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This episode is brought to you by Sudio Headphones. Visit the website by clicking hereor visiting sudio.com/USand enter the promo code: “MONDAYAMERICAN” to get 15% off of anyorder placed including free international shipping! Visit the official website(www.themondayamerican.com) to listen to all our episodes, shop for officialMonday Americanswag, contact us, and appreciate our use of the oxford comma! The Monday Americanis proudly part of the Podcast Advocate Network.To find out more visit the website by clicking hereor by going to podcastadvocate.network America reels in the face of the worst economic disaster ever faced. The attempts to bring the country and its people out of the Dust-bowl of despair only make things worse. The nation of wealth and prosperity in the post World War I era suddenly finds itself scrambling to keep its own people from starving in the streets while the world watches on. The attempts to right the ship serve as a lesson to future generations on the danger of government power-grabbing; even when fueled by the most noble of intentions. Democracy is challenged on a global stage after it nearly collapsed from the Civil war. America pays a painful price to learn the lessons of economics and what happens when the Government takes action and control despite honest intentions. Sources Used: Beschloss, Michael. Presidents of War.Random House, 2018. Cooper, William J., Tom E. Terrill, and Christopher Childers. The American South. a History. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. Egan, Timothy. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl.Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2013. Powell, Jim. FDRs Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression. Rocklin, CA: Forum, 2004. Schlesinger, Arthur M. The Crisis of the Old Order, 1919-1933: 1919-1933, The Age of Roosevelt.Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. Shales, Amity. The Forgotten Man. New York, NY: Harpercollins Publishers, 2008. Roosevelt, Franklin D. (FranklinDelano), 1882-1945. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Inaugural Address of 1933. Washington, DC :National Archives and Records Administration, 1988. https://guides.lib.monash.edu/c.php?g=219786&p=1454691
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Part II highlights the dichotomous type of war that the Korean War seemed to become once the Chinese Army threw their hat into the ring. It not only changed the war, it was an action that had rippling effects of change for the whole world.
On Sale now, official t-shirts and more! Visit the online store here! Support the podcast by visiting our Patreon page! Afull list of sources used as well as maps of the battles can be found on our official website by visiting www.themondayamerican.com Don't forget to follow us on twitter, @MondayAmerican, Instagram, and our Facebook page for all the latest updates!Part of the Podcast Advocate Network
Timestamps:
Past the 38th Parallel: [00:05:00] McArthur's Desires Become Priority: [00:16:00] The Chinese Attack the US 8th Cavalry: [00:21:50] About China and Why they Entered the War: [00:39:17] David Halberstam excerpt on McArthur: [00:45:55] Summary of McArthur's Errors: [00:51:10] China Overwhelms the US 2nd Division: [01:00:26] The affect of Fear on men in Battle: [01:11:26] US forces are reluctantly ordered to retreat: [01:13:28] Military Chiefs React and Blameshift [01:24:50] "The Gauntlet" of retreat: [01:27:12] -
The Korean War is known, ironically so, for being America's forgotten war. It was a war that sparked America's involvement in southeast Asia for next thirty years.
Part one of this series on the war begins by explaining how we got to the point of war in Korea, and the history of Korea itself.
One unique aspect of this war is that it never officially ended, and the ramifications of the events are still in place today.
A list of sources as well as maps is available on this episode's page on the official website by clicking here or visiting www.themondayamerican.com/korean-war-sources.
To help support the podcast you can visit our Patreon page by clicking here.
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This episode tells the story of the Battle of the Bulge, one of the worst battles in American history. This battle took place in late December of 1944 in the Ardennes Forest region of Belgium, near the town of Bastogne.
View maps detailing the battle here.
This episode is brought to you by the book titled "Last Judgement", written by Michael Canon. To purchase a copy for only $7.99, click here.
Michael Canon is also working on a graphic novel based off of the book. You can see a preview for the graphic novel set to come out in early 2019 by clicking here. You can help donate to support the project by clicking here.
We have a Patreon page! Help support the podcast and Become a patron of the show!
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Cowboys and Indians
The Monday American Podcast is now on Patreon! To support the show in its journey to reach more people with history, click the link above or visit www.patreon.com/mondayamerican
This episode tells the story of America's journey from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Pacific. The great American migration west is a story that tells of America's growth in land as well as national identity.
The Manifest Destiny ideology served as the foundation that the nation built itself upon, in methods both good and bad. America's saga is a story of happiness and tragedy in so many ways, this chapter is no exception to the highs and lows of human behavior.
For a detailed list of sources cited you can click this link or visit the website at www.themondayamerican.com
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Interview with Bruce Carlson: Host of "My History Can Beat up Your Politics"
We are joined by Bruce Carlson who hosts the podcast called "My History Can Beat Up Your Politics."
Bruce is a very educated man in both history and politics and the conversation we had is a great footnote to the recently concluded Vietnam War Series.
To find out more about Bruce and his podcast you can visit his website by clicking the link above or listen to his show anywhere you find podcasts!
