14th Amendment Ratification

Passed by Congress June 13, 1866, and ratified July 9, 1868, the 14th Amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people.

Following the Civil War, Congress submitted to the states three amendments as part of its Reconstruction program to guarantee equal civil and legal rights to Black citizens. A major provision of the 14th Amendment was to grant citizenship to “All persons born or naturalized in the United States,” thereby granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people.

Another equally important provision was the statement that “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The right to due process of law and equal protection of the law now applied to both the federal and state governments.

On June 16, 1866, the House Joint Resolution proposing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution was submitted to the states. On July 28, 1868, the 14th amendment was declared, in a certificate of the Secretary of State, ratified by the necessary 28 of the 37 States, and became part of the supreme law of the land.

Congressman John A. Bingham of Ohio, the primary author of the first section of the 14th Amendment, intended that the amendment also nationalize the Bill of Rights by making it binding upon the states. When introducing the amendment, Senator Jacob Howard of Michigan specifically stated that the privileges and immunities clause would extend to the states “the personal rights guaranteed and secured by the first eight amendments.” Historians disagree on how widely Bingham’s and Howard’s views were shared at the time in the Congress, or across the country in general. No one in Congress explicitly contradicted their view of the amendment, but only a few members said anything at all about its meaning on this issue. For many years, the Supreme Court ruled that the amendment did not extend the Bill of Rights to the states.

Not only did the 14th Amendment fail to extend the Bill of Rights to the states; it also failed to protect the rights of Black citizens. A legacy of Reconstruction was the determined struggle of Black and White citizens to make the promise of the 14th Amendment a reality. Citizens petitioned and initiated court cases, Congress enacted legislation, and the executive branch attempted to enforce measures that would guard all citizens’ rights. While these citizens did not succeed in empowering the 14th Amendment during Reconstruction, they effectively articulated arguments and offered dissenting opinions that would be the basis for change in the 20th century.

AMENDMENT XIV

Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2.
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4.
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5.
The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

SOURCE: NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Made in America

Today would have been Toby Keith’s birthday. He was born in 1951 and passed away in 2024.  His song Made in America is one of my favorites.

My old man’s that old man, spent his life livin’ off the land
Dirty hands and a clean soul
It breaks his heart seein’ foreign cars filled with fuel that isn’t ours
And wearin’ cotton we didn’t grow

[Chorus]
He’s got the red, white, blue flyin’ high on the farm
Semper Fi tattooed on his left arm
Spend a little more at the store for a tag
In the back that says U-S-A
He won’t buy nothin’ that he can’t fix
With WD-40 and a Craftsman wrench
He ain’t prejudiced, he’s just
Made in America

[Verse 2]
He loves his wife, but she’s that wife that decorates on the 4th of July
But says, “Every day’s Independence Day”
She’s golden rule, teaches school, some folks say it isn’t cool
But she says the Pledge of Allegiance anyway


[Chorus]
He’s got the red, white, blue flyin’ high on the farm
Semper Fi tattooed on his left arm
Spend a little more in the store for a tag
In the back that says U-S-A
He won’t buy nothin’ that he can’t fix
With WD-40 and a Craftsman wrench
He ain’t prejudiced, he’s just
Made in America


Born in the heartland, raised up a family
Of King James and Uncle Sam

[Chorus]
He’s got the red, white, blue flyin’ high on the farm
Semper Fi tattooed on his left arm
Spend a little more in the store for a tag
In the back that says U-S-A
Won’t buy nothin’ that he can’t fix
With WD-40 and a Craftsman wrench
He ain’t prejudiced, he’s just
Made in America

[Outro]
Made in America
Made in America
Yeah, my old man’s that old man
Made in America

Freedom Fries

From Mental Floss:

Taylor writes: I’m a high school student and my history teacher just told us about how the United States once called French fries “freedom fries” to spite France. Please tell me he’s joking.

