The World Economic Forum is calling for more direct action to end the pending food crisis. Amazing how that is timed with Oregon and Idaho water restrictions and Michigan Avian Flu crisis. Want fries with the grasshopper burger?
December 1777 – Valley Forge
A cold winter of starvation and disease await the American Continental Army at Valley Forge.
Background: What Was 1777 Like For The Americans
In the summer of 1777, British General **William Howe** aimed to capture Philadelphia, the American capital. He launched a campaign that began with a landing at the Head of Elk in Maryland on August 25, 1777, and involved a series of maneuvers towards Philadelphia.
Key Battles:
Battle of Brandywine (September 11, 1777): This was a significant defeat for Washington’s forces, which allowed the British to capture Philadelphia shortly thereafter. The Continental Army suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat.
Battle of Germantown (October 4, 1777): Washington attempted a surprise attack on British forces but was again unsuccessful, leading to further demoralization of his troops.
Evacuation
Congress Evacuates Philadelphia: As the British advanced, the Second Continental Congress fled Philadelphia, further emphasizing the urgency for Washington to regroup his forces.
Conditions
- On December 19, 1777, approximately 12,000 soldiers, along with camp followers, arrived at Valley Forge. They were exhausted and ill-supplied after months of campaigning.
- The Continental Army faced severe shortages of food, clothing, and shelter due to previous military losses and logistical failures. The supply chain had broken down significantly, exacerbated by neglect from Congress
Valley Forge was strategically chosen due to its defensible position about 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The area provided natural barriers against British advances and was less likely to be targeted during the harsh winter months.
Nearly 2,000 soldiers died from various illnesses, which were exacerbated by poor living conditions, malnutrition, and inadequate medical care. The diseases that they faced were: Influenza, Typhus, Typhoid Fever, Dysentery, Pneumonia, Smallpox
Disease and poor sanitation were issues that Washington faced for the entire Revolutionary War.
After weeks of indecision, Washington issued the order to have all troops inoculated on February 5, 1777, in a letter to President John Hancock. The next day, a second letter was sent to Dr. William Shippen, Jr. that ordered all recruits arriving in Philadelphia to be inoculated:
Finding the Small pox to be spreading much and fearing that no precaution can prevent it from running through the whole of our Army, I have determined that the troops shall be inoculated. This Expedient may be attended with some inconveniences and some disadvantages, but yet I trust in its consequences will have the most happy effects. Necessity not only authorizes but seems to require the measure, for should the disorder infect the Army in the natural way and rage with its usual virulence we should have more to dread from it than from the Sword of the Enemy.
December 23, 1823 The Night Before Christmas Was Published
The Anonymous Poem that Shaped Christmas in America
Many may recall that the Dutch originally settled the New York Hudson River valley. Throughout the region you have very Dutch names such as Claverack, Cobleskill, Greenbush (East and North), Kinderhook, Plattekill, Nassau, Poestenkill, Rensselaer, Saugerties, Valatie, Voorheesville, Watervliet, and Wynantskill. As well as Rensselaer County, Brooklyn, Harlem, Gilboa and Fort Orange.
Dutch legends were adapted and mixed into the English colonist cultures, continuing with Washington Irving’s traditions with Rip Van Winkle.
On December 23 1823, Clement Clarke Moore published “The Night Before Christmas” in the Troy Sentinel. He had originally composed the poem while on a sleigh ride with his children the previous year. The poem was published anonymously, under the title “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas,” without any attribution to Moore. It was sent to the newspaper by a friend who was impressed after hearing it read aloud.
Going Viral
Upon its release, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” quickly gained popularity, being reprinted multiple times within weeks. It resonated with readers and became a staple of Christmas literature, appearing over 300 times in various publications within the first fifty years following its debut.
Who Is Sinterklaas?
Moore drew his inspiration from the Dutch celebration of Sinterklaas, a gift-giving tradition centered around St. Nicholas. Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam (now New York City) celebrated Sinterklaas on December 6, where children would leave their shoes out to be filled with gifts by St. Nicholas.
Starting a New Tradition
- Moore’s depiction of Santa Claus as a “jolly old elf” with a round belly and rosy cheeks helped shape the modern image of Santa. The poem described him as arriving on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, bringing gifts for children, which solidified his role as the central figure in American Christmas celebrations. This portrayal contributed to the emergence of Santa as a benevolent gift-giver, moving away from earlier, more sinister interpretations of holiday figures.
- Stockings and Gift-Giving: The poem popularized the tradition of hanging stockings for Santa to fill with gifts. Families without Dutch roots began adopting this practice, leading to widespread acceptance of stocking-stuffing as a Christmas custom12.The act of gift-giving became more personal and familial, focusing on children receiving toys and treats rather than adults exchanging gifts.