This episode is brought to you by: "The Three Brothers", a book written by Stephen E. Marantelli that tells the story of a dinner with George Washington and Edmund Barton. It's "history with a mystery" as it convey's Australia and America's similarities in their founding days.
The Monday American is proudly part of the Podcast Advocate Network. To find more amazing podcasts like this one or for more about the network, click the link. You know you want to...
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The Vietnam War (Part V): America's Costly Lesson.
The fifth episode picks up right where part four left off. Nixon takes the reigns of Presidential burden and responsibility from the hands of Lyndon Baines Johnson. The most daunting task ahead of the nation and the new administration, to no one's surprise, is the looming war in Vietnam and the path out of the conflict.
Nixon and Henry Kissinger fell into a trap that was partly due to their own pride, their own arrogance and their own insecurities. It was also in part due to the nature of the Vietnam War itself. It was a bloody, gruesome and gory affair. The arrogant Nixon and Kissinger duo somehow managed to convince themselves that reality was something other than what was in front of them. They decided on the paradoxical, if not tragically ironic, policy of "War for Peace".
Nixon allowed himself to believe he could use brute force to force the North Vietnamese into a peace settlement adhering to his definitoin of "peace with honor". Each step and decision he took became more obsessive, paranoid and constitutionally unsound as he drug America through its final stages of the conflict in Vietnam that would become America's longest war; as well as one of it's most costly lessons.
This episode is sponsored by Sudio. Sudio is a company making studio quality headphones with a stylish design; all while not overcharging just because they can. Visit the website and use the promo code THEMONDAYAMERICAN for 15% off any order! This episode is also brought to you by "The Three Brothers: When George Washington and Edmund Barton Sat Down to Dinner" This is a book written by Australian author Stephen E. Marantelli. The best way to sum up this book is the phrase "history with a mystery". Stephen sent me a copy and I've been thoroughly enjoying it! If you're a fan of history this book is a must read! To find a list of sources used please visit the website where you'll find a Chicago Manual of Style list of Works Cited.This show is proudly part of the PodcastAdvocate.Network. To find other amazing shows like this one or to find out more about the network such as its award winning editing service, click the link. You know you want to...
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The Vietnam War (Part IV): Tet Unravels the West.
This episode is sponsored by Sudio. Sudio is a company making studio quality headphones with a stylish design; all while not overcharging just because they can. Visit the website and use the promo code THEMONDAYAMERICAN for 15% off any order! This episode is also brought to you by "The Three Brothers: When George Washington and Edmund Barton Sat Down to Dinner" This is a book written by Australian author Stephen E. Marantelli. The best way to sum up this book is the phrase "history with a mystery". Stephen sent me a copy and I've been thoroughly enjoying it! If you're a fan of history this book is a must read!Lyndon Johnson comes to terms with the reality he and his administration of "wise men" had been avoiding until this point. The reality that they were in a war that was neither winnable nor popular was no longer a "sweep it under the rug" thought for them. They reached the crucial point where we (looking back from today) see the decisions they made and the responsibility they bore; or in this case the responsibility they deflected.
Rather than take the blame for their own actions these men, men like LBJ and McNamara, decided to cast the blame of their own actions onto the very American public they "represented and served", they cast the blame onto the press, onto the people, onto any other thing other than themselves.
The Tet Offensive pushes the conflict in Vietnam to a boiling point both abroad and within the United States. The American public after Tet, the odd victory without reward, finally was able to see the real situation in Vietnam. What was even more jarring to the public than the "principals" and their malfeasance was the unsettling realization that the war in Vietnam had somehow started a civil war in America.
This show is proudly part of the PodcastAdvocate.Network. To find other amazing shows like this one or to find out more about the network such as its award winning editing service, click the link. You know you want to...
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The Vietnam War (Part III): Limited War, Without Limits.
Part III of the series takes an in-depth dive into the man largely credited for the escalation, continuation and cover-ups regarding the Vietnam War: Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Picking up where we left off in part II, we learn a bit more about who LBJ was and what helped him to make the fateful decisions made throughout his administration regarding the Vietnam War, its escalation and its subsequent veiling to the American public.
The former Senate Majority Leader was a master of manipulation, skilled like none other in the art of politics, personal flattery and the ability to read a man in order to face off against him. Lyndon B. Johnson masterfully avoided the rebuke of Congress and the American people while further involving the nation in a conflict with no hope of resolution.
Using the attack of Pleiku airbase, as well as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, LBJ was able to position himself as the President leading the charge of retaliation against the "aggressor" North Vietnamese. Operation "ROLLING THUNDER" would kick off the bombing campaign that would prove the North Vietnamese would not only withdraw in their campaign, but they would escalate it on a magnitude with which the United States was un-willing and un-able to match.
This is one of the incredible podcasts in the Podcast Advocate Network family. Explore http://PodcastAdvocate.Network for more great content.As always, you can contact us by sending an email to [email protected], following us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and by visiting the website at www.themondayamerican.com
To find the list of sources used, visit the episode page on the website.