Yes, there was a time when some Americans decided to call French fries “freedom fries”—embarrassingly, a number of those people happened to be elected officials in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In early 2003, the United States was in the midst of a (rather unsuccessful) attempt to drum up worldwide support for a potential war with Iraq. While cobbling together a “coalition of the willing,” many historical allies of the U.S. said, “Nope.” One notable dissenter was France, whose officials had been vocally opposed to the imminent conflict. “As we’ve said from the outset,” French Foreign affairs Minister Dominique de Villepin said in January 2003, “we will not join in military intervention that did not have international support… We believe that military intervention would be the worst solution.”

By March, the course had been set. The UN couldn’t find evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but the United States made it clear that invasion was inevitable. War fever grew, and “with us or against us” found its way to the U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria. Rep. Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican who was chairman of the House Administration Committee and therefore in charge of operations for the Capitol complex, ordered that the word “French” be removed from all affiliated menus. French fries would become “freedom fries,” French toast “freedom toast.” According to the New York Times, “The action was unilateral.”

Barely a week before U.S. forces (along with troops from the U.K., Australia, and Poland) officially invaded Iraq, a sign was placed in the Longworth House Office Building food court that read, ”Update: Now serving in all House office buildings. Freedom fries.”

“This action today is a small, but symbolic effort to show the strong displeasure of many on Capitol Hill with the actions of our so-called ally, France,” Rep. Ney said at the time.

The idea for the change came from North Carolina Representative Walter B. Jones, who was inspired by Cubbie’s, a restaurant in his home state that had earned a little bit of press after deciding to rename their fries. Jones passed the suggestion on to Rep. Ney, who instituted the change.

When reached for a statement by the Times, a French Embassy spokeswoman said, ”I wonder if it’s worth a comment. Honestly. We are working these days on very, very serious issues of war and peace, life or death. We are not working on potatoes.” She also noted that French fries are, in fact, Belgian.

This wasn’t the first wartime name-switch in U.S. history. In the late ’50s, the Cincinnati Reds became the “Redlegs” in light of the McCarthy era and the Red Scare. During WWI, German measles were dubbed “Liberty Measles.”

Neal Rowland, the owner of Cubbie’s, said his decision to update the menu was inspired after learning about some of these decades-old name-switches. He is pictured above, outside of Cubbie’s. According to Yelp, his Beaufort, N.C. eatery no longer exists.

Rep. Bob Ney resigned from Congress in 2006 for his role in the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal. (Ney was eventually sentenced to 30 months in jail.) Upon leaving his post as chairman of the House Administration Committee, all the menus in the Capitol and connected buildings were changed, and French fries were finally served again.

SOURCE: MENTAL FLOSS

Bald Eagles

As we salute our country this month, let’s explore 17 interesting facts about our national bird! 

From Fact Animal:

1. Bald eagles are not actually bald

Despite their name, bald eagles have white, well feathered heads. The word bald once meant ‘white-haired’ and this was the name given to the eagle. Young bald eagles often don’t have white feathers on their head either, they are mostly brown. They develop these from around 5-6 years old.

2. They form a species pair with the white-tailed eagle 

A ‘species pair’ means two species are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. While roughly the same size and appearance, the white-tailed eagle is thought to have a somewhat paler brown body plumage and inhabits Eurasia, rather than North America. The pair are thought to have diverged from other sea eagles.

3. They have high pitch, rather underwhelming calls

They have a high pitch giggle-scream, rather than an impressive powerful scream that might be the expectation of a bird of the size and power of the bald eagle. Their rather underwhelming call has historically been dubbed over in some TV shows to make it sound more impressive!

When in groups, they emit these surprisingly high-pitched calls to one another and it is believed these vocalizations are a form of transferal of knowledge regarding the area and abundance of prey.

4. A bald eagle’s wingspan can reach 8ft!

Eagles are generally larger in colder environments, which corresponds with Bergmann’s rule – which is that species are generally smaller closer to the equator. This means the largest bald eagles are generally found in Alaska, and can weigh as much as 7kg with wingspans of 2.4m in length.