December 15 1791 Bill of Rights Ratified
The Tenth Amendment Center was the source of my information for this segment. They are fantastic and are worth subscribing to on YouTube.
On this day in 1791 The Bill of Rights was ratified. The Bill of Rights are the first 10 Amendments to the US Constitution, and were championed by James Madison to enshrine the rights that the neither the new federal nor the state governments would rescind or usurp. As you can see not all states were on board with the new structure that the Constitution created.
- December 7, 1787: Delaware ratifies the Constitution, becoming the first state to do so with a unanimous vote of 30-0. This marked a crucial step in the Constitution’s path to becoming the law of the land.
- December 12, 1787: Pennsylvania ratifies the Constitution, making it the second state to approve the document with a vote of 46-23. This event highlighted growing support for the new framework of government among the states,
- December 18, 1787: New Jersey ratifies the Constitution, also with a unanimous vote of 38-0. This further solidified the momentum for ratification among the states.
- December 15, 1791: The Bill of Rights is ratified by Virginia, which was crucial as it included the first ten amendments to the Constitution, guaranteeing essential rights and liberties to individuals. This date is celebrated annually as Bill of Rights Day
Why Wasn’t the Constitution Itself Not Sufficient?
The proponents for abandoning the Articles of Confederation were of the mindset that in order for a national government to perform it’s narrow tasks, and new union was required with apparatus that could tax and act as the arbiter with foreign countries on the behalf of the States. In this sense, a Supremacy Clause guaranteed an unified foreign and fiscal policy, and the individual states could not “go rogue” and enter into treaties on their own.
Here are the common reasons cited as why a different form of national government was needed:
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/10-reasons-why-americas-first-constitution-failed
1. The states didn’t act immediately.
2. The central government was designed to be very, very weak. It didn’t have an executive official or judicial branch.
3. The Articles Congress only had one chamber and each state had one vote. This reinforced the power of the states to operate independently from the central government, even when that wasn’t in the nation’s best interests.
4. Congress needed 9 of 13 states to pass any laws.
5. The document was practically impossible to amend. The Articles required unanimous consent to any amendment, so all 13 states would need to agree on a change. Given the rivalries between the states, that rule made the Articles impossible to adapt after the war ended with Britain in 1783.
6. The central government couldn’t collect taxes to fund its operations. The central government couldn’t maintain an effective military or back its own paper currency.
7. States were able to conduct their own foreign policies. T
8. States had their own money systems.
9. The Confederation government couldn’t help settle Revolutionary War-era debts.
10. Shays’ rebellion – the final straw. A tax protest by western Massachusetts farmers in 1786 and 1787 showed the central government couldn’t put down an internal rebellion. It had to rely on a state militia sponsored by private Boston business people. With no money, the central government couldn’t act to protect the “perpetual union.”
Objections to The Constitution
Many of the Founding Fathers were at odds with one another over consolidation of power into the hands of a national authority. While there were statements that the powers and of the rights of the states were implied by the statement that “all powers not enumerated are implied to belong to the states”, Patrick Henry did believe that this was sufficient. Henry, Jefferson and others were considered the Anti-Federalists. This did not mean they were against any central government; rather, they were against any government that could not be sufficiently restrained by the States. This meant that the restrictions needed to be very specific to keep the powers of the federal government very, very narrow and limited.
Patrick Henry
“If you intend to reserve your unalienable rights, you must have the most express stipulation for if implication be allowed, you are ousted of those rights. If the people do not think it necessary to reserve them, they will be supposed to be given up.
It was expressly declared in our Confederation that every right was retained by the States respectively, which was not given up to the Government of the United States. But there is no such thing here. You therefore by a natural and unavoidable implication, give up your rights to the General Government.”
Bill of Rights indispensably necessary; that a general positive provision should be inserted in the new system, securing to the States and the people, every right which was not conceded to the General Government; and that every implication should be done away.
Elbridge Gerry
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/resource/fafd-home/fafd-fed-antifed-bor-debate/
Elbridge Gerry’s Objections to the Constitution (October 18, 1787)
The Antifederalist Elbridge Gerry submits to the Massachusetts Legislature his principal reasons for not signing the Constitution on September 17, 1787, stating “…there is no adequate provision for a representation of the people; that they have no security for the right of election; that some of the powers of the Legislature are ambiguous, and others indefinite and dangerous, that the Executive is blended with and will have an undue influence over the Legislature; that the judicial department will be oppressive; that treaties of the highest importance may be formed by the President with the advice of two thirds of a quorum of the Senate; and that the system is without the security of a bill of rights.” He urges that the plan be amended before being adopted.