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Special Episode: Interview with William Timmons
Although this podcast is not an interview format show (usually), I had the chance to sit down with a State Senator from South Carolina who is running for Congress in the upcoming election. I believe that what he has to say about politics, congress and the country in general are beneficial for not only his constituents but for any American listening in. Please excuse the interruption of the Vietnam War series (of which part III will release shortly) in order to enjoy a conversation with a congressional candidate.
To learn more about William Timmons and his run for congress please visit his pages listed below:
Website: www.votetimmons.com
Facebook: Timmons for Congress
Twitter: @votetimmons
email: [email protected]
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The Vietnam War Series presented by The Monday American Podcast
Thank you for listening and downloading Part II of the series covering the Vietnam War. If you're interested in finding out the sources used and cited during the series, you can find all of them on the website by visiting www.themondayamerican.com or if you'd like to email us you can send it to [email protected]
The Vietnam War has hardly begun in the point where we left off part one and now start part two, yet it isn't difficult for us looking back to see how much destruction is on its way.
Part II continues the story of America's involvement in Indochina and Vietnam and touches on topics such as:
The Buddhist Crisis, the JFK assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society, The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, as well as the Gulf of Tonkin Congressional Resolution, the Strategic Hamlet Program.
The Monday American: A History Podcast is proudly part of the Podcast Advocate Network. Visit the network's website at podcastadvocate.network where you'll get great podcast tips and news, editing services, the only newsletter you won't unsubscribe from and much more!
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The Vietnam War (Part I)
The analogy of Domino's falling is admittedly a lazy subtitle on our part. That said, even though it rings as a loud cliché it is easily the most appropriate way to describe the entire American involvement in the Indochina (Vietnam), South Asia and overall struggle against the "un-ceasing" growth of communism.
Part One of the series provides the context that is necessary to glean the story out of the Indochina conflict. Without understanding not only how, but why these events came to be, the story within the history doesn't get through and it doesn't teach those of us looking back at it today.
The difficult aspect of covering this specific war in American history is the sheer amount of lies, misdirection and flat out confusing amount of sources and historical data are available. It is ironically fitting however, the Vietnam war remains one of the most complex and farthest thing from "simple" that endures in the history of America.
Part one of the series begins the journey that is the story of the Vietnam War, we hope you enjoy.
As always, please email your thoughts, complaints, arguments or general dad jokes to [email protected] you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Youtube and don't forget to check out the website at www.themondayamerican.com
Sources Used:
McManus, John C. Grunts: Inside the American infantry combat experience, World War II through Iraq. New York: NAL Caliber, 2011.
Herring, George C. Americas longest war: the United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2002.
Sheehan, Neil. A bright shining lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. New York: Modern Library, 2009.
Downs, Frederick. The killing zone: my life in the Vietnam War. New York: Norton, 2007.
Moïse, Edwin E. Tonkin Gulf And the Escalation of the Vietnam War. Univ of North Carolina Pr, 2004.
Mason, Robert. Chickenhawk. New York: Penguin Books, 2005. -
The American Civil War (Part V)
The Monday American podcast is brought to you by the Podcast Advocate Network. If you'd like to learn more about the other shows on the network you can visit the website or subscribe to the network newsletter.
Part Five of the series opens with the full realization of the Confederate States of America that the war cannot be won setting in.
General Ulysses S. Grant moves into Richmond, VA and occupies the recently abandoned Confederate government headquarters.
Robert E. Lee takes his men on a "march from hell" only to realize the only option is surrender, which he does on April 9, 1865.
When everything seems to be coming together, the nation loses Abraham Lincoln to an assassins bullet. Altering the course of the new nation forever...Sources Used
Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. Vintage Books, 2000.
Winik, Jay. April 1865 the month that saved America. New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 2008.
Blight, David W. Race and reunion: the Civil War in American memory. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.
Alexander, Edward Porter. Military Memoirs of a Confederate. New York, NY: C. Scribners Sons, 1907.
Fellman, Michael, Lesley J. Gordon, and Daniel E. Sutherland. This terrible war: the Civil War and its aftermath. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008.
Coski, John M. The Confederate battle flag: Americas most embattled emblem. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006.
Taylor, Michael W. The Cry is War, War, War. Dayton, OH: Morningside Press, 1994.
Geer, Walter. Campaigns of the Civil War. Old Saybrook, CT: Konecky & Konecky, 2009.
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In Part IV of the American Civil War the nation reels from the cost of the conflict. The Battle of Antietam takes its toll as the nation's bloodiest single day of combat - ever. The Battle of Gettysburg becomes the country's most costly single battle, still to this day. The Union army control is given to Ulysses S. Grant who battles Robert E. Lee through the Overland Campaign, inching closer to Richmond where the life of the Confederate States of America seems to be waning.
Topics and events discussed in this episode:
The Battle of Antietam, The Battle of Gettysburg, The Wilderness Campaign, Spotsylvania, The Mule Shoe, General Robert E. Lee's decision to join the Confederate States of America, The promotion to commander of Union armies given to Ulysses S. Grant, The Overland Campaign.
Sources Used:
Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. Vintage Books, 2000.