5. Bald eagles are notorious thieves

The osprey, a much smaller fish-eating raptor, often shares the same habitat as bald eagles. There are many records of bald eagles following osprey and stealing fish they have caught, either straight from the unfortunate bird or when it lands on a nest or perch.

6. They can reach speeds of 99mph when diving

It’s not often that they dive vertically, but they are capable of reaching extremely high speeds when diving for prey!

7. Bald eagles have vision 4-5 times better than humans

Like most birds of prey, the bald eagle has excellent vision, with sharper vision, a wider field of vision and they can even see UV light. It’s thought they are able to see a tadpole move at over 100m distance. It uses this exceptional sense to locate prey while flying at speed. Bald eagles also have a see-through eyelid called a nictitating membrane, which they can close to protect and clean their eyes, but still see!

8. They can catch animals as large as Canada geese

Though they prefer fish, bald eagles will also hunt animals as large as geese which can grow up to 1m in size, and even foxes!

9. Bald eagles can swim!

Bald eagles will sometimes try to catch fish that are too large to pull out of the water. They will rarely let go of prey once they have gripped onto it. Occasionally they will not be able to pull the fish out of water and will subsequently swim to shore with their catch. They use their wings to perform a breaststroke of sorts! It’s a myth that their talons get ‘locked’, they just refuse to let go!

10. Their nests can measure over 2.5m in diameter!

Bald eagles have some of the largest nests of any North American bird, occasionally measuring over 8ft in diameter and 13ft deep. According to the Guiness World Records, the bald eagle also has the largest nest ever discovered near St Petersburg, Florida in the US in 1963. The nest measured 9 ft 6 in wide and 20 ft deep and weighed more than 4,409 lb.  The size of this eagle and nest size requirements mean that they are very particular when it comes to choosing a nest site.

By far the majority of bald eagle nests are found in large, living tall trees which have strong, thick branches to support the mass of the nest as well as the birds themselves. The nests comprise of hundreds of smaller branches and twigs, often with larger branches around the edge. They usually lay between 1 to 3 eggs with two hatchlings most often surviving up to fledgling stage. Fledged chicks leave the nest at around 10 weeks but will still be cared for by their parents for just over a month.

11. They will sometimes nest on large electricity towers or pylons

Where few nesting sites are available, bald eagles will sometimes use manmade structures as nesting sites.

12. The oldest nest on record was used for over 30 years

If well-built in an ideal tree, bald eagle nests can last for many years. One such nest lasted for 34 years before the tree in which it was built was blown down.

13. Bald eagle chicks will cling onto and move sticks within their nests

Chicks develop the muscles in their feet and legs by playing with the twigs and sticks in their nests and even playing tug of war with their siblings.

14. Immature eagles live a nomadic existence until they find a mate

Once young bald eagles have left their parents, they spend much of their time flying across large ranges, seemingly learning about the different habitats that occur in that range.

15. The bald eagle closely resembles the African fish eagle

Though they are found on different continents, both eagles bare remarkable similarities. Both occupy a similar ecological niche and have similar coloration. However the African fish eagle is somewhat smaller, is a lighter brown color and has a black tip to its beak.

16. One of the founding fathers of the USA, Benjamin Franklin, would have preferred the wild turkey as the national bird

People often wrongly believed that bald eagles were cowardly animals as well as prolific thieves of other birds. Even Benjamin Franklin thought the bald eagle was a poor choice as the national bird.

17. They are an endangered species success story!

In 1963 researchers estimated there were just 400 pairs of bald eagles in the US. Thanks to years of protection and a complete ban on the insecticide ‘DDT’, there are now more than 300,000 bald eagles in the lower 48 states, and the species is no longer endangered. 

SOURCE: FACT ANIMAL

Oregon State Flower: Oregon Grape

Oregon grape, with its holly-like leaves, splashes a little year-round holiday cheer in forests and woods of the West. Several members of the barberry family, Berberidaceae, actually go by the common name of Oregon grape, with many variations, such as Oregon holly grape, tall Oregon grape, holly leaved barberry, and creeping barberry. The Berberis genus also goes by Mahonia, depending on taxonomy.

