[[link removed]]

THIS WEEK IN PEOPLE’S HISTORY, JAN 7–13, 2026  
[[link removed]]


 

xxxxxx

*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ Now That’s a Really Bad Idea! (1766), A Rebellion Ends Badly
(1811), May Your Song Always Be Sung (1941), Revolution Just Makes
Sense (1776), No Way To Defend Democracy (1956), Genocide’s Against
the Law (1951), Whistle, Blow My Blues Away (1968) _

,

 

_NOW THAT’S A REALLY BAD IDEA!_

JANUARY 7 IS THE 260TH ANNIVERSARY of one of the early successful acts
of violent resistance by American colonists to British rule in North
America.

The British were trying to enforce the Stamp Act, which had only been
in effect for nine weeks. The Stamp Act required colonists to buy tax
stamps, printed paper similar to postage stamps, and paste them on
most legal documents, as well as on newspapers and pamphlets. The
stamps were not cheap, costing the equivalent of 45 cents in today’s
dollars. 

The Stamp Act and the stamps needed to enforce it were enormously
unpopular in the 13 colonies for two reasons. The stamps, which were
only required in North America, were the product of Parliament in
London, an elected legislative body that did not include a single
representative of the North American colonies. Second, the money that
was supposed to be paid for the stamps was going to be used to pay for
the supplies and salaries of the British Army units stationed in North
America. The colonists were already taxing themselves to pay the cost
of maintaining colonial militias; if England wanted to have its own
troops in North America, then England could pay for them.

As soon as the first shipment of tax stamps arrived in New York Harbor
from England, the harborside streets were full of angry demonstrators,
who swore they would not allow a single tax stamp to be unloaded. 
The mob was so threatening that the colonial governor delayed bringing
the stamps ashore until after midnight, when the protesters were few,
and only when a large squad of Redcoats was on hand to deliver them to
Fort George, where they would have an armed guard at all times.

Another flaw in the plan to raise money with tax stamps became
apparent on January 7, 1766, when the governor tried to ship a supply
of the stamps to the colonial office in New London, Connecticut. The
governor attempted to secretly load the shipment aboard the merchant
ship _Polly_, but the word got out, so before the _Polly_ could get
anywhere near New London, she was boarded by several boatloads of
armed Sons of Liberty volunteers, who held the _Polly_’s crew at
bay while they dumped the entire shipment into the ocean.

The Stamp Act was a complete fiasco, which not only failed to raise
any money, but also gave the colonists the incentive to hold their
first-ever gathering of elected representatives from the North
American colonies. When the so-called Stamp Act Congress met in
Manhattan, representatives of nine of the 13 colonies devised a
unified plan to resist British taxation.

Thanks to the organized resistance to the Stamp Act, the authority of
the colonial administration was diminished and the power of the
colonists enhanced. On February 21, 1766, less than four months after
the hated Stamp Act went into effect, Parliament voted to repeal
it. [link removed]
[[link removed]] 

 

_A BIG REBELLION ENDS BADLY_

JANUARY 8 IS THE 215TH ANNIVERSARY of the beginning of the German
Coast Uprising, the largest-ever rebellion of enslaved workers in
North America.

The area that was known as the German Coast was a stretch of farmland
on the west bank of the Mississippi River about 25 miles up-river from
New Orleans. Most of the area’s original European settlers had
emigrated from Germany, hence the area’s name.

In addition to sugar-cane, the plantations of the German Coast catered
to the population of New Orleans, growing vegetables, fruit and
tobacco, and raising cattle, sheep, poultry and eggs. In January 1811,
according to the testimony a slave-owning planter, two enslaved
workers named Quamana and Harry and a free African-American named
Charles Deslondes led a revolt during which they killed the son of
their White owner and free person of color who worked as an overseer.

After taking over one plantation, the rebels began to march toward New
Orleans carrying improvised weapons. On the way to New Orleans, more
enslaved people joined them, until there were some 500 insurgents in
the group, which killed one more White planter on the way.

Residents of the city got news of the approach of the insurgents and
prepared to do battle with them. U.S. Army Brigadier-General and
commander of local military forces Wade Hampton, along with 40 U.S.
Army troops, plus U.S. Navy Commodore John Shaw and 50 Navy sailors
formed the core of New Orleans defenders along with several hundred
armed civilians. 

Before the rebels reached New Orleans, the soldiers, sailors and
militia headed north to meet them. When the forces met, the much
better armed group quickly routed the rebels, killing about 50 of them
and capturing another 50. The men who were thought to be the leaders
of the rebellion were summarily executed, and the remainder were
marched to New Orleans.

