DATE=03/18/02

TYPE=English Programs Feature

NUMBER=7-36065

TITLE=American Moments 03-24-02 -03-30-02

BYLINE=Ted Landphair

TELEPHONE=619-3515

DATELINE=Washington

EDITOR=Vicki Swaney

CONTENT=

_

// ATTN: AMERICAN HISTORY//

The Exxon Valdez Runs Aground 1989

(For Use 03/24)

NARR: On March 24th, 1989, the worst oil spill in U-S history began after the supertanker Exxon Valdez [PRON: val DEEZ] ran aground on a reef in Prince William Sound in southern Alaska. About thirty-eight-million liters of oil spilled into the water. Wind and currents spread the oil over 160 kilometers from its source, eventually affecting more than eleven-hundred kilometers of coastline. It was estimated that as many as half a million birds and other animals were severely injured or killed by the oil spill. It was later revealed that Joseph Hazelwood, the captain of the Valdez, had been drinking at the time of the accident and had allowed an uncertified officer to steer the huge tanker. About a year after the incident, Mr. Hazelwood was convicted of misdemeanor negligence, fined fifty-thousand dollars and ordered to perform one thousand hours of community service. Later, his captain's license was suspended. In early 1991, nearly two years after the oil spill, under pressure from environmental groups, Exxon agreed to pay a penalty of one hundred-million dollars and to provide one-(b)billion [one thousand million] dollars over a ten-year period for the cost of the cleanup. But later that year, both the State of Alaska and Exxon rejected that agreement. In October 1991, Exxon settled the matter by paying less than four percent of the cleanup aid it had agreed to earlier. In July 1992, more than three years after the Exxon Valdez ran aground, an Alaska court overturned Captain Joseph Hazelwood's conviction, citing a federal statute that grants freedom from prosecution to those who report an oil spill.

Philippine Commonwealth Established 1934

(For Use 03/24)

NARR: On March 24th, 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law a plan to restore independence to the island nation of the Philippines. [BEGIN OPT] The United States had acquired the Philippines, a Spanish colony, when it defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War in 1898. [END OPT] The plan that Roosevelt signed on this date in 1934 established a self-governing Philippine commonwealth and outlined economic and political goals for the Philippines. The plan called for the Philippines to have in place an experienced Democratic society before independence was established in ten years. The Philippine legislature ratified the U-S plan on May first, 1934. The Philippines achieved independence on July Fourth, 1946, delayed two years by World War Two.

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire 1911

(For Use 03/25)

NARR: On March 25th, 1911, a fire at a clothing factory in New York City killed 146 workers, most of them young immigrant women. Investigations of the fire later revealed that the owner of the factory, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, had not followed most of the city's basic fire-prevention regulations. The company had even locked some exit doors to prevent workers from stealing the blouses they made, or from taking extra breaks from work. One of the survivors of the 1911 disaster was Pauline Pepe [pron: PEPP-ay], who at age 95 recalled how the fire started:

TAPE: CUT ONE PAULINE PEPE (RUNS :30)

"It was time to go home, four o'clock on Saturday. I was just fixing my hair, and ready to get out when I saw the cutters [garment-pattern cutters]. As soon as they go home [finish work] they light a cigarette … I think it was one of those men that must have thrown a match [into a pile of flammable material]. That's how the fire started. [BEGIN OPT] I saw the fire and I ran down [to] the door. But the door was locked. Where was I going to go? The fire was right near the door where we used to go out. One door was locked and one was open." [END OPT]

NARR: Official investigations resulted in new, stricter safety codes as well as funds to pay for their enforcement. Today at the site in New York City there is a plaque that refers to the victims of the fire. It reads in part: "Out of their martyrdom came new concepts of social responsibility and labor legislation that have helped make American working conditions the finest in the world."