Unrelated to true grapes in the family Vitaceae, Oregon grape is an evergreen shrub, typically growing in the forest under story. In California and the Pacific Northwest, one of the most common species—and Oregon’s state flower—is Berberis aquifolium (also called tall Oregon grape, or holly leaved barberry).

Tall Oregon grape typically grows 3–6 feet tall and up to 5 feet wide. Each compound “leaf” is actually a series of leaflets that grow in pairs on opposite sides of the leafstalk, except for the leading (terminal) leaf. Botanists call this configuration pinnate, from the Latin word pinnatus, meaning feathered. Sword ferns have pinnate leaves, as well as trees like the Oregon ash, walnut, and black locust, for example. The entire Oregon grape leaf can be up to 10 inches. The oval- to oblong-shaped leaflets are shiny on top, with wavy spine-tipped edges. New leaves emerge with a bronze color before they turn bright green. In the fall, the leaves can take on red and burgundy hues, adding to the plant’s overall ornamental color palette through the course of a season.

Tall Oregon grape bears a cluster of bright yellow flowers in the spring, which are lightly scented. The flowers ripen into round, dusty blue-black berries, resembling grapes, by early fall. The berries are edible and seedy, though sour.

Tall Oregon grape is shade tolerant and typically found in shrub lands, rocky woods and coniferous forests in the Pacific Northwest and northern California. It is drought tolerant and can be found in relatively sunny areas as well.

Tall Oregon grape feeds and shelters wildlife. Its berries nourish grouse, pheasants, robins, sparrows, and other fruit eaters (frugivores), including foxes and raccoons. Painted lady butterflies, mason bees, and other invertebrates drink its flower nectar. Small animals find cover in its densely clustered leaves. Tall Oregon grape spreads by its below ground root system (rhizomes), though it can also regenerate by seed. Various Oregon grape species are medicinally important. Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest have used preparations from Oregon grape roots to treat stomach problems, hemorrhages, arthritis, and tuberculosis. Berberis species have long been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat a variety of problems, including tuberculosis, dysentery, eczema, and wounds. Western medicinal uses for berberine, a compound derived from Berberis, include blood sugar stabilization, and studies show that it kills amoebae and can be used to treat giardia infections.

Boiling the roots and inner bark of Oregon grape produces a yellow dye used on wool. The Nlaka’pamux People of British Columbia applied it to their basketry.

SOURCE: NPS.GOV

What Shall We Make Today?

Today’s offering is also a patriotic picnic favorite—Oreo Balls!

Ingredients

40 Oreo Cookies, regular size

8 oz cream cheese, softened

12 oz white chocolate, broken into pieces

3 oz red colored melting wafers

3 oz blue colored melting wafers

1 oz patriotic sprinkles

Instructions

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon liner.

Crush your Oreos in a food processer fitted with a blade attachment until they are a fine texture; about 10 (2-second) pulses.

In a large mixing bowl combine cookie crumbs and cream cheese until well combined. However, if you have a large enough food processor, I highly recommend adding the cream cheese and pulsing with the crushed cookies until just combined and a large clump has formed, a few more (2-second) pulses. It will be thick, slightly sticky, and shiny.

Form the mixture into tablespoon-sized balls (about 36) (roll them in your hands to make them smooth) and place in a single layer on the baking sheet. Refrigerate until very cold and firm, at least 1 hour or place them in the freezer for twenty minutes.

Line a second rimmed baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Transfer half of the chilled Oreo balls onto it. Keep the rest in the refrigerator to keep them chilled and firm.

Place your white chocolate into a small mixing bowl and melt them in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted. Dip the balls into the melted chocolate and pull them out with a fork, while spooning the melted chocolate over the top and sides of the ball. Gently shake the fork up and down to help smooth the chocolate over the ball and for any excess to drip off.

