The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Eleven

A Supreme Court decision in the early 1970s (Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education) allowed courts to use the busing of students to help with desegregation of schools.* It was an explosive issue. In the fall of 1972, I remember talking with one of the professors of my college who was originally from either Tennessee or North Carolina, I just can't remember now. He mentioned how busing in his home state had caused tempers to boil over. 

Watergate, the presidential pardon of Nixon, a slow economy and the loss of Vietnam left President Gerald Ford highly vulnerable when he chose to seek a presidential term of his own. Remember, Ford had not faced voters on a national level; but rather, he had been appointed as vice president and then assumed the presidency when Nixon resigned. Former governor of California Ronald Reagan challenged Ford for the Republican nomination in 1976. Interestingly, Reagan was a former Democrat and Ford counted many congressional Democrats as some of his closest friends (he had long served in the House of Representatives). Reagan had established himself as a prominent conservative in the 1964 election, when he spoke openly on behalf of conservative Republican Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign. At the Republican Convention, Ford eked out a first ballot win over Reagan, but in the former Confederate states, he carried a majority of delegates only in Florida and Mississippi. Meanwhile, in the Democratic race for the nomination, a Southerner, former Georgia governor, Jimmy Carter, won the nomination against several well known Democrats, "perhaps" because he was not a Washington insider. Being affiliated with Washington after the Nixon administration scandals was a negative to some voters. So now we had a moderate Georgia Democrat versus a moderately conservative Michigan Republican. How would the former Confederate states vote?

Jimmy Carter carried all of the former Confederate states, except Virginia, which he lost to Ford by only about 1 percentage point, although Carter only carried Mississippi by slightly less than 2%, while in states like Texas, Florida and Louisiana, even though Carter won pretty comfortably, Ford drew more votes than might have been expected. Overall, Carter won the popular vote nationwide by about 2% and he won the electoral vote 297 to 239, as 1 Republican elector from the state of Washington voted for Ronald Reagan, not Gerald Ford.

In the Senate, Democrats won the race in Tennessee, while all other party affiliations in the former Confederate states remained the same. In the House, the only changes were in Virginia, where Republicans gained 1 seat, giving them a 6 to 4 edge in the state's congressional delegation, and in Texas, Democrats gained 2 seats, making the delegation 22 Democrats and 2 Republicans. In governors, the only change in party was that Democrats retook the governorship in North Carolina.

* Remember, prior to the mid 1950s, there were legally mandated separate schools for white children and black children in the southern states, while much the same was true in the northern and western states, although not by law in those areas, but rather by practice. When desegregation of schools (and other facilities) was ordered, the problem of separate schools remained, as most of American neighborhoods were heavily segregated. So, generally speaking, former "legal" black schools remained black schools, because the schools were in black neighborhoods, just as former "white schools" remained essentially white, as they were located in white neighborhoods. Underlying that whole situation was that funding for legal "black schools" was less than for legal "white schools," which essentially did not change when desegregation became the law of the land, because of the segregation of neighborhoods, and because of the racial divide in school administrative systems and state legislatures, which were overwhelmingly white, and which provided school funding. Busing took children from their own neighborhood, and away from their local white or black school, to a school in another neighborhood to try to achieve some racial balance, with the idea being that funding and care of schools and supplies would then "even out." Make no mistake about it, busing was highly controversial among both white and black parents and students, but among people already holding racial animus, it inflamed ill feelings even more. Many white parents put their children into religious or other private schools, where they had to pay separately for their child's education. Most black Americans did not have the financial resources to pay for private schooling, thus they had to keep their children in public schools (funded by taxes), so in many communities with fairly large black populations, the public school systems became overwhelmingly black. This began to affect more and more cities in the northern and some western states, as black Americans migrated to other areas for economic opportunity; often, to northern industrial areas.    

WORD HISTORY:
Ball-There are a couple of words of this spelling in English, but this is the word for "a round object," and which is related to "balloon."^ The word goes back to Indo European "bhel," which had the notion of "swell, bloat out, to bulge." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "balluz," which meant, "swollen or bloated object;" thus later actually, "round object." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "bealla," meaning, "round object." This was reinforced by the related Old Norse form "bollr," which meant "ball," brought to England by Danes and Norwegians, often collectively called "Danes." The word then became "balle," before the modern form. Other Germanic languages have: German and Low German "Ball," West Frisian and Dutch "bal," Danish "bold," Norwegian "ball," Swedish "boll," Icelandic "bolti."  

^ "Balloon" is a borrowing by English from Italian, but the Italian was derived from a Latin form borrowed from Germanic. 

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Ten

"Watergate" changed the political dynamic of the country, as any momentum gained by Nixon from his overwhelming reelection victory of 1972 was lost, and two senators from the former Confederacy became household names: Democratic Senator Sam Ervin, of North Carolina, the head of the Senate committee investigating Watergate, along with the top Republican member of the committee, Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee, who asked the biggest question of the investigation, "What did the President know and when did he know it?"

Gerald Ford, who had replaced Spiro Agnew as vice president at the suggestion of Democratic Speaker of the House Carl Albert, became president when Nixon resigned. Just a couple of weeks later, Ford issued a highly controversial full pardon to Nixon for any crimes he "might" have committed as president. Remember, at that point, no criminal charges had been brought against Nixon; thus, the use of the word "might."

The 1974 midterm election took place just a couple of months after Richard Nixon's resignation and pardon. Democrats gained a Senate seat in Florida, while the party affiliation of other senators from former Confederate states remained the same. Nationally in the House of Representatives, Democrats made big gains, and states with party affiliation changes to their delegations in the former Confederate states: Republicans gained a seat in Florida, making the delegation 10 Democrats and 5 Republicans; in Georgia, Democrats won the lone Republican seat, giving them all 10 seats; in Louisiana Republicans won a seat, making the delegation 6 Democrats and 2 Republicans; in North Carolina the Democrats won two additional seats, making the delegation 9 Democrats and 2 Republicans; in South Carolina Democrats won one seat, making the delegation 5 Democrats and 1 Republican; in Tennessee Democrats won 2 seats, making the delegation 5 Democrats and 3 Republicans; in Texas Democrats won 1 seat, making the delegation 21 Democrats and 3 Republicans;* in Virginia Democrats won 2 seats, making the delegation 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans. In South Carolina, Republicans won the governorship for the first time since Reconstruction. In Tennessee, Democrats retook the governorship. The election for Virginia governor was held in November 1973 and Republicans retained that governorship.       

* President Ford appointed a Democratic congressman from Texas to a federal position in 1976 and the special election to fill the seat in the spring of 1976 was won by a Republican, Ron Paul, who ran for president in more recent times. He is the father of current Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

WORD HISTORY:
Rampant- This word, related to "rumple," goes back to Indo European "(s)ker," which had the notion, "to bend, to curve, to move in a crooked, irregular or circular motion." This then produced, "(s)kremph," with the same general meaning. This gave Old Germanic "hrempanan," which meant, "to shrivel, to be or become wrinkled." This gave Frankish, an old Germanic dialect, "hrampon," with the "shrivel, contract" meaning. This passed into Old French^ as "ramper," meaning, "to climb a hill or inclined area," from the notion of "crouching to climb an incline." The present participle form of the Old French verb, "rampant," came to be used adjectivally to mean, "(animal, usually a lion) standing in a tilted (inclined) position;" that is, "standing on hind legs;" thus also, by extension, "fierce, ferocious." Borrowed into English in the 1380s. 

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Nine

In the 1970 election, on the state level, segregationist George Wallace, although he was still a national political figure, returned to the Alabama governor's mansion, while in Florida and Arkansas, the governorship of each state returned to Democratic control. In Georgia, a man won the governorship, who would soon become both nationally and internationally known, Democrat Jimmy Carter. In Tennessee, a Republican was elected governor, and the year before (1969), in Virginia, where elections for governor are held in off years from national elections, Republican Linwood Holton became the first GOP governor of the state since Reconstruction.

The early 1970s saw the political situation take three major turns. First, Nixon, the highly intelligent, but far from warm and cuddly, politician, won a huge reelection victory in 1972. Second, investigations of corruption in Maryland uncovered contractor kick backs to Spiro Agnew when he served in two different capacities there, including as governor of the state. Further, is was discovered that the payments to Agnew had continued even after he was vice president. Agnew resigned and he was replaced by Gerald Ford, a long time Republican congressman from Michigan, and the Republican minority leader in the House of Representatives. Third, during the 1972 campaign, a group of five men were arrested inside the Democratic National Committee's headquarters, located in one of the buildings of the Watergate Complex,* a group of office and apartment buildings in Washington, DC. The men were part of a Republican plan to get information from the Democrats and to plant listening devices on telephones in the Democratic headquarters. The subsequent cover up of any connection to the Nixon White House by some of Nixon's closest advisers and by the President himself, led Nixon to resign from the presidency in August 1974.  

