DATE=09/30/02

TYPE=English Programs Feature

NUMBER=7-36771

TITLE=AMERICAN MOMENTS 10/06/02-10/12/02

BYLINE=Robin Rupli

TELEPHONE=202 401-7430

DATELINE=Washington

EDITOR=Ted Landphair

CONTENT=

"The Jazz Singer" 1927

(For Use 10/6)

NARR: Seventy-five years ago today, on October sixth, 1927, a theater in New York City presented "The Jazz Singer," one of the first motion pictures with the synchronized sound of dialogue and music. The Warner Brothers studio production, with the Broadway stage star Al Jolson, thrilled audiences and included Jolson's famous rendition of "Mammy;" [FYI: a southern U-S slang for "mother"]

TAPE: CUT ONE - MUSIC - AL JOLSON SINGS "MAMMY" (RUNS 1:02), FADE UP TO ESTABLISH (BY :04) AND FADE UNDER [CDP-6213]

NARR: Some critics said the acting in "The Jazz Singer" was mechanical and that the sound was scratchy and tinny, about the same quality as a 1927 telephone. It was not, in fact, the first movie to experiment with sound. Nevertheless, "The Jazz Singer" set off a revolution in the motion picture industry. Fifteen months after the death of Rudolph Valentino, one of silent film's greatest stars, the success of a sound film showed that technical advances could provide increased entertainment value, and thus increase the size of audiences -- and studio profits.

MUSIC - SWELLS AND FADES UNDER AND OUT AS DESIRED

NARR: (BEGIN OPT) The plot of "The Jazz Singer" reflected parts of Al Jolson's own life. Like his character in the film, Jolson came from a religious Jewish family that frowned on his desire to become an entertainer. His success in show business and his alienation from his conservative parents provided the dramatic tensions that moved the film's plot. [END OPT] "The Jazz Singer" proved to be a popular formula for moviemakers. It was remade in 1953, with Danny Thomas in the title role, and in 1980 with pop music star Neil Diamond.

Mormons Ban Polygamy 1890

(For Use 10/6)

NARR: On October sixth, 1890, the top leadership council of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as Mormons, unanimously ended their religion's official acceptance of polygamy. The Mormons' ban on polygamy brought them into compliance with laws passed by Congress that prohibited multiple wives. Among the penalties for violating the anti-polygamy law was the confiscation of valuable church holdings, including real estate, buildings and other property. The council's vote to ban polygamy confirmed a manifesto issued earlier by the president of the church, Wilford Woodruff, declaring the intent of the church to submit to the law of the land. (BEGIN OPT) Glen Leonard, the director of the Mormon Museum of History and Art in Salt Lake City, Utah, explains that Wilford Woodruff's manifesto sought a way to save the church, and also to eliminate objections to Mormon life in Utah:

TAPE: CUT TWO - GLEN LEONARD (:21)

"Because the church was losing control over its property, Wilford Woodruff could see that there would be an end to church programs. So he said he made it a matter of prayer and that the Lord told him that to save the church it would be necessary to abandon this social program. The church also abandoned its political program and its economic program." (END OPT)

NARR: The approval of the Woodruff manifesto forbidding men to marry multiple wives, and the church's decisions to end involvement in politics, cleared the way for Utah statehood in 1896.

Stamp Act Congress 1765

(For Use 10/7)