Slide each ball onto the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining Oreo balls. (If the melted chocolate starts to firm up and becomes hard to work with, heat in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir again.)

In small mixing bowls melt the blue and red chocolate just as you did the white. Place the colored chocolates into individual zip top bags, cut the tip off the bottom of the bags and drizzle the chocolates over the balls. Sprinkle with red, white and blue sprinkles. Place them in the fridge to set for 10 minutes.

Break off any excess chocolate and enjoy. Keep stored in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

What Shall We Make Today?

Since it’s July, I found some patriotic desserts for those July 4th picnics! Today’s offering is Edible Eagles!

Ingredients

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

6 large marshmallows

finely shredded coconut

6 chocolate covered sandwich cookies (like Oreo Fudge Creams)

6 whole cashews

black decorator’s gel

Directions

Melt chocolate chips according to the package directions. For each bird, drop a large marshmallow into the melted chocolate, using a spatula, coat it well. Remove the marshmallow from the chocolate and roll it in the coconut, leaving one end uncovered. Immediately set the marshmallow, coconut free end down, atop chocolate cookie. Let the chocolate set a bit, then use a toothpick to make a hole in the side of the marshmallow and insert a cashew in the beak. Finally, add black decorator’s gel eyes.

Enjoy!

Barbra Jean

Today is Melissa Petermen’s birthday!  She was born in 1971 and is best known for her portrayal of Barbra Jean on the television show Reba.  I found this article on the countryrebel.com website detailing 5 things we may not have known about the Reba show.

From countryrebel.com:

One of the biggest hit television shows in the 2000s, Reba McEntire‘s beloved sitcom and family show took off like wildfire with American viewers.

Originally only expected to last a few seasons, the show endured the test of time and developed a massive fan base which helped it reach new heights as the top-rated sitcom on its network, The CW.

For more than six years, Reba captured viewers hearts and souls with its witty, wise-cracking humor and ditzy antics from the easy-to-love, Barbra Jean all while touching on some of life’s most difficult and hard-hitting topics.

If you consider yourself a Reba fan (which you likely do) then you’re going to love this list of shocking and true facts about this incredible TV show!

The Show Almost Wasn’t Called “Reba”

When the show was developed and pitched to Reba McEntire, it was originally written with the main character named “Sally”. Of course, by this time McEntire had a massive and loyal fan base built up from her career in music. After some talking with executives, the decision was made to re-name the show and character “Reba” to give fans a foothold and connect to the show.

 Reba Had Some Friendly Faces On The Show

Although many believed this hot and fresh sitcom was the first gig for some of these actors, both McEntire and Christopher Rich, who plays her ex-husband Brock, co-starred in Kenny Roger’s 1991 masterpiece, The Gambler Returns: Luck of the Draw.

Reba & Barbra Jean Are Best Friends – But She Would Never Admit It

Throughout the entire show, fans were able to see just how close Reba’s character and Barbra Jean became, but even through some of the most trying of circumstances, there never was a moment that she opened up about how close they are.

It was only during the very last episode they would ever tape that Reba actually acknowledged to Barbra Jean that she was her closest friend.

 The Final 6th Season Almost Didn’t Happen

Originally broadcast on the WB network, Reba was cut out of the lineup and cancelled after a merger brought an entirely new channel to television, The CW. During a last-minute maneuver, the 6th and final season of Reba was ordered by the network for a 13-episode run, giving devoted fans the closure they had been hoping for.

Reba + Barbra Jean = 4EVER

After spending more than six years working on the show together and enduring the highs and lows of their beloved series getting cancelled and renewed, Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman (Barbra Jean) became incredibly close friends off screen.

To this day, Peterman and McEntire consider each other some of the closest friends they’ve had and every now and then, you can find Peterman crashing one of McEntire’s concerts in a hilarious turn of events! 

SOURCE: COUNTRYREBEL.COM

Happy Birthday Melissa!