Winik, Jay. April 1865 the month that saved America. New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 2008.
Blight, David W. Race and reunion: the Civil War in American memory. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.
Fellman, Michael, Lesley J. Gordon, and Daniel E. Sutherland. This terrible war: the Civil War and its aftermath. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008.
Coski, John M. The Confederate battle flag: Americas most embattled emblem. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006.
Taylor, Michael W. The Cry is War, War, War. Dayton, OH: Morningside Press, 1994.
Geer, Walter. Campaigns of the Civil War. Old Saybrook, CT: Konecky & Konecky, 2009.
Chernow, Ron. Grant. New York, NY: Penguin Press, 2017. Pgs 289-311, and 366-447.
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The American Civil War (Part III) A House Divided Welcome to Part III of The Monday American series on the American Civil War; the story of America's darkest days in which it ultimately becomes the nation's brightest hour. In order to find out more about this episode, or the series as a whole, please visit the official website by clicking here! Fill out the new (anonymous) 6 question survey to contribute to the growth of the show! Six questions and less than seconds gives the podcast anonymous information about its audience in order to further grow and expand the listener base! Please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe to the show on whatever platform you listen on! It helps the show out tremendously when you do so and we greatly appreciate the support! Show Topics and Timestamps: Nat Turner’s Rebellion (2:45) The Fugitive Slave Act (8:30) Uncle Toms Cabin (13:30) The Kansas-Nebraska Bill (14:25) The Dred Scott Case (16:40) The Emergence of Abraham Lincoln (20:55) Secession from the Union (30:45) Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address (36:20) The Fort Sumter Crisis (40:00) The Battle of Bull Run (54:04) Gen. Ulysses S. Grant Takes Forts Henry and Donelson (1:01:53) Other:
For general inquiries, questions, criticisms or words of encouragement you can email the host directly by sending an email to: [email protected]
If you would like to make topic suggestions or offer historical (primary) sources for potential future episodes please don't hesitate to do so!
For media inquiries, interview requests, requests to guest on The Monday American Podcast or any other media related topic please use the submission form on the website here.
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The American Civil War
The Road To War (Part II)
John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry On November 2nd of 1859 John Brown made a bold claim stating, “Now if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments…I submit; so let it be done!" Six months earlier he was heard interrupting a meeting of the New England Antislavery Society when he shouted out“Talk! Talk! Talk! That will never free the slaves…what is needed is action!…action!”Action indeed was what John Brown gave the nation when a little more than a month after that he took matters into his own hands and led a raid on a federal arsenal located in Harper’s Ferry Virginia. It was here that Brown took a fatal leap from angry talk to revolutionary action. If contradictions within the national structure regarding slavery and democratic principles co-existing amid some awkward unspoken peace agreement, those contradictions that were nearly tangible weren’t enough, on their own right, to bring the country to war as it were. Before John Brown, the economic, social and political system had proved sufficiently coherent to hold the nation together. After his revolutionary raid on Harper’s Ferry, the United States was thrust into the fast lane that led only to war. Although John Brown’s raid on the federal arsenal was a complete tactical, strategical and any other conceivable means a total defeat militarily, he gained what is all too common a theme in history by winning a moral victory for his cause. Isn’t it interesting how often these moral victories spurned from a military defeat come to alter the history of nations so often? John Brown’s moral victory amid military disaster was certainly no different. Brown’s idea that led to the eventual action was a fairly simple idea to begin with. He had long held the belief that was common of that day that slaves were not only capable but eager for violent insurrection and Brown took it upon himself to make sure that outcome happened. He was so optimistic in his plan that he commissioned the forging of one thousand pikes which he would supplement with the stands of rifles he would seize later at the arsenal. Why one thousand pikes? He certainly didn’t have that many men in his band of marauders; Brown assumed that when word of his raid spread and the slaves heard of his daring initiative, they would rush to him at the arsenal and then, protected by mountains, travel south where slaves existed in far greater numbers. His idea was that he was going to start the slave insurrection by raiding Harper’s Ferry and causing a “spontaneous”, chain reaction type revolution. Brown had 21 men who joined his cause, three of them were his own sons and those men marched to and managed to seize the arsenal while taking thirty hostages, among those hostages where ten “quite bewildered” slaves. This was the end of the success portion of his raid as not a single slave came to join Brown and his men at Harpers Ferry. As a man of Brown’s demeanor would be expected to do he refused to admit his cause, his noble mission as he saw it, was not only staring at defeat but it had already failed. He and his men barricaded themselves inside the nearby brick walled building of a fire engine house and were quickly surrounded by local citizens at first followed shortly by a company of United States Marines commanded by none other than Col. Robert E. Lee. The following day the marines stormed the building killing several of Brown’s gang and severely wounding Brown as well. On a military level this raid was a disaster, which Brown later would concede to. He was imprisoned, tried, and hanged within six weeks. Where Brown was able to pull a surprise victory however was during his trial and execution and rather than a weapon found in an arsenal, his greatest weapon was his eloquence with the english language. Brown had a “come to Jesus” moment that seems to be mostly an act of an observant man than an honest one. Brown held the prisoners at Harpers Ferry but did not kill them, he later admitted he“should have gone away, but I had thirty-odd prisoners whose wives and daughters were in tears for their safety, and I felt for them. Besides I wanted to allay the fears