NARR: On October seventh, 1765, tensions between Britain and its American colonies increased, and the prospect of a Revolutionary War came a little closer to reality, with the convening of a meeting on the Stamp Act. Representatives of nine of the thirteen British colonies in America met in New York City to discuss the Stamp Act, a British tax on a wide range of public documents. The British Parliament said the tax was to help pay for the maintenance of British troops in America. Parliament believed British citizens in the colonies would not object, because the British Army had helped expel the French from Canada and halted most Indian plundering on the colonial frontier. But the representatives at the Stamp Act Congress echoed the cry of spreading street protests: that the colonies had made their own, costly contributions during the war. The protesters, and the convention, also asserted that the Stamp Act violated the colonists' rights as British citizens because the colonists were not represented in Parliament. The Stamp Act Congress asserted that only colonial legislatures had the right to impose taxes. It condemned the Stamp Tax in a petition to the King and Parliament. (BEGIN OPT) The Stamp Act Congress endorsed a call for a colonial boycott of British goods. The boycott was successful, and English merchants pleaded with the King to step in and end the tax. He did so in March 1766. (END OPT)

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1963

(For Use 10/7)

NARR: On October seventh, 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed a document ratifying the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The pact with England and the Soviet Union prohibited testing nuclear weapons in oceans, the atmosphere or outer space. President Kennedy said the scope of the treaty was limited, but its message of hope had been heard and understood, not only by the people of the three treaty nations, but also by the people and governments of the world.

TAPE: CUT THREE - PRES. JOHN F. KENNEDY (RUNS :15)

"In its first two decades, the age of nuclear energy has been full of fear, yet never empty of hope. Today, the fear is a little less and the hope a little greater. For the first time we have been able to reach an agreement which can limit the dangers of this age."

NARR: By the end of 1963, more than 100 nations had signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. (BEGIN OPT) The treaty led to a continuing series of complex international agreements to limit the number, type and power of nuclear weapons and weapon delivery systems. [END OPT]

First Enclosed Shopping Mall 1956

(For Use 10/8)

NARR: On October eighth, 1956, the first successful indoor shopping mall in the United States opened near Minneapolis, Minnesota. The developer of the Southgate shopping center decided to enclose the two-level structure for the comfort of shoppers during Minnesota's long, frigid winters and hot, humid summers. The structure contained sixty-four stores and restaurants and was air-cooled in summer and heated in winter. It also had large parking lots for shoppers' cars. The success of the Southgate facility spawned thousands of imitations around the United States and changed the shopping habits of Americans. Enclosed shopping malls with retail stores, movie theaters and restaurants now frequently serve as social, entertainment and community centers. (BEGIN OPT) Minneapolis, home to the first enclosed shopping center in the United States, is also home to the largest. The "Mall of America," which opened in 1992, has more than 391-thousand square meters of floor space and has room in its parking areas for about thirteen-thousand vehicles. It contains 350 stores and has a three-hectare amusement park under its roof. (END OPT)

Sergeant York: World War One Hero of the Argonne 1918

(For Use 10/8)

NARR: On October eighth, 1918, American Army Sergeant Alvin York performed what French Marshal Ferdinand Foch [pron: FOHsh] called "the greatest thing accomplished by any ... soldier of all the armies of Europe." Sergeant York, who had learned rifle marksmanship in the mountains of what was then the frontier state of Tennessee, was commanding a patrol in the Argonne forest when it came under fire from a heavily fortified German position. Eyewitnesses reported that York shot twenty-eight German soldiers in the encounter. Then, with the seven survivors of his patrol, he took 132 other Germans prisoner. They were said to be astounded that only one man leading seven others could have done so much. (BEGIN OPT) It is said that Alvin York was a deeply religious man who had almost refused to serve in the Army during World War One because he knew he would have to kill people. (END OPT) His story was made into a Hollywood movie, starring Gary Cooper as Sergeant York.

The Calliope 1855

(For Use 10/9)

NARR: On October ninth, 1855, Joshua Stoddard of Worcester [PRON: "WOOS-ter"], Massachusetts, received a patent for the calliope (PRON: ka LIE oh pea), a musical instrument similar to an organ.

TAPE: CUT FOUR - SFX - CALLIOPE - "THUNDER AND BLAZES" (RUNS 1:29) SNEAK IN UNDER [S-2583A]

NARR: The powerful, steam-powered calliope issues piercing tones that can be heard at a distance of up to sixteen kilometers.