Seeds of Democracy: St. Mary's City 1634

(For Use 03/25)

NARR: On March 25th, 1634, two small English ships dropped anchor in an inlet off the East Coast of the United States. It was near the place where the Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The vessels, called the Ark and the Dove, carried about two hundred Christians - both Protestants and Roman Catholics - who founded the town of Saint Mary's City as the first settlement of the Maryland colony. The royal charter they carried was the first to grant colonists a measure of self-government. They began by using a town-meeting form of government where all male citizens of the colony met twice a year to vote on taxes and laws. It was later replaced by a two-chamber House of Delegates, which had the power to enact laws for the entire colony. One of the first measures passed by the legislators was a law that guaranteed religious tolerance for all Christians. [BEGIN OPT] Today, the State of Maryland administers the 324 hectares of the St. Mary's City settlement as an archeological site. Some of the original structures have been restored, including the meeting house that served as Maryland's first colonial capitol. [END OPT]

"Heaven's Gate" Cult Members Found Dead 1997

(For use 03/26)

NARR: Five years ago today, on March 26th, 1997, police in Rancho Santa Fe, California, discovered thirty-nine victims of a mass suicide. The twenty-one women and eighteen men, of varying ages, were found in a mansion in the suburb of San Diego. They were lying peacefully, wearing tennis shoes and matching dark clothes, with no noticeable signs of injury. An investigation later revealed that they were members of a religious cult that called itself "Heaven's Gate." The group's leader, Marshall Applewhite, was one of the thirty-nine dead. In October 1996, Applewhite rented the large home in Rancho Santa Fe, explaining to the owner that his group was made up of Christian-based angels sent to Earth. [BEGIN OPT] He advocated sexual abstinence, and some cult members underwent surgical castration, following his example. [END OPT] The cult had become obsessed with the comet Hale-Bopp, which was expected to pass near the Earth in 1997. Heaven's Gate members believed that an alien spacecraft was on its way to Earth, hidden behind the comet. In late March 1997, as the comet reached its closest distance to Earth, Marshall Applewhite and thirty-eight of his followers drank a lethal mixture of phenobarbital and vodka and then settled down to die over several days. They had been hoping to leave what they called their bodily "containers," enter the alien spacecraft, and pass through Heaven's Gate into a higher existence. The Heaven's Gate suicides in Southern California shocked Americans, and called attention to other controversial cults that existed across the nation - groups whose practices have at times alarmed Americans but whose rights and privacy are protected by the Constitution of the United States.

"Funny Girl" Opens on Broadway 1964

(For Use 03/26)

NARR: On March 26th, 1964, the musical play "Funny Girl" opened on Broadway. It was the most prominent showcase yet for a twenty-one-year-old singer and actress named Barbra Streisand.

TAPE: CUT TWO MUSIC BARBRA STREISAND, "PEOPLE" (RUNS 2:50), IN FULL TO :32 (OR AS DESIRED), THEN FADE SLOWLY UNDER TEXT

NARR: "Funny Girl," which gave the pop music world the hit song "People," was based on the life of American comedienne and singer Fanny Brice, who had died in 1951. Brice's talent and ambition bore some similarities to those of Streisand herself. Streisand was born in Brooklyn, New York, and worked as a telephone switchboard operator and theater usher while trying to establish a career as an entertainer. She gained some recognition in nightclubs and made her Broadway debut in a musical comedy titled "I Can Get It For You Wholesale." Streisand's role there was small, and the show was not a hit, but she got laughs and applause and gained the attention of theater critics. The success of "Funny Girl" in 1964 helped propel Streisand's career as a performer and recording artist. In 1968 she appeared in the film version of "Funny Girl," earning an Academy Award and establishing herself as a movie star. In addition to recording and performing, Streisand has had success as a songwriter, and as both director and co-star of films such as "Yentl" [PRON: YEN-tull] and "The Prince of Tides." Barbra Streisand celebrates her 60th birthday next month [BORN 4/24/1942].

White House Renovation Completed 1952

(For Use 03/27)

NARR: Fifty years ago today, on March 27th, 1952, President Harry Truman and his family moved back to the White House after a four-year absence. They had been living across the street at Blair House, the official guest residence, while the White House was undergoing large-scale repairs. It was the first complete renovation of the oldest continuously used public building in the Nation's Capital. The White House repairs had begun in 1948 when engineers found that the structure was perilously close to collapse. The structural study was undertaken after Truman almost broke his ankle when a portion of the second-floor family area broke under his weight. Rather than demolish the entire building, architects decided to shore up the historic exterior walls while gutting the interior. They saved as much of the original construction material as possible to use in the reconstruction. [BEGIN OPT] Truman was criticized for having a balcony built on the second-floor level of the White House's South Portico during the renovation. But what became known as the "Truman Balcony" has been a favorite spot for subsequent presidential families.