of those who believed we came here to burn and kill.”This won over the sentiment of the public of a man surrendered to his cause with the noblest virtue and as he said himself,“I never did intend murder or treason or to excite or incite slaves to rebellion or to make insurrection.”This was a lie obviously but a genius defense plea that shows the mans understanding of the human nature to root for the underdog while also showing his own deep sympathy. The reality that on May 24, 1856 just three years prior in Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas a group of men were led by none other than John Brown when they encountered five pro-slavery settlers and proceeded to hack all five of the men into pieces and mangle their bodies. But that mattered little now because Brown had played the game perfectly with the cards he was presented with. He had secured himself as the martyr that would spark the fire of freedom for slaves, one way or another. Brown’s defense attempted a plea of insanity (something not far from the truth as insanity ran in his family) but Brown would hear none of it; any plan to break him free would have been even more insane as the military guard surrounding Brown had swollen to 1,500 men on the day of his execution. Before Brown was hung he made his last statement that ultimately ignited the nation over the issue of slavery when he said“I pity the poor in bondage that have none to help them: that is why I am here, not any personal animosity, revenge or vindictive spirit. It is my sympathy with the oppressed and the wronged that are as good as you and as precious in the eyes of God.”He was able to secure himself as the spark that set the fire of the debate that consumed the nation for the next two years. As he walked towards his scaffold that would hang him until he died he handed a note to one of his captors, in what was ultimately his moment of prophetic wisdom because the note stated that the type of insurrection he had attempted wouldn’t be sufficient to free slaves and that only a vast, civil war was capable of ending the violent slave system. It read: “I John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of the guilty land; will never be purged away; but with blood." The Desire for War John Brown had successfully started the insurrection in America he had dreamt of, although not in the way that he had thought or hoped it would occur. Instead of inciting slaves to rebel and take up arms, he sparked the fire of the American people themselves and the country was on a track not only for eventual war, but a track that saw the people adopt a view of the necessity to wage war. What John Brown had just accomplished, that most didn’t realize at the time although they certainly would realize it in the days ahead, is he had altered the very mindset of the national argument. He took the entire radical anti-slavery movement and shifted their view to one that saw them clamoring for national redemption through the absolute necessity for war. History is full of some truly incredible things for us today to be able to understand and this certainly makes the list for one of the more wild instances in the past. Now I’m one of those History guys who thinks that although History is typically considered the past, I believe history is an inevitability of sorts. That inevitability, or the natural order of the world in a way dictates that things are going to happen regardless of what certain people decide to do. This is one of those occurrences where the inevitable is tremendously sped up through the actions of just one man. One man was able to speak a few well placed words that essentially changed the future of the country, well for that matter the world really, in a way he never could have conceived to be possible. But that’s the beautiful part about history, that speculation is essentially meaningless because history deals with facts and it doesn’t matter how much we decide to speculate and debate, it happened the way it did. The result of the actions of John Brown obviously wasn’t an immediate armament or immediate conflict breaking out but it absolutely was the last real piece of the puzzle that ensured there was no other alternative to war even though the people at the time thought otherwise. What’s interesting about all of this is the somewhat awkward position that politicians were finding themselves in while watching reactions from the public and the world to the remarks and actions of John Brown. The Republicans of the day, though they were far more conservative than the radical abolitionist, found themselves attempting to navigate a seemingly impossible situation in which they were forced to pick their own political poison. If they denounced Brown too strongly they would come across as a pro-slavery advocate and surely would lose the coming election; but the failure to admonish him at all would ensure they lose the vote of any pro-slavery voter. Perhaps the most talented at avoiding this political poison pill was the famously moderate and cautious Republican from the state of Illinois named Abraham Lincoln. He calculated the effect of Brown politically and was able to navigate those treacherous waters by embracing them head on. He spoke frequently about Brown and when doing so he always called him wrong, sometimes even insane noting that “an enthusiast broods over the oppression of a people till he feels commissioned by Heaven to liberate them…which ends in little else than his own execution.” The difference in the mass of republicans who succumbed to political death in the John Brown fallout versus the overwhelming success that Lincoln experienced was his ability to anticipate the attacks of the democrats before they were able to be launched at all. Lincoln denied that either he or even a single republican had supported brown and on December 5th 1859 during a speech in Kansas he told his audience that “Old John Brown has just been executed for treason against a state. We cannot object, even though he agreed with us in thinking that slavery [is] wrong. That alone cannot excuse violence, bloodshed and treason. It could avail [Brown] nothing that he might think himself right.” Lincoln was able to find that delicate balance that so many others sought after, and that was obviously something he was eventually known for, giving some of the greatest speeches in history. Unlike others who were uncomfortable with how to handle their political plight, Lincoln embraced it. He used John Brown to his own political gains by speaking about him very often, using him almost as a kind of warning should the nation take a turn against his advice. In his famous Cooper Union address on February 27, 1860 he successfully predicted that if the Democrats should try and succeed (which they