The 1972 election: Richard Nixon carried all former states of the Confederacy by two, three and four times the number of votes his Democratic opponent, George McGovern of South Dakota, received. In the Senate, North Carolina elected a man whose name became nationally known over time, highly conservative Jesse Helms, who had just recently switched to the Republican Party from the Democratic Party. In Virginia, Republican William Scott defeated Democratic incumbent William Spong. In the House, where the districts were reapportioned according to the results of the 1970 Census, Republicans gained a seat in Alabama, where there was one less district due to redistricting, making that state's delegation 4 Democrats, 3 Republicans; in Florida, which gained three seats by the Census, the delegation was 11 Democrats and 4 Republicans; in Georgia, which had the same number of districts as before the Census, the Democrats regained a seat, making the delegation 9 Democrats and 1 Republican; in Louisiana, which had the same number of seats as before the Census, the Republicans won a seat, making the delegation 7 Democrats and 1 Republican; in Mississippi, which had the same number of seats, the Republicans gained two seats, making the delegation 3 Democrats and 2 Republicans; in South Carolina, where the number of seats stayed the same, the Republicans gained one seat, making the delegation 4 Democrats and 2 Republicans; in Tennessee, which lost one seat due to the Census, the delegation was 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats (previously 5 to 4 Republican); in Texas, which gained one seat, the delegation was 20 Democrats and 4 Republicans (previously 20 to 3 Democratic); in Virginia, which had the same number of seats, the Republicans won one seat, making the delegation 7 Republicans and 3 Democrats. In North Carolina, a Republican won the governorship for the first time since the late 1800s.

* The investigations into the Nixon administration's illegal activities, some of which were not directly related to the break in at the Watergate offices, all came to be included under the term "Watergate" in the public mind and the media. 

WORD HISTORY:
Mansion-This word, distantly related to English borrowings, "remain" and "permanent" (both are Latin derived words borrowed by English from French), goes back to Indo European "men," which had the meaning, "to stay," also in the sense, "dwell." This gave Latin "manere," meaning, "to stay, to dwell," which produced the noun, "mansio," meaning, "a dwelling, a place for lodging," with the accusative case being, "mansionem." This was passed to Old French as "mansion," meaning, "house/home," then, "a large house for the clergy," then, "for a lord." English borrowed the word from French in the 1300s.

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Eight

The nation continued to be terribly divided as antiwar and civil rights protests combined to become more liberal, anti establishment protests,* and Republicans Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew emphasized law and order** as the country moved toward the midterm election of 1970. Vice President Agnew, especially, went around the country criticizing the press, university professors and protesters for what he and Nixon felt were liberal biases. While George Wallace remained popular in the former Confederacy, Nixon and Agnew grew in popularity there, and the stage was set for both the President and the Vice President to campaign extensively during the election of 1970, asking for the support of "the silent majority," a term Nixon began using about a year prior to the election. The expression was Nixon's way of saying that most Americans didn't go out and protest in the streets, but that the press gave the protesters more coverage than they deserved and that the election was a way for people to voice their opposition to protests and to show support for his administration.

1970 was a Census year; thus, the election that year was the last to be held under the former apportionment of seats per state for the House of Representative and for state legislative districts in each state. When the rough and tumble campaign ended and the votes were counted in the former Confederate states:

Republicans gained a Senate seat in Tennessee (Bill Brock defeated Al Gore, Sr.; yes, the father of the future vice president), giving Republicans BOTH Senate seats in that state. In Virginia, long time Democratic senator, Harry Byrd, changed his affiliation to "independent," although he continued to caucus with the Democrats. In the House of Representatives, the congressional delegations ended up: Alabama: 5 Democrats, 3 Republicans; Arkansas: 3 Democrats, 1 Republican; Florida: 9 Democrats, 3 Republicans; Georgia: 8 Democrats, 2 Republicans, Louisiana: 8 Democrats; Mississippi: 5 Democrats; North Carolina: 7 Democrats, 4 Republicans; South Carolina: 5 Democrats, 1 Republican; Tennessee: 5 Democrats, 4 Republicans; Texas: 20 Democrats, 3 Republicans; Virginia: 6 Republican, 4 Democrats.

* The antiwar cause remained the dominant purpose of the protesters and in May of 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired on antiwar protesters at Kent State University in the suburban Cleveland/Akron area. Four students were killed and nine were wounded.

** While I don't want to overstate this, in those times, the business element of the Republican Party was very prominent, and it was much associated with the GOP, and generally speaking, business people like stability, which tied in with the Nixon "law and order" theme, a theme which just a bit earlier was used to garner white votes, particularly in the South, as many of the protests in the nation at that point were about civil rights for black Americans.  

WORD HISTORY:
Ramp-This word, related to "rumple," goes back to Indo European "(s)ker," which had the notion, "to bend, to curve, to move in a crooked, irregular or circular motion." This then produced, "(s)kremph," with the same general meaning. This gave Old Germanic "hrempanan," which meant, "to shrivel, to be or become wrinkled." This gave Frankish, an old Germanic dialect, "hrampon," with the "shrivel, contract," meaning. This passed into Old French^ as "ramper," meaning, "to climb a hill or inclined area," from the notion of "crouching to climb an incline." This then produced the French noun "rampe," meaning, "a slope, an incline," and this was borrowed into English in the second half of the 1700s. The expression "ramp up," meaning, "to increase production of something," "seems" to come from the idea of "incline;" that is, "move upwards."     

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Seven

While parts of this information does not just pertain to the former Confederacy, it is necessary to explain what was going on in the country and to set the stage for the political events in the southern states.

During the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement began to often blend with anti Vietnam War protests on college campuses and in many cities. In the former Confederate states, where many white citizens already opposed the Civil Rights Movement, many of the same white citizens felt very comfortable opposing the antiwar protests, too. The overlap of protests (and many protesters), which often times ended in confrontations with police or campus authorities, made a number of Americans feel that there was a breakdown in law and order. As President Johnson prepared to run for reelection in 1968, he faced serious challenges from within the Democratic Party, primarily over his handling of the Vietnam War. After a narrow win in the New Hampshire Primary over Senator Eugene McCarthy (of Minnesota), Johnson made an announcement that stunned many Americans; he was withdrawing from the presidential race.

1968 proved to be a violent year, as the war continued, and with the assassinations of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee in April* and Robert F. Kennedy,** the brother of assassinated president, John F. Kennedy, and a Democratic primary candidate himself, in June. Protests at the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago turned violent and Americans were stunned by the images on their television screens of the violence outside the convention hall. Richard Nixon was the choice of Republicans to lead their ticket and he chose Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland as his running mate. Democrats finally had settled on Minnesotan Hubert Humphrey (who was the sitting vice president), and he chose Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine as his running mate. As if to confirm how divided the country was at the time, segregationist George Wallace of Alabama entered the presidential race under the banner of the American Independent Party, an action which struck at the very core of the Democratic Party coalition and which gave Nixon an excellent chance at winning.

George Wallace drew lots of support in the former Confederate states, and even elsewhere, as his typical speech played off of the prejudices of supporters, not only about race, but against the changing clothing and hair styles, as bell-bottom jeans and long hair were becoming increasingly common among men. Wallace's appearances drew protesters and as they shouted obscenities at Wallace, he would turn to them and say, "There are two four-letter words you people don't know: (and he would spell out) W-O-R-K and S-O-A-P." For a time, polls showed Wallace running ahead of Democrat Hubert Humphrey, but as election day approached, more Democrats got behind Humphrey and, when the votes were counted, it was pretty close.

Republican Nixon won 301 electoral votes and slightly less than 43 1/2% of the popular vote. Of the former Confederate states, Nixon won Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Democrat Humphrey won 191 electoral votes and slightly more than 42 1/2%, but he carried only Texas among the Confederate states. American Independent Wallace won 46 electoral votes and 13 1/2%. He carried five former Confederate states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. In the Senate, the Republicans (Edward Gurney) won a Florida race for the first time since Reconstruction. In the House of Representatives delegations, changes came in three of the former Confederate states, as Republicans made gains: North Carolina had 7 Democrats and 4 Republicans; Texas had 20 Democrats and 3 Republicans; Virginia had 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans.         

* Reverend King was shot and killed by racist James Earl Ray, who died in prison in Nashville, Tennessee in 1998.

** Robert Kennedy was shot and killed by anti-Israel Jordanian Sirhan Sirhan, who had lived both in Jordan and in the United States. Kennedy was shot in Los Angeles in June, 1968 and he died the next day. Sirhan, now in his 70s, is serving a life sentence in California.  

WORD HISTORY:
 Lyre-The origin of this word for the stringed "harp like" instrument is unknown, but Greek had "lýra," which was used for the instrument. Latin borrowed the word as "lyra," and this was passed to Latin-based Old French as "lire." English borrowed the word from French in the early 1200s. The word is pronounced as if, "liar," so if you say you can play the instrument, but you can't, that would be, "Lyre, lyre, pants on fire!" 

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Six

As the United States continued to struggle with desegregation and racial inequality during the 1960s, including violent confrontation in Birmingham, Alabama, as well as in many cities outside the former Confederacy, politically, the people of the former Confederacy "by and large" remained tied to their Democratic roots, although discontent continued with many Democratic leaders, including President Lyndon Baines Johnson (often known by his initials "LBJ"), who pushed for, and signed, legislation that prohibited discrimination against Black Americans and other minorities. This discrimination was used to interfere with, and stop, people's right to vote ("The Voting Rights Act of 1965"). While the Voting Rights Act covered the entire United States, there was no illusion as to its intent being mainly to be used in the southern areas of the country, where voting discrimination and outright intimidation had been a common practice against black Americans.

While the former Confederate states resisted change about racial matters, it is important to note that the demographics and population increase in some of these states also began to show marked change, especially in Florida, where many Cubans had fled Fidel Castro in the late 1950s and early 1960s, AND, where more and more Americans from the northern part of the country chose to make their home after retirement. Further, quite a number of people migrated to various parts of the American mainland, especially to Florida, from Puerto Rico.* In the midterm election of 1966, Republican Howard Baker won a Senate seat in Tennessee.** In Alabama, Democrats recaptured 2 House seats taken by the Republicans in 1964 (Result: 5 Democrats, 3 Republicans in the congressional delegation). In Arkansas, Republicans took their first congressional seat since Reconstruction (Result: 3 Democrats, 1 Republican). Also in Arkansas, New York Republican transplant, Winthrop Rockefeller,*** won the governorship. In Florida, the congressional delegation ended up: 9 Democrats, 3 Republicans, but Republicans won the governorship (Claude Kirk). In Georgia, the congressional delegation ended up 8 Democrats, 2 Republicans. Special note about Georgia: avowed segregationist, Democrat Lester Maddox, was elected governor. The election of Maddox showed that changing the racial politics of the former Confederacy was still a very difficult battle. In Louisiana, the Democrats remained firmly in control, with all 8 congressional representatives. In Mississippi the Democrats recaptured the congressional seat lost in 1964 (Result: 5 Democrats). In North Carolina, the congressional delegation was 8 Democrats and 3 Republicans. In South Carolina, the delegation remained 5 Democrats and 1 Republican. In Tennessee, the congressional delegation was 5 Democrats and 4 Republicans. In Texas, the congressional delegation was 21 Democrats and 2 Republicans. In Virginia, the congressional delegation was 6 Democrats and 4 Republicans. As you can see, while the Democrats were able to retake some congressional seats, the Republicans won other seats, and the GOP was actually beginning to become competitive in some House elections, as well as in some governor's races.  

* Puerto Ricans are American citizens by birth, but they cannot vote in the general election for president. However, if they move to one of the 50 states or District of Columbia, they can register and vote, just as any other American citizen. "If" Puerto Rico became a state, something that has long been talked about, then residents could vote right in Puerto Rico for president, and they would also have 2 United States Senators and voting congressional representatives in the House of Representatives. 

** Howard Baker would go on to become one of the best known politicians in the country.

*** His grandfather was famous oilman and the wealthiest man on Earth, for a time, John D. Rockefeller.     

WORD HISTORY:
Yon-This word goes back to Indo European "io(n)/ie(n)," with the notion of, "that, that one." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "jaino," with the meaning, "that one, that one over there, that one beyond here." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "geon," meaning, "that over there." This then became "yon." It later also became a shortened form of the related "yonder." Forms in the other Germanic languages: German has "jener," meaning, "that or that one over there, also," and also, "jene," simply the feminine form of "jener," but also the plural form; thus, "those, those over there"); Low German "apparently" no longer uses a form, but it did have "gene/jene," West Frisian "itjinge," meaning, "that thing, that object;" Dutch "ginds," meaning, "yonder, over there;" Icelandic "hinn," meaning, "the other, that other one," and it also developed into the definite article equivalent to English "the."      

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Five

In the mid 1950s, a black lady in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks, was arrested because she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Alabama, as the other former Confederate states, had laws mandating segregation; in this specific case, segregation on Montgomery's bus system. Parks' arrest brought a boycott of the bus system led by Martin Luther King, Jr., who became the head of the movement to end discrimination and to promote civil rights. The Montgomery bus segregation also sparked the filing of a lawsuit using the similar cases of five other black citizens who had been arrested for refusal to give up their seats to white passengers. One of the black ladies was Aurelia Browder, after whom the lawsuit case got its name, "Browder v. Gayle." Gayle was William A. Gayle, the mayor of Montgomery. A panel of federal judges in U.S. District Court declared the bus segregation law unconstitutional, as it violated equal protection, as laid down in the 14th Amendment, a post-Civil War amendment that had been heavily and bitterly opposed by the former Confederate states. A few months later the United States Supreme Court affirmed the decision, and Montgomery's bus system was ordered to desegregate. 
 
Martin Luther King and civil rights marchers led protests against other cases of segregation in the former Confederate states. As the segregation laws were challenged more and more, white citizens of these states began to look to politicians other than Democrats, whose national leaders more and more supported desegregation and attempts to bridge the racial equality gap in American society. In previous segments of this series, I've shown how solidly Democratic the former Confederate states were, but now, I'll be showing how these states began a long process of shifting, at the various governmental levels, to the Republicans.

In the 1964 election, then sitting president, Texan Lyndon Johnson, was nominated by the Democratic Party to run for a term of his own, with Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota as his vice presidential running mate.* The Republicans nominated Barry Goldwater, a senator from Arizona, who chose Congressman William Miller of New York as his running mate. Goldwater was known for his direct and outspoken remarks, including heavy criticism of Republican Dwight Eisenhower's presidential administration of the 1950s; however, while Goldwater "said" he supported the desegregation of the former Confederate states and other parts of the country, he also "said" that he felt it was not the task of the federal government to see to that desegregation, but rather that it was up to the individual states to decide how to desegregate. Racists, segregationists, far right wing political elements, including militarists, saw Goldwater's stances on various issues as giving them what they wanted, or being close to their own beliefs. Democrats, and even a number of Republicans, called Goldwater an extremist. He endeared himself to many on the political right by declaring, "...extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," but then, "... and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." Of course he seemed to be VERY moderate to enforce desegregation laws. While the overall election was a Johnson landslide, there were some surprises.

Goldwater carried some states of the old Confederacy: South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,** and he received far more votes in the other Confederate states than most Republican presidential candidates usually received. In the Senate, segregationist Strom Thurmond was elected in South Carolina, but this time as a Republican! In the House, 5 of 8 of Alabama's members were Republicans, 2 of 12 of Florida's members were Republicans, Georgia had one Republican of 10, 1 of 5 in Mississippi was a Republican, 2 of 11 in North Carolina were Republicans, 3 of 9 in Tennessee were Republicans, and 2 of 10 in Virginia were Republicans.

* Lyndon Johnson was vice president under the presidency of John F. Kennedy, with the two taking office in January 1961. President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963, and Johnson became president.

** Goldwater won only one other state, his own state of Arizona, but he won it by less than 4800 votes. Overall, Johnson received slightly more than 61% of the popular vote to Goldwater's almost 38.5%. In the actual deciding electoral vote, Johnson received 486 votes to Goldwater's 52.

WORD HISTORY:
Reverse-This word, distantly related to "verse" (lines of poetry) and "revert" (both borrowed by English and of Latin derivation), and also, "wreath" and "writhe" (both original English words from its Germanic roots), goes back to Indo European "werteh," an extended form of Indo European "wer," which had the notion of "to turn;" thus also, "to curve or bend." This gave Latin "revertere," which meant, "to turn back, to turn around, to return to a place." ^ One of the participle forms of this verb, "reversus," was used adjectivally; thus, "returned, turned around." This was picked up by Latin-based Old French as "revers," meaning, "turned to the opposite;" thus also, "contrary." English borrowed the word about 1300. The noun form "seems" to have been derived from the adjective in the early 1300s, but the verb, meaning, "to go in the opposite of forward, to go in the opposite of the previous direction," was borrowed in the early 1300s from Old French "reverser," "to turn back around, to go back."  

^ The "re" prefix in Latin generally means "again" or "back," but its origin is unclear.

Swedish Meatballs: Köttbullar

I really first began to eat Swedish Meatballs about four decades ago, as a German-themed restaurant here in Cleveland, Kiefer's, had Swedish meatballs (Swedish: köttbullar) as a special on one weekday, but I forget which day. They were larger than what is likely typically served in Sweden, and remember, I said the restaurant was "German-themed," as it obviously had non German foods on the menu. This is NOT a dish you'll want to make if you are dieting, but you could certainly "lighten" it by using half and half, or even milk, in place of the heavy cream. Of course, if you use the heavy cream, but eat only a little gravy, you'll get the great texture and taste of the gravy, but far fewer calories. I'm a gravy kind of guy, so trying to eat just a small amount of gravy is a losing battle for me.   

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef (80% or 85% lean)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup onion, pretty finely chopped
1 cup breadcrumbs (I use panko breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley 
2 cups beef stock
3 tablespoons butter + 1 tablespoon (fresh) olive oil + 4 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
fresh parsley for garnish 

lingonberry jam on the side

In a bowl, add the ground beef, the onion, breadcrumbs, egg, milk, salt, nutmeg, ground cloves, pepper and dried parsley, mix well by hand. Heat the oil over medium low heat in a 10 to 12 inch heavy bottomed skillet (cast iron is good, but not necessary). Form the meat mixture into 12 meatballs. Add and melt the butter in the oil, then add the meatballs. If you cannot fit all of the meatballs in at one time, fry them in two batches. Turn the meatballs frequently until they are browned and cooked through. This can take a little time, so be patient. JUST HURRY THE HELL UP! Haha! When the meatballs are done, remove them to a plate/platter. Also, remove any very darkened bits that may have fallen from the meatballs into the skillet during cooking, as they will be cooked even more, and you don't want any burned flavor in the gravy. Add and melt the butter in the drippings from the meatballs, add the fresh oil, then add the flour, stir well to mix in the flour with the butter/oil/drippings. Let it brown lightly. Gradually stir or whisk in the beef stock, maintaining the heat so it will mix with the flour and thicken. Stir in the heavy cream, mix thoroughly. Sprinkle on some freshly chopped parsley. Swedes "often" serve these meatballs with noodles and with lingonberry jam/preserves on the side. This jam is really something of a Swedish specialty, and it is generally available in supermarkets here in the U.S.   

Here I put the meatballs right on top of noodles, with little gravy on the meatballs, and with some chopped tomato and French dressing on the side. Below I served the meatballs right in the gravy, with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam, a fairly common Swedish accompaniment. Many supermarkets now have lingonberry jam/preserves. 

WORD HISTORY:
Gut(s)-This word, distantly related to "gush," and often used in the plural, goes back to Indo European "gheu," which meant, "to pour, to let water or liquid flow." This gave Old Germanic the noun "guton," the meaning of which came from "a means of pouring or letting water or liquid flow:" that is, "a channel, a drain, a gutter,:" thus also, "intestinal system." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "gutt," and the plural, "guttas," with the "intestinal system" meaning, which later became "gut(s)." The meaning later expanded to "the inside parts of machinery and such." The extended meaning, "nerve, courage," is from the sense of emotions being in the abdomen;^ an idea certainly reinforced by our feeling sick in our stomach when worried. 

^ Courage has long been viewed as an emotion; thus a "mood," and the close German relative of English "mood" is, "Mut," which indeed means, "courage." English "mood" once had "courage" as one of its meanings, too.    

To Help Relief Efforts By Charities

There has been much weather related devastation in the United States from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, with Texas, Louisiana, Florida,* Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands** having suffered.  Other areas of the Caribbean have also suffered, and Mexico has been hit by both a hurricane (Katia) and a major earthquake. If you would like to help by donating, before doing so, it's a good idea to check sites like Charity Watch or Charity Navigator to try to avoid scams. Remember, ruthless scammers will try to rake in big bucks from these emergency situations. Wherever there is money, the scammers will be there too. Some charities are international, if you want to help people in various parts of the areas affected.  

Also, we want the largest part of our contributions to go directly to helping people in need, not to helping a few line their pockets with our money and at the expense of people who need help. And  PLEASE don't let any prejudices or resentments keep you from donating. Whatever religious faith is trying to provide help to others (Catholic, Orthodox, various Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or whatever), as long as they check out as valid and recommended charities, they are deserving of your support, as are many other civic charities. There are many WONDERFUL people in all sorts of charitable organizations.

* Florida is being hit by Hurricane Irma as I write this. Georgia is likely to suffer damage, along with possibly some other states.

** Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are both U.S. territories, whose people are American citizens.

WORD HISTORY:
Charity-This word seems to go back to an expanded form of Indo European "kah," as "kahro," which had the idea of "to desire, to want, to wish." This gave Latin the adjective "carus," which meant, "dear;" meaning both "beloved," but also, "expensive." This then gave Latin the noun "caritas," meaning, "costliness, value, dearness" (with the further Christian religious extension of, "love and kindness toward mankind"). Old French, a Latin-based language had the word as "charité," which meant, "Christian alms;" that is, "giving aid to those in need." English borrowed the word circa 1150, at first as, "charite," before the modern spelling. 

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Four

Schools throughout the United States were segregated, with all schools in the former Confederacy being so. This whole order of segregated education, and of segregated public facilities in general, was reinforced by a Supreme Court decision in the 1890s known as "Plessy versus Ferguson," which blindly accepted the notion that separate white and black schools and other facilities were "separate but equal." The idea that in the former Confederate states, and elsewhere, for that matter, that black schools were funded to an equal degree as white schools was a bunch of nonsense, and by the mid 1950s, the Supreme Court unanimously declared it to be nonsense in the case, "Brown versus the Board of Education (of Topeka, Kansas)," as state and local laws making for segregated schools were declared unconstitutional.

Actually desegregating schools has been a challenge ever since, but for the first several years, there were outright confrontations over the issue, such as in Arkansas, where Governor Orval Faubus, a Democrat, ordered the Arkansas National Guard to block black students from entering, what had been, the white high school in the state capital of Little Rock. This brought President Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, to send in U.S. Army troops and placing the Arkansas National Guard under his overall control, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. By the early 1960s, Democrat George Wallace was elected governor of Alabama, and he made the television news by standing in the doorway of the University of Alabama to block the entry of black students. President John Kennedy ordered the National Guard to secure the admittance of the students.      

WORD HISTORY: 
Segregate-This compound, "somewhat" distantly related to "aggregate," goes back to Indo European "se(d)," which had the meaning, "alone, separate, apart." This gave Latin "se," used as a prefix. The main body of the word goes back to Indo European "ger," which had the notion, "to put together, to gather together." This gave Latin "grex," which meant "herd or flock." The direct form seems to have come from either the genitive, "gregis," dative "gregi," or ablative "grege." When combined, Latin had "segregare," which literally meant, "to set apart from the herd," but more practically, "to set aside, to divide off." One of its participle forms was "segregatus," and this was borrowed by English in the mid 1500s. 

Life Gets Us Ready to Die

Great American writer, William Faulkner, wrote in his book, "As I Lay Dying:" "the reason for living was to get ready to stay dead for a long time." American musician and songwriter, Warren Zevon, best known for the 1978 Top 40 hit, "Werewolves of London," released an album in 2000 entitled, "Life'll Kill Ya." The 1943 movie, "The Oxbow Incident," * featured the folk song, "Lonesome Valley," whose composer is apparently unknown, but its movie version has the lyrics, "You gotta go through the Lonesome Valley, you gotta go there by yourself, nobody here can go for you."

Our personal clock ticks away the time... tick, tick, tick. No matter how strong we are, we cannot hold back the time. Tick, tick, tick. No matter how fast we run, time always keeps up until one day, it passes us. Tick, tick, tick. No matter how smart and clever we are, time needs no schools, no teachers, no education to undo our cleverness and to outfox us. Tick, tick, tick. No matter how much we exercise, no matter how much we diet, no matter how much we try to cover or repair the damages of time, we can't halt or completely camouflage the toll time makes us pay for the right to pass. The secrets we hold, the people we have met, the people we have cared about, the people we still care about, the people we haven't told how much we care about them. The older people of our younger days have passed from the scene to make room for us, and now, we are the older people to the young, as time gradually moves them forward to replace us. Our personal clock ticks on, when will it stop? Tick, tick, tick.

* For my article on the movie, this is the link:
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-oxbow-incident-vigilantism.html

WORD HISTORY: 
Ready-This word "seems" to go back to Indo European "reidh," which meant, "to ride, to travel" (it is the ancestor of "ride"). From this came Old Germanic "garaidija," which meant, "ready to ride or travel, set to travel;" thus more generally, by extension, "fully in order, set and arranged;" that is, "ready." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "geræde," meaning, "ready, prepared," also "prompt," likely from the notion of "no preparation needed," and "ræde," meaning, "ready to ride, mounted on a horse and ready to ride." These later became one form, "redy," before the modern version. Forms in the other Germanic languages: German has "bereit" ("ready"), Low German "rede" ("ready"), Dutch "gereed" and "bereid" (both mean "ready"), West Frisian "ree" ("ready"), Icelandic "reiðubúinn" ("ready," also in the sense "willing; that is, ready, to do;" the "ð" is called an "eth," and is essentially equivalent to "th." English once used them in the Old English period, a thousand or more years ago), Danish and Norwegian "rede," and Swedish "redo" (all mean "ready"), seem to have been borrowed from Low German, but the Swedish verb "reda," meaning, "to make ready," "apparently" is their own word. 

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Three

After federal troops were withdrawn from the former Confederate states, or the troops had their mission changed from "occupying" those states, gradually, white Democratic legislatures and city or town councils began to pass laws ordering the segregation of southern society. Over time, for example, black Americans were forced to use separate restrooms, sit in separate parts of bars or restaurants, travel in separate railway cars, sit in the back of buses, attend separate schools and drink from separate water fountains. All branches of the U.S. military were segregated, in something that was not just peculiar to the former Confederacy, nor was this practice limited to black Americans, but also often to Latino Americans and Asian Americans. During World War Two, First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt, began to speak out to end the segregation and discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces, but it wasn't until 1948 that President Harry Truman issued an order to end discrimination and segregation in the military, although implementation took a few more years.

As the election of 1948 approached, strains in the Democratic Party became an outright split by some white Democrats of the former Confederate states, and for a time, the Dixiecrat Party, a segregationist political party, was formed. As had been the case going back to pre-Civil War times, when pro slavery Southerners insisted that they were simply standing for states' rights, the segregationists claimed the Dixiecrats were simply "states' rights" advocates, opposing a power hungry federal government. Segregationist Strom Thurmond of South Carolina was the Dixiecrat candidate for president, with Fielding Wright of Mississippi as the vice presidential candidate. The election saw the Thurmond/Wright ticket carry Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina, for a total of 38 electoral votes, as well as a 39th vote from an elector from Tennessee who defected from the Democratic Party (all four states and Tennessee were former states of the Confederacy). Incumbent Democratic president, Harry Truman, won a startling election victory and the Dixiecrats did not remain as an organized party.

WORD HISTORY:
Scale (2)-English has other words of this spelling, but this is the verb meaning, "to climb," and the noun form meaning, "measurements used to show proportion in depicted distance on a map," also, "musical notes in sequence." This "apparently" goes back to Indo European "skand," which had the notion, "to leap, to climb." This gave Latin "scandere," which meant, "to rise, to climb, to ascend." There must have been a altered Latin form somewhere in the conjugation of "scandere" to produce the Latin noun "scala," meaning, "steps, stairs, ladder, staircase," but I did not find such. I searched many etymologies of the word, including non-English ones, and they all have "scandere" as giving Latin the noun "scala." English borrowed the word from Latin in the latter part of the 1300s, with the meaning, "ladder, stairs, staircase," and the notion of "rising and falling of steps/stairs," gave the word it's extended musical meaning, but the word's "map scale" meaning came from Italian in the 1600s. The verb form, meaning, "to climb a ladder, staircase," or by extension, "wall or cliff," is from the Latin noun (circa 1400), but with reinforcement from the Latin/Italian verb form, "scalare" ("to climb").