Alaska Earthquake 1964

(For Use 03/27)

NARR: On March 27th, 1964, the strongest earthquake ever recorded in North America shook Alaska, causing severe damage. Seismologists said the quake registered eight-point-four on the open-ended Richter Scale, which measures energy during a quake. [BEGIN OPT] By comparison, the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906 is estimated to have reached eight-point-2-5 on the Richter Scale. [END OPT] Alaska's largest city, Anchorage, suffered more than four hundred-million dollars in damage. A retired radio reporter, Herb Schenlain [PRON: SHEN-layn], gave this eyewitness account of the damage in Anchorage:

TAPE: CUT THREE HERB SCHENLAIN (RUNS :21)

"About the only way to describe the city of Anchorage, in many portions of it, is as though the last scene from a "Godzilla" [destructive Japanese monster] movie were being photographed there. [BEGIN OPT] Buildings which were once extremely attractive now display their [steel] skeletons, and their beautiful facades [lie] in heaps on the sidewalk in front. [END OPT]"

NARR: Seismic ocean waves called "Tsunamis" [PRON: sue-NAHM-eez] caused by the 1964 Alaskan earthquake raced across the Pacific and battered Midway Island, Hawaii, Siberia and Japan.

Former President Dwight Eisenhower Dies 1969

(For Use 03/28)

NARR: On March 28th, 1969, former U-S president and military leader Dwight Eisenhower died in Washington, D-C at the age of 78. Born in 1890 in Denison, Texas, Dwight David Eisenhower grew up in Abilene, Kansas. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1915. He did not serve overseas during World War One. After the war, he slowly rose in rank in the peacetime army while gaining the respect of his superiors. During World War Two, Eisenhower was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, leading the most powerful force ever assembled under one man. He led the "D-Day" assault on the French coast at Normandy on June Sixth, 1944. He held together the Allied units through the European campaign that followed, ending with the defeat of Nazi Germany on May Eighth, 1945. After the war, the general briefly served as president of Columbia University in New York City. He returned to military service when then-President Harry Truman appointed him supreme commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, making General Eisenhower the first person to command a large peacetime multinational force. In 1952 he relinquished his NATO command to run for president of the United States as a Republican. He won decisive victories in both the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections. As president, the popular Eisenhower ended the Korean War, promoted the interstate highway system that has become the backbone of American ground transportation, and was credited with a post-war calming of emotions in the United States. However, his critics say he minimized the importance of racial tensions and other socioeconomic conflicts that would flare up more strongly in the 1960s. After leaving the White House in 1961, Dwight Eisenhower retired to his Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, farm with his wife, Mamie Doud Eisenhower. Increasingly debilitated by heart and other ailments, he died in 1969 at the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington. He was buried in a family plot in his hometown of Abilene, Kansas.

Three Mile Island Nuclear Incident 1979

(For Use 03/28)

NARR: On March 28th, 1979, problems developed at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. Human and mechanical failures and the breakdown of the primary and back-up cooling systems resulted in a partial meltdown of the plant's uranium fuel core. [BEGIN OPT] Such an event could have been catastrophic for the people of central Pennsylvania. [END OPT] To prevent a critical pressure build-up and explosion in the reactor containment building, radioactive gases were vented into the air. Managers at the nuclear power plant and many officials of the state and federal government said the radioactive gases would have no serious effect on the environment, but the long-term validity of this statement would be difficult to prove. Officials continue to monitor the environment around Three Mile Island. The 1979 incident led to extensive examinations of existing nuclear plants and raised serious public concerns about the promise and safety of nuclear power.

Rosenbergs Convicted 1951

(For Use 03/29)

NARR: On March 29th, 1951, a United States federal court jury in New York City found three defendants guilty of selling atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union. The arrest and trial of Julius Rosenberg, his wife Ethel Rosenberg, and Morton Sobel [PRON: SOH-bull added to Americans' preoccupation with fears of Communism, especially since the case involved the super-secret realm of atomic energy. Sobel, the Rosenbergs' accomplice, received a thirty-year prison sentence because he cooperated with the prosecution. He was released in 1969. The Rosenbergs, who steadfastly proclaimed their innocence, were sentenced to death. The Rosenbergs' appeals for a new trial and for presidential clemency were rejected, and they were electrocuted on June 19th, 1953. [BEGIN OPT] There were, and are, many defenders of the Rosenbergs. They claim that the couple was framed, convicted and executed in an atmosphere of anti-communist and anti-Jewish frenzy. There are others who maintain that the Rosenbergs were guilty. In 1990 the American news magazine Time published excerpts from the reputed memoirs of the late Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, in which he noted his thanks to the Rosenbergs for, as he put it, " … accelerating the production …" of the Soviet atomic bomb. Nearly half a century after the Rosenbergs' deaths, the debate over Julius and Ethel Rosenberg still has not been put to rest. [END OPT]

Last U.S. Troops Leave Vietnam 1973

(For Use 03/29)

NARR: On March 29th, 1973, the last U-S combat troops left South Vietnam. Their departure was scheduled as part of the Paris Peace Agreement with the Communist government of North Vietnam. One-thousand American troops who were assigned to the joint military commission remained in the country to provide security at the U-S Embassy in Saigon. But two years later, in April 1975, they and the embassy staff left Saigon hurriedly as waves of North Vietnamese forces drove into South Vietnam in violation of the peace agreement. [BEGIN OPT] Pictures of the rushed departure by helicopter from the roof of the U-S Embassy in Saigon are etched into the memories of millions of Americans. White House spokesman Ron Nessen read a statement by President Gerald Ford about the end of America's participation in the Vietnam War:

TAPE: CUT FOUR NESSEN (RUNS :17)

"This action closes a chapter in the American experience. The President asks all Americans to close ranks, to avoid recriminations about the past, to look ahead to the many goals we share, and to work together on the great tasks that remain to be accomplished."

NARR: From 1975, then-White House spokesman Ron Nessen. [END OPT]

"Seward's Folly" 1867

(For Use 03/30)

NARR: One hundred-thirty-five years ago today, on March 30th, 1867, Secretary of State William Seward signed a treaty with Russia, on behalf of the United States, to purchase Alaska. The sale price of seven-point-two million dollars turned out to be one of the best real estate bargains in history. Secretary Seward had vigorously promoted the purchase. Many Americans could not understand why the United States should purchase more than one-and-one-half-million square kilometers of what appeared to be frozen wilderness. These critics jokingly called the transaction "Seward's Folly." Others referred to Alaska as "Seward's Icebox" or as President Andrew Johnson's "Polar Bear Garden." They did not know, as Secretary Seward believed, that Alaska held vast natural wealth. Alaska became the forty-ninth state in 1959. It is now a popular tourist destination and is known as a source of, among other products, petroleum, natural gas, gold, and seafood.

President Reagan Survives Shooting 1981

(For Use 03/30)

NARR: On March 30th, 1981, in Washington, John Hinckley, Junior attempted to kill then-President Ronald Reagan. Mr. Reagan was shot in the chest, but emergency surgery saved his life. The twenty-five-year-old assailant was in a small crowd outside a Washington hotel where President Reagan had just delivered a speech. As Mr. Reagan left the hotel to return to the White House, Hinckley fired several shots with his twenty-two-caliber pistol. A Secret Service agent abruptly pushed Mr. Reagan into his limousine, which drove away immediately. Left behind were three wounded men on the sidewalk and several Secret Service men who captured and disarmed Hinckley. Initial reports erroneously said the President was not wounded:

TAPE: CUT FIVE RADIO REPORTER (RUNS :16)

"Here is a news bulletin from the RKO Radio Network. This just in: shots have reportedly been fired as President Reagan left the Washington Hilton hotel this afternoon. White House officials say the President was not hit, but there are reports that three people were wounded by gunfire."

NARR: A Secret Service agent in the limousine saw the injured president in distress and ordered the vehicle to a nearby hospital, where life-saving surgery was performed. The three other injured men - a Secret Service agent, a Washington police officer and White House News Secretary James Brady - also eventually recovered from their wounds, although Mr. Brady sustained permanent impairment of his movement and speech. [BEGIN OPT] Evidence presented at Hinckley's trial indicated that he shot the president in a bizarre effort to impress a celebrity with whom he was obsessed: the actress Jodie Foster. On June 21st, 1982, a federal court jury found John Hinckley, Junior not guilty by reason of insanity. The trial judge committed Hinckley to a mental hospital in Washington for an indefinite period of time. He remains there today, although a 1999 court decision allows him to take short, unsupervised visits with his family outside the hospital. James Brady, President Reagan's news secretary, became active -- along with his wife, Sarah Brady -- in efforts to more strictly control the sale of handguns. Congress eventually passed legislation known as the "Brady Bill" to support these efforts. [END OPT]

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