eventually did) in using Brown to break up the Republican party, that the majority of antislavery proponents would turn away from what he called “the peaceful channel of the ballot box” and instead would embrace the very same violent means embraced by John Brown and his men in the first place. Lincoln was able to avoid utterly disavowing someone who was willing to go to the gallows due to his hatred of slavery, which was a feeling Lincoln and Brown shared; but was also able to use Brown as a warning to voters about the consequences should they not follow Republican moderation and instead embrace the un-thinkable. Ultimately though, Lincoln could not disassociate Brown from his own feelings of hatred for slavery as well as his larger antislavery political goals. Lincoln certainly wasn’t alone in that mindset as it wouldn’t be very long at all when men from all over the north, with an array of backgrounds would be marching together in the south while singing “John Brown’s body lies amouldering in the grave, but his truth goes marching on!” It’s an interesting look at the inability of humanity at times, obviously nothing is 100% consistent, to excuse actions that are wrong when commited in the name of a cause they agree with. The National Identity The nation reacted to the raid from John Brown in a way that would further the national divide of “north” vs. “south” so much so that each further action made it impossible to go back to the way things were without the inevitable conclusion of war in America. This section of the podcast goes over some of the details about changing American life in the nineteenth century in order to further assist the listener in understanding the perceived and the actual differences between the north and south in the United States as well as how those differences came to fruition. As well as the description and detail of nineteenth century life in America, this last section of the episode touches on two crucial portions that led the nation to war with itself. The Missouri Compromise and the Nullification Crisis; both are events in the history of the country that aren’t exactly “riveting” stories in their own right but to tell the story of the civil war in America without these two events is to tell the story in an incomplete way. They are both events that helped cement the issue of slavery as the central issue in all debates as well as the issue that leads to the first threat of a state to secede from the Union; the civil war nearly began thirty years before it did had it not been for the political wisdom of America’s oldest politicians and some cautious maneuvering from representatives. Part III of the story picks up amid the “action” as the nation votes on the new president during the election of 1860, which is also an election for war in a way that the nation would soon find out for themselves. Works Cited: Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. Vintage Books, 2000. Winik, Jay. April 1865 the month that saved America. New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 2008. Blight, David W. Race and reunion: the Civil War in American memory. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002. Fellman, Michael, Lesley J. Gordon, and Daniel E. Sutherland. This terrible war: the Civil War and its aftermath. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008. Coski, John M. The Confederate battle flag: Americas most embattled emblem. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006. Taylor, Michael W. The Cry is War, War, War. Dayton, OH: Morningside Press, 1994. Geer, Walter. Campaigns of the Civil War. Old Saybrook, CT: Konecky & Konecky, 2009. -
The American Civil War
Our Darkest Day (Part One)
This is part one of the American Civil War series. We dive into the story behind the most bloody, most tragic, and ultimately most costly war the United States has ever fought.
Foreword:
Throughout this series you will hear quotes from the men and women who lived during this event. Their quotes include language and words that are derogatory in nature and may make some listeners uncomfortable or upset.
I by no means have included the aforementioned quotes in order to offend anyone and I apologize if that may be the case. In order to fully understand what happened, why it happened and what we can learn from it these quotes shouldn't be glossed over. It is important to understand the world that these people lived in and how they understand life and the world around them. In order to do so, we must not skip over parts of history that make us uncomfortable or angry.
If any of these quotes or words upsets you I encourage you to write me an email with any concerns you would like to address. Send your thoughts and concerns to [email protected] thank you.
Part One
The beginning of the civil war story starts earlier than you might imagine. We back up all the way to 1790 where George Washington announced his retirement from politics with his famous farewell address.
It was a few months prior to this event that led Washington to address to the nation just what he felt was necessary in order to preserve the life of this new democratic republic that the United States had formed.
He issued a warning that the biggest threats to democracy were the people themselves not understanding the freedom with which they were granted, and not unifying as a nation of United States.
The reason Washington had these concerns was due to a debate about slavery that occurred a few months prior to his address.
The slavery issue came to the house floor and was debated with fervor and heated conversation. The eventual outcome would be that due to the passing of the United States Constitution years prior, congress had no right to touch the topic of slavery through the year 1808. It ended with the abolitionists and pro-slavery arguers understanding that not only could the United States of America not do anything about the issue right then, due to the overwhelming understanding that the states dependent on it for their economy would surely succeed and destroy the Union right away; but they understood that they weren't even ready to talk about the topic due to the fact that neither side had a realistic and attainable solution.
Episode 24, Part one of the Civil War series begins the story of the Civil War in the midst of the heated congressional debate about what this new nation known as the United States of America will do about the topic of Slavery.
Sources Used:
Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. Vintage Books, 2000.
Winik, Jay. April 1865 the month that saved America. New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 2008.
Blight, David W. Race and reunion: the Civil War in American memory. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.
