greeted the astonished flier with a delirious enthusiasm that would mark his appearances everywhere for some time.

Source:  The Almanac of American History, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

Charles A. Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis at Le Bourget Field moments after landing on May 21st, 1927

American Anecdotes & Witticisms: 1911

Shortly before his death, Judge John Marshall Harlan of the U.S. Supreme Court became partly conscious and spoke his farewell words to those at his bedside: "Goodbye, I am sorry to have kept you all waiting so long."

Justice Harlan would forever be known as the lone dissenter in one of the most infamous Supreme Court decisions ever handed down in American history: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), where the legal concept of "separate but equal" segregation statutes were upheld. His eloquent defense of basic civil rights stands as a testament to his vision and adherence to the concept of the rule of law:

"[...] in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man, and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved."

His grandson, John Marshall Harlan II, would be appointed an Associate Justice by Dwight Eisenhower in 1955 and serve until 1971. Ironically, he disagreed with his grandfather on the doctrine of incorporation whereas the Fourteenth Amendment made the Bill of Rights applicable at the state and federal level. He would in turn be replaced by eventual Chief Justice William Renquist by Richard Nixon who was Vice President when his predecessor was appointed.