Image, above: see, Hour 2, Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York by Richard Zacks

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Hour One

Sunday 7 July 2013 / Hour 1, Block A: 1781: The Decisive Year of the Revolutionary War by Robert Tonsetic; 1 of 2

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. In the United States and the United Kingdom he is best remembered as one of the leading British generals in the American War of Independence. His surrender in 1781 to a combined American and French force at the Siege of Yorktown ended significant hostilities in North America. He also served as a civil and military governor in Ireland and India; in both places he brought about significant changes, including the Act of Union in Ireland and the Cornwallis Code, including the Permanent Settlement, in India.

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 1, Block B: 1781: The Decisive Year of the Revolutionary War by Robert Tonsetic; 2 of 2

 

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 1, Block C: Ethan Allen: His Life and Times by Willard Sterne Randall; 1 of 2

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 1, Block D: Ethan Allen: His Life and Times by Willard Sterne Randall; 2 of 2

Hour Two

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 2, Block A: Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York by Richard Zacks; 1 of 4

Roosevelt became president of the board of New York City Police Commissioners in 1895. During his two years in this post, Roosevelt radically reformed the police department. The police force was reputed as one of the most corrupt in America. The NYPD's history division records that Roosevelt was "an iron-willed leader of unimpeachable honesty, (who) brought a reforming zeal to the New York City Police Commission in 1895."[36] Roosevelt and his fellow commissioners established new disciplinary rules, created a bicycle squad to enforce New York's traffic laws, and standardized the use of pistols by officers.[37] He selected the Colt New Police Revolver in .32 Colt Caliber as the first standard issue pistol for the NYPD. Roosevelt implemented regular inspections of firearms and annual physical exams, appointed 1,600 recruits based on their physical and mental qualifications and not on political affiliation, established meritorious service medals, and closed corrupt police hostelries. During his tenure, a Municipal Lodging House was established by the Board of Charities, and Roosevelt required officers to register with the Board. He also had telephones installed in station houses.

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 2, Block B: Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York by Richard Zacks; 2 of 4

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 2, Block C: Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York by Richard Zacks; 3 of 4

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 2, Block D: Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York by Richard Zacks; 4 of 4

 

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..

End-note:  . . . “Where lesser souls might hide behind oak-paneled doors to cover timidity, Roosevelt never hesitated to thrust himself in harm’s way.” Nowhere is this more visible than in his venture to South America. In the book The River of Doubt, Candice Millard chronicles Theodore Roosevelt’s darkest journey.  When his political career ended, he was bored and ripe for an adventure. He was ready to change professions, become a naturalist and an explorer.  He was invited to venture into the dense jungle of the Amazon.  But Roosevelt went far deeper.  He shifted from the original plan, and to the horror of his sponsors, he decided to go where no one had ever gone in the Amazon.  He decided to explore the River of Doubt. It had never been mapped.  No one knew its length or direction, or anything about the perils that went with it.  Roosevelt saw it as his last chance to be a boy, but when he emerged months later, he had aged way beyond his 54 years.  After his journey on this 1000 mile river through the dense Brazilian rainforest, He was an old man who never fully recovered.

    It’s understandable.  Just to get to the river required a harrowing journey of two months over vast and varied terrain.  His group lost 98 mules alone on the way.  And then they came to the river and began their descent, there was no turning back.  Here is some of what he and the others faced: hordes of gnats, sand flies, horseflies and bees and malaria carrying mosquitoes.  Staying afloat on their crude and heavy canoes was a must. The river was full of alligators, 500 pound anacondas, razor tooth piranhas, poisonous frogs, bull sharks, and candiru—tiny fish known for wiggling their way into the urethra, creating the most unimaginable pain.  On land, there were jaguars and wild pigs and the most lethal snakes in the world, whose bite meant the worst suffering and death within minutes.  There always lurked hostile Indians, violent and unpredictable, who celebrated their victory by eating their human prey. Worst of all was the jungle that was anything but a sanctuary, where everything fought for survival, and anything and anyone that was weak or infirmed was ruthlessly dealt with.  Daily deluges of rain drenched them, and then there were the terrifying sounds at night, spine chilling noises that kept a man awake in mortal fear.

     Roosevelt chose to enter this world for the sheer experience of discovery.  But once he entered, disease, hunger, and exhaustion stalked him at every turn, down every falls, through every rapid, and on every hike.  By the time he came out, he and those in his party appeared almost inhuman.  Gaunt, hollow cheeked, clothes tattered, skin bruised and baked and bitten, Roosevelt lost one fourth of his weight.  The boy in TR finally died. And yet, though his vision and hearing were gradually diminishing, and he suffered the lingering effects of parasitic disease, he still offered himself for service as a candidate for president in 1920. He wrote: “Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die; and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and the duty of life.” And then, after a full day’s work, Roosevelt died in his sleep.  Then Vice President Marshall quipped, “Death had to take him sleeping, for if Roosevelt had been awake there would have been a fight.”

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..

Hour Three

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 3, Block A: An American Betrayal: Cherokee Patriots and the Trail of Tears by Daniel Blake Smith; 1 of 4

In 1838, the Cherokee people were forcibly removed from their lands in the Southeastern United States to the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) in theWestern United States, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 4,000 Cherokees.[24] In the Cherokee language, the event is called Nu na da ul tsun yi—“the Place Where They Cried”. The Cherokee Trail of Tears resulted from the enforcement of the Treaty of New Echota, an agreement signed under the provisions of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which exchanged Native American land in the East for lands west of the Mississippi River, but which was never accepted by the elected tribal leadership or a majority of the Cherokee people.

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 3, Block B: An American Betrayal: Cherokee Patriots and the Trail of Tears by Daniel Blake Smith; 2 of 4

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 3, Block C: An American Betrayal: Cherokee Patriots and the Trail of Tears by Daniel Blake Smith; 3 of 4

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 3, Block D: An American Betrayal: Cherokee Patriots and the Trail of Tears by Daniel Blake Smith; 4 of 4

Hour Four

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 4, Block A: A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke by James P.  P. Horn; 1 of 2

Because of the continuing war with Spain, White was not able to mount another resupply attempt for three more years. He finally gained passage on a privateering expedition that agreed to stop off at Roanoke on the way back from the Caribbean. White landed on August 18, 1590, on his granddaughter's third birthday, but found the settlement deserted. His men could not find any trace of the 90 men, 17 women, and 11 children, nor was there any sign of a struggle or battle.[2]^:130–33

The only clue was the word "Croatoan" carved into a post of the fort and "Cro" carved into a nearby tree. All the houses and fortifications had been dismantled, which meant their departure had not been hurried. Before he had left the colony, White had instructed them that if anything happened to them, they should carve a Maltese cross on a tree nearby, indicating that their disappearance had been forced. As there was no cross, White took this to mean they had moved to "Croatoan Island" (now known as Hatteras Island), but he was unable to conduct a search. A massive storm was brewing and his men refused to go any further. The next day, they left.

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 4, Block B: A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke by James P.  P. Horn; 2 of 2

 

 

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 4, Block C: The Rogue Republic: How Would-Be Patriots Waged the Shortest Revolution in American History by William C. Davis (1 of 2)

Sunday 7 July 2013  / Hour 4, Block D: The Rogue Republic: How Would-Be Patriots Waged the Shortest Revolution in American History by William C. Davis (1 of 2)

..  ..  ..

Music

Hour 1:

Hour 2:

Hour 3:

Hour 4: