The Early Stages of Television

The first televisions, which are known as mechanical televisions began to appear in the early stages of the 1800s. The original was invented by German inventor Paul Gottlieb Nipkow and worked by mechanically scanning images and transmitting them onto a screen. However, he called this early prototype an "electric telescope" rather than a mechanical television. About 100 years later, in 1927, 21-year-old Philo Taylor Farnsworth invented the first electronic television, which worked by using a beam of electrons to capture moving images. The first image that Farnsworth transmitted was a simple line, just to test if it would go through. Eventually, a potential investor asked "When are we going to see some dollars in this thing..." and Farnsworth responded by making his next transmission a dollar sign. By 1934, all TVs had been converted to their electronic models, however, it was not until 1938 that American electronic TVs were mass-produced and released commercially.

On July 2nd, 1928, the first American television station began broadcasting just outside of Washington D.C. The station, W3XK, was founded by inventor Charles Francis Jenkins and it was the first commercially licensed TV station in the United States. Five nights a week, from 1928-1932 the station would air "radio movies" to the general public, well, at least those with televisions.

In August of 1928, just a little over a month after the first television broadcast, a TV station in New York City began to broadcast silent images with their radio shows. This led to General Electric developing the Queen's Messenger, which was the first silent drama. This drama even incorporated special effects by syncing spoken audio with a separate radio receiver that was placed under the TV receiver.  Despite this, there is some controversy regarding if this was actually the first TV program because it is believed to only have been broadcasted to four television sets. However, the Queen's Messenger is still believed to have paved the way for all the different genres of television and the TV stations that we have today.

Ideas for colored TV had been patented in the early 1900s, but they were never fulfilled, and thus, the idea was put on hold for nearly twenty years. But after WWII, black and white television seemed old and consumers wanted something new and exciting. Then, in 1951, CBS broadcasted the first TV show that was shown in color. However, the CBS color system only worked with a limited number of TVs in America, and because of this, the first colorized TV program was broadcasted to only twelve television sets. The other 12  million TV sets were not able to tune into the program.

https://bebusinessed.com/history/history-of-the-television/
https://www.edn.com/1st-american-tv-station-begins-broadcasting-july-2-1928/
https://allthatsinteresting.com/first-television-drama

The Antiwar Movement

The Vietnam Antiwar Movement is famous for being the first mass movement using civil disobedience to protest a war in American history however, most do not understand that it was far more complex than many remember. The movement lasted for nearly ten years, evolving with the constantly changing circumstances, and can be broken down into four stages.

The first two groups arose in 1964-65 and consisted of the left-wing activists and college students. The activists opposed the Cold War and American intervention in foreign countries and most of the college students witnessed the southern civil rights movement and saw how the government had no problem ignoring injustice. These groups aimed to teach activists enough about Vietnam to be able to make others want to join the movement. Additionally, they wanted to normalize opposition since most were afraid to oppose the government.

During the second stage, those that were respected in the fields of politics, medicine, academics, entertainment, the press, and business began to announce their opposition to the war. They encouraged young men to resist the draft and to build opposition to help bring the war to an end. Influencers such as Muhammad Ali helped expand the opposition of the draft and thousands of young men were prepared to go to jail or face exile instead of going to war.

The third stage consisted of protests by antiwar veterans, one of the most memorable being when 800 men threw their combat medals over the fence surrounding the capitol. Yes, opposition to the Vietnam war was growing, but individuals were joining the movement in much smaller numbers. This is due to the fact that many were not willing to risk being arrested or getting injured.

The final stage developed tactics that attempted to construct a political force that would prevent Nixon's Vietnamization policy. Additionally, more antiwar organizations arose that did not require any major risks. These organizations and jobs along with antiwar candidates running for office gave the movement radio news outlets, documentary capabilities, and a news service. Law firms even began to defend the movement's work and networks of donors were created.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/opinion/vietnam-antiwar-movement.html
https://peaceloveandbeyond.weebly.com/anti-war-movement.html

The Reconstruction Era

After Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, large groups of African Americans, totaling nearly 180,000, had enlisted into the Union Army. Since the proclamation gave four million slaves their freedom, the South then had to begin to rebuild its economy and navigate new challenges.

Under Andrew Johnson's Presidential Reconstruction, all land that had been confiscated by the Union Army and distributed to the freed slaves was then returned to its prewar owners. Even though the southern states had to comply with the newly enforced 13th Amendment, their individual state governments were freely able to decide how to rebuild themselves. In response to this, in 1866 legislatures in the southern states passed the "black codes" which controlled the labor and behavior of African Americans, especially former slaves.  However, organizations such as the KKK eventually reversed these progressive changes and returned white supremacy to the South.

Later in 1866, the Republican Congress took over reconstruction in the South and in 1867 passed the Reconstruction Act. This act temporarily divided the South into five military districts and outlined how governments based on male universal sufferage were to be organized. The act also forced the South to ratify the 14th Amendment which extended the definition of citizenship to former slaves. Then in 1869, Congress approved the 15th Amendment which stated that a citizen's right to vote could not be denied on the grounds of race, color, or previous enslavement. By 1870, all former Confederate states were readmitted into the union, which led to the beginning of the end of the Reconstruction Era.

https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction
https://www.google.com/searchq=the+reconstruction+era&safe=active&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS777US777&sxsrf=ALeKk03k0YNLMyApVELLnG0Gpjtom1lYA:1582243439496&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiC7KKRrOHnAhVSknIEHWULCmYQ_AUoAXoECBcQAw&biw=1280&bih=578

Roosevelt and the Court Packing Scandal

In February of 1937, Roosevelt proposed a bill that would appoint six new Supreme Court justices; one for each justice that was seventy or older that had yet to retire. Most saw this as Roosevelt trying tamper with the Supreme Court that had been vetoing his New Deal economic reforms. However, after Judge Clock underwent an investigation of the scandal, he came to the conclusion that Roosevelt's main goal was to get the older justices to retire, not to necessarily add additional seats for his personal gain. The Constitution laid how justices get put on the bench but never discussed how to remove them, and since their retirement salary was cut in half in 1932, most decided to devote their lives to the job and stay on as long as they possibly could. When the founding fathers were writing the Constitution, the whole "justice for life" thing was not an issue, but since life expectancy has gone up, justices stay a part of the Supreme Court until they are ready to depart.

In 1935, Roosevelt attempted to pass a bill that would restore the full retirement salaries but failed due to the budgetary concerns that arose during the Great Depression. This led to said court-packing scandal. However, Roosevelt's plan was modeled his plan after the 1860s Republican Congress' that also appointed new judges for each that would not retire and take their pension.

Personally, I do not see anything wrong with limiting the time justices can occupy a seat on the Supreme Court. The Constitution determined how long a president or congress member is in office, so why is it taboo to do the same thing for the Supreme court?

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/02/24/the-lost-history-of-fdrs-court-packing-scandal-225201
https://www.history.com/news/franklin-roosevelt-tried-packing-supreme-court