Scores of the rebels had managed to escape into the countryside, but
many of them were eventually captured and imprisoned. The prisoners
were put on trial, and the vast majority of them were condemned to
death and executed. The number of those executed is estimated to have
been about
100. [link removed]

 

_MAY YOUR SONG ALWAYS BE SUNG (1941)_

JANUARY 9 IS THE 85TH BIRTHDAY of Joan Baez, who occupies a place of
honor in my musical pantheon because she has provided the soundtrack
for much of my life. 

Happy birthday, Joan, and thank you for persisting in your career of
perceptive and beautiful work.

I’m not competent to write intelligently about an artist like Joan,
so here are some words she recently wrote herself, quoted from her
website: “In these terrible times I have felt as paralyzed,
frustrated, outraged, and heartbroken as anyone reading this. We of
like mind long for ways to be effective against tyranny. In my travels
what I hear most is, “I am overwhelmed. What can I do?”

“It is hard to grasp the U.S. Administration’s obsession with
deportation, and its cruelty towards our immigrant communities,
including the flagrant violation of so many innocent hard-working
peoples’ constitutional rights.

“It is difficult to comprehend that we are living in a country where
people can be snatched off the streets and disappeared into jails in
remote parts of this country, as well as boarded onto planes and
banished to El Salvador, South Sudan, and who knows where else. Gone
without a trace and with no accountability. Leaving families and loved
ones, often children, behind, some in grave danger themselves of
expulsion and deportation, but also frequently deprived of the primary
breadwinner in the family, facing an uncertain and terrifying future.

“At a time when voices are being ignored, quelled and silenced, ours
must resound with the message to those in power that we DO care about
the human beings who are suffering under their edicts, decrees, and
capricious commands. Empathy is a strength, not a weakness.” To view
Joan Baez’ website, visit [link removed]

 

_REVOLUTIONS DON’T MAKE THEMSELVES (1776)_

JANUARY 10 IS THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY of the publication of Tom
Paine’s revolutionary pamphlet, Common Sense, Addressed to the
Inhabitants of America.

Common Sense sets the standard for effective political advocacy.
Published during the very early stages of the Revolutionary War, it is
a masterpiece of popular, persuasive, prose, which deserves a great
deal of credit for turning the tide of colonial opinion solidly in
favor of
independence. [link removed]

 

_NOT THE BEST WAY TO DEFEND DEMOCRACY (1956)_

JANUARY 11 IS THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY of a disturbing moment in the
early stages of the U.S. war against Vietnam. 

The President of South Vietnam, Ngô Đình Diệm–who was,
according to many major figures in U.S. political circles, the George
Washington of Asia–issued Ordinance No. 6, which provides that: 

“Until the complete restoration of security those persons who are
considered as dangerous to national defense and public security may,
by an order of the President of the Republic acting upon
recommendations by the Minister of the Interior, be detained in a
prison camp, forced to reside at a specific locality, banished from a
certain residence or locality or subject to administrative
supervision.”

Under the state of emergency that prevailed then in South Vietnam,
which suspended the right of habeas corpus, Ordinance No. 6 was not
exactly the kind of legal provision that a defender of democratic
values would
support. [link removed]

 

_HARD TO BELIEVE IT, BUT GENOCIDE IS AGAINST THE LAW (1951)_

JANUARY 12 IS THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY of the day the UN Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide went into
effect.

The Convention defines genocide as any of five "acts committed with
intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or
religious group". The five acts include killing members of the group,
causing them serious bodily or mental harm, imposing living conditions
intended to destroy the group, preventing births, and forcibly
transferring children out of the group. 

One of the first accusations of genocide submitted to the UN after the
Convention entered into force concerned the treatment of Black
Americans. In December 1951 the Civil Rights Congress submitted a
237-page petition, entitled “We Charge Genocide”, arguing that the
U.S. had been and continued to be responsible for hundreds of wrongful
deaths, both legal and extra-legal, as well as many other genocidal
acts. 

To read the Civil Rights Congress petition “We Charge Genocide”,
visit [link removed]

 

_WHISTLE, BLOW MY BLUES AWAY (1968)_

JANUARY 13 IS THE 58TH ANNIVERSARY of Johnny Cash’s live
performance, backed by June Carter, Carl Perkins and the Tennessee
Three, at Folsom State Prison in California. The recording of that
performance, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, was released five months
later. Cash opened the show with Folsom Prison Blues, which is also
the first cut on the album. You can listen to it
here: [link removed]

For more People's History,
visithttps://www.facebook.com/jonathan.bennett.7771/

*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Bluesky [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]