CALLIOPE - SWELLS AND FADES UNDER

NARR: Stoddard had hoped to sell calliopes to churches for use in bell towers as a novel way to call people to worship. The calliope failed as a musical instrument for churches, but it was taken up enthusiastically by river steamboats, carnivals and circuses.

CALLIOPE - ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER AND OUT AS DESIRED

Washington Monument Opened to the Public 1888

(For Use 10/9)

NARR: On October ninth, 1888, the Washington Monument honoring George Washington, the nation's first president, was opened to the public. The white, Egyptian-style obelisk, which rises 169 meters above the National Mall in Washington, D-C, is the tallest free-standing masonry structure in the world. The exterior of the monument was completed in 1880, but it was not until 1888 that an interior elevator was installed for visitors. Visitors once were allowed to climb the 897 interior stairs to the observation level, but that was banned some years ago because of vandalism to the interior stone. (BEGIN OPT) The Washington Monument challenges the dome of the United States Capitol for dominance of the Washington skyline. (END OPT)

Overland Mail from San Francisco 1858

(for use 10/10)

NARR: On October tenth, 1858, a horse-drawn overland stagecoach arrived In Saint Louis, Missouri, carrying mail from San Francisco, California. It was the first time mail had been carried overland across the country. The stage was loaded with several hundred kilograms of letters and small packages picked up during its twenty-thre-day journey through the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Arkansas. Using the first government-approved overland mail route between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Coast, the stagecoach company helped strengthen the ties between the states and territories of the west and the east. Previously, mail from the West Coast was transported on ships around the tip of South America. This meant letters and packages could take months to reach their destinations. The overland stage made it possible for them to arrive within weeks. The transcontinental railroad, completed a decade later, would put most long-distance stage lines out of business.

Spiro Agnew Resigns 1973

(For Use 10/10)

NARR: On October tenth, 1973, the vice president of the United States, Spiro (PRN: SPEAR oh) Agnew, resigned in disgrace. Agnew had been the Nixon Administration's advocate of many conservative positions. He did not contest charges that he had taken about eighty-five-thousand-dollars in bribes from highway construction companies in his home state of Maryland. Justice Department legal documents said that Agnew began receiving the payments when he was a county official and, later, the state's governor. The Justice Department said he continued to receive the bribes even after he was elected vice president of the United States. The Justice Department also charged that Agnew had not paid income taxes on the bribe money he had received. (BEGIN OPT) While not denying that he took the money, Vice President Agnew did deny that he used his influence to obtain any state contracts for the companies that paid him. (END OPT) At first, Agnew said he planned to fight the charges and not resign from office. But when he appeared in federal court to enter his plea, he used a legal term -- "nolo contendre" [PRON: "NOH-loh kun-TEN-dray"] -- which meant he would not contest the charges. The judge said that he would interpret Agnew's plea as an admission of guilt. The vice president also agreed to resign rather than face trial and the possibility of prison time. (BEGIN OPT) A combative Spiro Agnew spoke with reporters after the court session about why he changed his decision to contest the charges:

TAPE: CUT FIVE - SPIRO AGNEW (RUNS :18)

"The reason that I have changed my decision to fight this matter is [because] I believe it would be against the national interest and would have a brutalizing effect on my family to go through a long, two-year struggle concerning this matter."

NARR: Under normal circumstances, the Vice President could have been imprisoned for up to five months. The judge said an agreement between Agnew and the Justice Department in which he agreed to resign was acceptable. The judge also imposed a ten-thousand-dollar fine and three years' probation. After his resignation, Agnew became an international business consultant, living in Southern California and his native Maryland. He died in 1996 at age 77.

