In DC, Even the Plants are Political

The National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC is a world famous event, attracting visitors from around the country and the world to see a parade, fireworks, art exhibits, kite flying and, of course, the spectacular blossoms. The Japanese cherry trees were sent to the United States by the city of Tokyo as a sign of friendship and have amazed visitors each spring for over 100 years. 

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

Initially, trees were sent to Washington in 1909 but that shipment was infected by bugs, prompting President William Howard Taft to order them burned to protect other trees and plants in the city. The Secretary of State sent an apology to the Ambassador of Japan for burning the trees in order to protect diplomatic relations between the two nations. More trees were sent in 1912 and on March 27th, First Lady Helen Taft and the wife of the Japanese ambassador, Viscountess Chinda, planted the first trees in a small, private ceremony without any photographers. 

Photo: fhwa.dot.gov (Lady Bird Johnson planted a cherry tree on the Tidal Basin in 1965)

The trees became so beloved in DC that when the Tidal Basin was selected as the location for the Jefferson Memorial in 1938, many people voiced their displeasure. Some women actually chained themselves to the trees to ensure that they would not be cut down. President Franklin D. Roosevelt made a statement in which he said the trees were only being transplanted and if the women did not unchain themselves, they too would be relocated along with the trees. 

Photo: nps.gov

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans did not view the trees as favorably and some were even cut down in suspected retaliation for the unprovoked attack by the Empire of Japan, though the motive was never confirmed. In order to protect the rest of the trees, they were referred to as "Oriental" cherry trees rather than Japanese cherry trees. 

Photo: smithsonianmag.com (One of the four trees that had been chopped down)

The first Cherry Blossom Festival was held in 1927 and was expanded in 1935. Today, the festival occurs over five weekends and over a million people flock to the Washington Mall and Tidal Basin to see the trees as well as participate in festival activities. While the festival is a wonderful way for the Nation's Capital to celebrate spring, the sheer number of people attending puts a strain on the National Mall, which is a National Park, as well as on the trees (many people seem unable to resist climbing the trees, which damages the fragile branches). Visitors are reminded that as lovely as they are, the trees were also a diplomatic gift from another nation, that they represent friendship with Japan and are meant to be shared by all. 

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

The Great Potomac Flood

In the quaint, historic town of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia elevated train tracks run on the outskirts of town, rising above the ground more than 36 feet. Why is this necessary? For a town located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, it is good common sense to build higher than the flood line, and Harpers Ferry has a long history of floods.

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

In 1936, West Virginia experienced a typical winter of snowfall, but towards the end of February, temperatures became unseasonably warm. Then, on March 17th, the region west of the Blue Ridge Mountains received five to six inches of rain. The rain fell so fast it was not absorbed into the ground but ran into the rivers and began to race downstream.

Photo: inthedistance.net

The 1936 flood wasn't the highest in history, but it was very influential in the history of the town. The flood destroyed homes, businesses and industry in the Lower Town and led Congressman Jennings Randolph to recommend that the National Park Service look into protecting the historically significant town. 

Photo: wvculture.org (Congressman Jennings Randolph)

In order for the entire district of Lower Town to be named as a National Park, the ruined town had to be condemned. Gone were the residents. Gone were the bridges. Gone was the gas station. In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into being Harpers Ferry National Monument, with the goal of preserving the history of John Brown's 1859 raid on the Federal Armory, a failed effort to incite a slave rebellion that nonetheless was a spark that initiated the Civil War.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed legislation designating the town as a National Historical Park and expanding the mission to include African American history, colonial history and industrial history, as well as John Brown's Raid and Civil War history. 

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

Today, you can see water lines where the flood peaked 80 years ago, and a marker on the side of a building shows the height of all the recorded floods. Will there be another flood that is as destructive as The Great Potomac Flood? With climate change, and ever-increasing development on the banks of the Shenandoah and the Potomac, more floods lie in the future for Harpers Ferry. 

Photo: histarch.illinois.edu

Have we learned much from Little Rock?

The United States Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that separate was not equal and segregated schools were not constitutional. Two years later, in 1957, nine African American students attempted to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. This proved to be no easy task.

Photo: Hilary Grabowska

The nine students enrolled at Central High School to test Brown v. Board. Before the first day of school, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus made a speech calling white people from across the state to come to Little Rock to protest the integration of an all white school. He also brought in the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the students from attending Central. On the first day, September 4th, the Little Rock Nine were unable to enter the school and returned home.

Photo: anglonautes.edu (Governor Orval Faubus address protestors at Central High)

Subsequent attempts by the students to integrate the school failed as well; the students were turned back or removed by police. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the Army's 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock and finally, on September 25th, the Little Rock Nine were able to attend classes. Their fellow students harassed them inside the school and made their experience very difficult; nonetheless, at the end of that year, the eldest of the Little Rock Nine became the first African American to graduate from Central High.

Photo: armored-column.com

In the fall of 1958, Governor Faubus closed all of the public high schools in Little Rock and asked the residents to vote on integration. The residents voted in favor of segregation, forcing the rest of the Little Rock Nine to attend schools out of state for that year. In 1959, the schools reopened and four of the remaining students returned to Central High, in spite of the fact that there was continued violence outside of their school.

Photo: pbs.org

The entire spectacle surrounding the Little Rock Nine just trying to go to school was seen by all of America and the world on television. News reporters stood between the angry white mobs and the students and reported extensively on the events. Once the students managed to enter the school, the protestors turned on the reporters.

Photo: authentichistory.com (Newspaper reporter Alex Wilson was attacked by the mob)

In light of the current political atmosphere in 2016, it does not appear that we have learned much from Little Rock. Hate and fear do not improve the nation, but nor do they win in the long run. 

Photo: npr.org

Photo: tulsaworld.com