On October 8, 1842 US Navy Captain Lawrence Kearny sent a letter to the Viceroy of Liangjiang urging that American merchants in China be granted the same treaty privileges as the British. The negotiation would set the tone of US China relations for the next hundred years, and establish a still recognized principle in world trade-. It was an extraordinary act, given Kearney’s limited authority.
Three classic episodes of The History Guy about how the Christmas season survives even tragedy.
The “Great Sedition Trial” uncovered shocking connections at the time with the German reich that we were fighting, and challenged the idea that the nation was of a single mind during the war. It also challenged exactly how far the national commitment to freedom of speech and opinion reached, especially in extraordinary times.