Pulaski Day 1946

(For Use 10/11)

NARR: On October eleventh, 1946, President Harry Truman proclaimed October eleventh Pulaski Day in the United States. Truman said the nation would honor the contribution to the American Revolution of Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski. Count Pulaski died in October 1779 while leading a cavalry unit that called itself "Pulaski's Legion" during the siege of Savannah, Georgia. Count Pulaski had been exiled from his native Poland because of his role in a nationalist uprising against Imperial Russia. Like some other young European noblemen of the age, he came to America to help the colonies fight for their independence from England. (BEGIN OPT) In addition to the official national recognition, the Polish nobleman is honored in many places and in many ways in the United States. Illinois, the mid-western state that is home to more Poles than any place outside of Poland, celebrates Pulaski Day as a state holiday. A fort on the Savannah River in Georgia is named for him. Counties in seven American states bear his name. And dozens of towns, villages, bridges, highways and schools in the United States honor the name of Casimir Pulaski, the Polish nobleman who was a hero of the American war for independence. (END OPT)

Thomas Edison's First Patent 1868

(For Use 10/11)

NARR: On October eleventh, 1868, the American inventor Thomas Alva Edison filed an official application for his first patent. It was for an automatic vote recorder that Edison had designed specifically for the U-S House of Representatives. The machine was able, minutes after a vote was taken, to supply a complete list of how members voted on a measure. However, skeptical representatives did not welcome the invention. They said it would change their traditional way of doing business in the House. In addition, some representatives did not always want their constituents to know how they voted. Edison saw the point and decided that from then on he would devote his efforts only to things for which he perceived a genuine demand. Today, automated vote counting is standard in legislatures throughout the world. During his life, Thomas Edison would receive more than one-thousand patents for his inventions. These included the electric light bulb, the motion picture projector, and the phonograph. (BEGIN OPT) Edison developed what has come to be called "the invention factory" at his Menlo Park, New Jersey, research facility. The building was a self-sustaining, independent research and development center. It had a staff of technicians who teamed with theoretical scientists to invent new devices. (END OPT)

Nixon Nominates Ford 1973

(For Use 10/12)

NARR: On October twelfth, 1973, President Richard Nixon named Gerald Ford as his choice for vice president of the United States. Ford would replace Vice President Spiro Agnew, who had resigned after admitting he accepted bribes and failed to pay taxes on that additional income. Ford was the veteran Republican minority leader in the House of Representatives. President Nixon listed the assets he considered when he chose to nominate Gerald Ford: first, the vice president must be qualified to become president; second, the individual must share the views of the president on foreign and domestic policies. President Nixon included Ford's popularity in Congress as another reason.

TAPE: CUT SIX -- PRES. RICHARD NIXON (RUNS :15)

"And third, at this particular time when we have the executive in the hands of one party and the Congress controlled by another party, it is vital that the Vice President of the United States be an individual who can work with members of both parties in the Congress."

NARR: Congress approved the nomination, and Gerald Ford became vice president of the United States. (BEGIN OPT) On August eighth, 1974, Gerald Ford rose to the position of president, after Nixon resigned rather than face impeachment on charges of abuse of power and leading a criminal cover-up in the so-called Watergate scandals. (END OPT)

Pledge of Allegiance 1892

(For Use 10/12)

NARR: On October twelfth, 1892, the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States was recited publicly for the first time. It was at a ceremony to commemorate the four-hundredth anniversary of explorer Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World. The pledge was written by Francis Bellamy and originally appeared in Youth's Companion magazine. It is often recited before patriotic events. Also, many American school children recite the pledge each day:

TAPE: CUT SEVEN - SCHOOL CHILDREN RECITE THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (RUNS :16)

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

NARR: In June of this year [2002], a three-judge panel of the Ninth U-S Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, two to one, that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is "unconstitutional" and an "endorsement of religion" because of the phrase, "under God," which was added by Congress in 1954. But the next day, the judge who wrote the ruling indefinitely postponed his own order. U-S Attorney General John Ashcroft had said the Justice Department would fight any attempt to prohibit the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools or other public places.

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