March 3, 1931: “The Star Spangled Banner” finally becomes the Official National Anthem for the United States.

In 1929, Robert Ripley — of “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” fame — published a syndicated cartoon stating that “Believe It or Not, America has no national anthem.”ripley

Americans were shocked and Ripley received an angry backlash. He told letter-writers that their efforts would be better spent writing their congressmen. Five million letters soon arrived in Washington demanding that Congress proclaim a national anthem.

The “Star-Spangled Banner” had been used widely, particularly by the Navy during flag-raising ceremonies, but other songs including “Hail Columbia” and “America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee)” were also used at official occasions. “The Star Spangled Banner” had become one of the most popular patriotic songs of the United States by the time of the Civil War and by the late 19th century had become the official song of the U.S. military, but it was never declared the official national anthem of the country.

star-spangled-bannerAfter Ripley’s cartoon spurred the American people to demand “The Star Spangled Banner” to become the official national anthem there was some debate in Congress on whether a song with somewhat violent subject matter should be the official anthem., but John Phillip Sousa testified in its favor saying the “spirit of the music inspires”.

In 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a law making the “Star-Spangled Banner” the undisputed anthem.

March 2, 1984: Ronald Reagan has a Vision

The difference between the path toward greater freedom or bigger government is the difference between success and failure; between opportunity and coercion; between faith in a glorious future and fear of mediocrity and despair; Reagan_speaking_in_Minneapolis_1982between respecting people as adults, each with a spark of greatness, and treating them as helpless children to be forever dependent; between a drab, materialistic world where Big Brother rules by promises to special interest groups, and a world of adventure where everyday people set their sights on impossible dreams, distant stars, and the Kingdom of God. We have the true message of hope for America.

In Year of Decision, 1846, Bernard DeVoto explained what drove our ancestors to conquer the West, create a nation, and open up a continent. If you take away the dream, you take away the power of the spirit. If you take away the belief in a greater future, you cannot explain America — that we’re a people who believed there was a promised land; we were a people who believed we were chosen by God to create a greater world.

And this is what we’re trying to do. Our critics are not pleased, but I hope we’ll be forgiven this small observation: The spendthrifts who mangled America with the nightmare of double-digit inflation, record interest rates, unfair tax increases, too much regulation, credit controls, farm embargoes, gas lines, no-growth at home, weakness abroad, and phony excuses about “malaise” are the last people who should be giving sermonettes about fairness and compassion.

Their failures were not caused by erratic weather patterns, unusual rotations of the moon, or by the personality of my predecessor. They were caused by misguided policies and misunderstanding human nature. Believe me, you cannot create a desert, hand a person a cup of water, and call that compassion. You cannot pour billions of dollars into make-work jobs while destroying the economy that supports them and call that opportunity. And you cannot build up years of dependence on government and dare call that hope.…

An opportunity society awaits us. We need only believe in ourselves and give men and women of faith, courage, and vision the freedom to build it. Let others run down America and seek to punish success. Let them call you greedy for not wanting government to take more and more of your earnings. …

An opportunity society for all, reaching for its future with confidence, sustained by faith, fair play, and a conviction that good and courageous people flourish when they’re free — this is the noble vision we share, a vision of a strong and prosperous America, at peace with itself and the world. Just as America has always been synonymous with freedom, so, too, should we become the symbol of peace across the Earth. I’m confident we can keep faith with that mission.

Fellow citizens, fellow conservatives, our time has come again. This is our moment. Let us unite, shoulder to shoulder, behind one mighty banner for freedom. And let us go forward from here not with some faint hope that our cause is not yet lost; let us go forward confident that the American people share our values, and that together we will be victorious.

And in those moments when we grow tired, when our struggle seems hard, remember what Eric Liddell, Scotland’s Olympic champion runner, said in Chariots of Fire: “So where does the power come from to see the race to its end? From within. God made me for a purpose, and I will run for His pleasure.”

If we trust in Him, keep His word, and live our lives for His pleasure, He’ll give us the power we need — power to fight the good fight, to finish the race and to keep the faith.

Thank you very much. God bless you and God bless America.

March 1, 1872: AN ACT TO SET APART A CERTAIN TRACT OF LAND LYING NEAR THE HEADWATERS OF THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Yellowstone2the tract of land in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming, lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River, and described as follows, to wit, commencing at the junction of Gardiner’s river with the Yellowstone river, and running east to the meridian passing ten miles to the eastward of the most eastern point of Yellowstone lake; thence south along said meridian to the parallel of latitude passing ten miles south of the most southern point of Yellowstone lake; thence west along said parallel to the meridian passing fifteen miles west of the most western point of Madison lake; thence north along said meridian to the latitude of the junction of Yellowstone and Gardiner’s rivers; thence east to the place of beginning, is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people; and all persons who shall locate or settle upon or occupy the same, or any part thereof, except as hereinafter provided, shall be considered trespassers and removed therefrom.

That said public park shall be under the exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be, as soon as practicable, to make and publish such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary or proper for the care and management of the same. Such regulations shall provide for the preservation, from injury or spoliation, of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural condition.

The Secretary may in his discretion, grant leases for building purposes for terms not exceeding ten years, of small parcels of ground, at such places in said park as shall require the erection of buildings for the accommodation of visitors; all of the proceeds of said leases, and all other revenues that may be derived from any source connected with said park, to be expended under his direction in the management of the same, and the construction of roads and bridle-paths therein. He shall provide against the wanton destruction of the fish and game found within said park, and against their capture or destruction for the purposes of merchandise or profit. He shall also cause all persons trespassing upon the same after the passage of this act to be removed therefrom, and generally shall be authorized to take all such measures as shall be necessary or proper to fully carry out the objects and purposes of this act.

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