Fellman, Michael, Lesley J. Gordon, and Daniel E. Sutherland. This terrible war: the Civil War and its aftermath. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008.
Coski, John M. The Confederate battle flag: Americas most embattled emblem. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006.
Taylor, Michael W. The Cry is War, War, War. Dayton, OH: Morningside Press, 1994.
Geer, Walter. Campaigns of the Civil War. Old Saybrook, CT: Konecky & Konecky, 2009.
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American Made: Theodore Roosevelt We've been working hard to introduce to you a new ongoing series titled: American Made. It will feature a character from American History that embodies the classic American ideals we admire, and a person that directly contributed to the success of our great nation! We hope you're as excited as we are about this! Don't forget to "subscribe" to the show on Apple Podcasts and leave a review! Let us know what you think, we love hearing from you (good or bad)! Email us at: [email protected] You can check out our website for all the latest! The Early Years The man that would eventually become one of the most charismatic and personable presidents in our country’s history was anything like his persona during his early years. He was born as a small, sickly child, hardly the embodiment of a leader as he would eventually become to be known for the most. He became the type of man that takes his destiny into his own hands and successfully overcame his physical health problems by embracing a strenuous lifestyle. He integrated his exuberant personality, vast range of interests, and world-famous achievements into a "cowboy" persona defined by robust masculinity. Home-schooled, he began a lifelong naturalist avocation before attending Harvard College. His book, The Naval War of 1812 (1882), established his reputation as both a learned historian and as a popular writer. Upon entering politics, he became the leader of the reform faction of Republicans in New York's state legislature. Following the near-simultaneous deaths of his wife and mother, he escaped to a cattle ranch in the Dakotas. Roosevelt served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President William McKinley, but resigned from that post to lead the Rough Riders during the Spanish–American War. Returning a war hero, he was elected Governor of New York in 1898. After the death of Vice President Garret Hobart, the New York state party leadership convinced McKinley to accept Roosevelt as his running mate in the 1900 election, moving Roosevelt to the prestigious but powerless role of vice president. Roosevelt campaigned vigorously and the McKinley-Roosevelt ticket won a landslide victory based on a platform of peace, prosperity, and conservatism. Early Politics Following McKinley's assassination in September 1901, Roosevelt became president at age 42, and remains the youngest president to take office. As a leader of the Progressive movement, he championed his "Square Deal" domestic policies, promising the average citizen fairness, breaking of trusts, regulation of railroads, and pure food and drugs. Making conservation a top priority, he established many new national parks, forests, and monuments intended to preserve the nation's natural resources. In foreign policy, he focused on Central America, where he began construction of the Panama Canal. He expanded the Navy and sent the Great White Fleet on a world tour to project the United States' naval power around the globe. His successful efforts to broker the end of the Russo-Japanese War won him the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize. He avoided the controversial tariff and money issues. Elected in 1904 to a full term, Roosevelt continued to promote progressive policies, but many of his efforts and much of his legislative agenda were eventually blocked in Congress. Roosevelt successfully groomed his close friend, William Howard Taft, and Taft won the 1908 presidential election to succeed him. In polls of historians and political scientists, Roosevelt is generally ranked as one of the five best presidents. Roosevelt didn't stay long at law school, opting instead to join the New York State Assembly as a representative from New York City—becoming the youngest to serve in that position. Not long after, Roosevelt was speeding through various public service positions, including captain of the National Guard and minority leader of the New York Assembly. However, the tragic deaths of his mother and his wife, which occurred on the same day (February 14, 1884), propelled Roosevelt to leave for the Dakota Territory for two years. There, he lived as a cowboy and cattle rancher, leaving his infant daughter in the care of his elder sister. Returning to political life in 1886, Roosevelt was defeated for the New York City mayorship. Around the same time, he married his second wife, Edith Kermit Carow, whom he had known as a child (they had watched the funeral procession of Abraham Lincoln from a window in his grandfather's house on Union Square in New York City). Roosevelt soon resumed his career trajectory, first as a civil service commissioner, then as a New York City police commissioner and Assistant U.S. Navy Secretary under President William McKinley. Taking a keen interest in the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt left his government post to organize a volunteer cavalry known as the Rough Riders, which he led in a bold charge up San Juan Hill in the Battle of San Juan Heights, in 1898. A war hero, and nominated for the Medal of Honor, Roosevelt was elected governor of New York in 1898. Presidential Life Roosevelt's progressive policies in New York ran him afoul of his own party, so Republican Party bosses plotted to quiet him by naming him on the McKinley ticket in the thankless post of vice president. However, after his re-election in 1901, President McKinley was assassinated. At age 42, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt became the youngest man to assume the U.S. presidency. Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency is distinguished by his dedication to prosecuting monopolies under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Out of this commitment grew a benchmark of his first term, the "Square Deal"—a domestic program that embraced reform of the American workplace, government regulation of industry and consumer protection, with the overall aim of helping all classes of people. Roosevelt's charismatic personality and impassioned combination of pounding fists and emphatic rhetoric undoubtedly helped in pushing his agenda. In 1905, Teddy Roosevelt walked his niece, Eleanor Roosevelt, down the aisle (Theodore's brother, Elliott, had died in 1894) during the wedding ceremony for Eleanor and her fifth cousin once removed, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Around the same time, believing that America needed to take its rightful place on the world stage, Roosevelt initiated a massive public relations effort. Engaging his unofficial policy of “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” Roosevelt bulked up the U.S. Navy and created the "Great White Fleet," sending it on a world tour as a testament to U.S. military power. He also helped expedite completion of the Panama Canal by providing tacit approval of the Panama revolution with funds and a naval blockade preventing Columbian troops from landing in Panama. President Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his role in negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese War. Roosevelt believed that if Japan had devastated Russia, it would lead to an imbalance of power in the Pacific, one that the United States would eventually have to realign , but at a disastrous cost. Roosevelt's international stance was the impetus for the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, which claims the right to intervene in cases of wrongdoing by a Latin American or any other nation, though some critics assert that the doctrine designates the United States as the "policeman" of the western world. While it is true Theodore Roosevelt supported desegregation and women's suffrage, his administration took an often passive, sometimes contradictory approach to improving civil rights. He defended Minnie Cox, who experienced racial discrimination in the South while working as a postmaster, and strongly supported a woman’s right to vote in 1912. Roosevelt was also the first president to entertain an African-American, Booker T. Washington, as a guest at the White House. However, the political backlash from the event was so severe that he never invited Washington back again. One of Roosevelt’s less admirable actions regarding civil rights occurred in 1906. The War Department Inspector General had investigated an incident in Brownsville, Texas, involving black troops who had been accused of a shooting rampage that left one white person dead and another wounded. The Inspector General’s report recommended the president dismiss the solders because none would confess. Roosevelt waited until after the November elections—after hundreds of thousands of blacks cast their votes for Republican candidates across the North—and then dismissed all 167 black soldiers from the service. None would receive their pensions. Roosevelt has also been deemed the country's first environmentalist president. In 1906, he signed the National Monuments Act, protecting sites like the Grand Canyon and preserving countless wildlife sanctuaries, national forests and federal game reserves. He also made headway with the nation’s infrastructure, instigating 21 federal irrigation projects. The presidential mansion officially became known as the White House when Roosevelt had the name emblazoned on his stationery. He hired the most illustrious architects of the time, McKim Mead and White, to renovate the decrepit mansion. During his presidential term, the White House served as a lively playground for the Roosevelts' six children; due in no small part to the president's passion for sports and books, each room of the home was enlivened with activity, from crawl space to library. "Giving the pony a ride in the elevator was but one of many stunts" of the (Theodore) Roosevelt White House, according to memoirs published in 1934 by Ike Hoover, the White House's chief usher. Post-Presidency When Teddy Roosevelt left office in 1909, he felt assured that he was leaving the nation able hands; Roosevelt's successor was his friend, former Secretary of War William Howard Taft. Having enjoyed his travels in Europe and the Middle East with his family as a young boy, as well as his two years as a rancher in the Dakotas and countless hunting trips, it seems only logical that Roosevelt's next move would be embarking on an African safari. But after two years of collecting specimens, speaking engagements and traveling—including as special ambassador to England for the funeral of King Edward VII—Roosevelt became disgruntled with Taft’s weak enforcement of progressive policies, and decided to make another run for the presidency. To do so, though, meant launching a third party initiative, as Taft was running on the Republican Party ticket. So Roosevelt formed the Progressive Party, also known as the "Bull Moose Party," and began campaigning for the 1912 election. While delivering a speech on the campaign trail in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Roosevelt was shot in the chest in an assassination attempt by John Nepomuk Schrank. Shockingly, he continued his speech for 90 minutes before seeing a doctor, later chalking up the incident to the hazards of the business. Roosevelt lost to Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 election, in a rather close popular vote. He considered running again in 1916, winning the Progressive nomination, but bowed out in favor of Republican Party nominee Charles Evans Hughes. His political aspirations, however, would soon prove to be far from over. In 1914 when war broke out in Europe, Roosevelt became frustrated with Wilson’s stance on neutrality and continually criticized the president’s policy. When the U.S. finally declared war, Roosevelt requested permission to head a volunteer division for service in France in World War I, but Wilson had the Secretary of War turn him down. Roosevelt was proud that all four of his sons enlisted for service during WWI, but brokenhearted when his youngest son, Quentin, was shot and killed in Germany. Death and Legacy When Teddy Roosevelt was a young boy, doctors discovered that he had a weak heart, and advised him to get a desk job and not strain himself. However, he lived a more active life than most. Outside of his political career, Roosevelt published more than 25 books about a range of subjects, including history, biology, geography and philosophy. He also published a biography and an autobiography, including The Winning of the West, comprised of four volumes. Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep on January 6, 1919, at his Long Island estate, Sagamore Hill, after suffering a coronary embolism. He was 60 years old. He was buried at the Youngs Memorial Cemetery in New York. Although he was denied the Medal of Honor for the Battle of San Juan Heights, Roosevelt posthumously received the honor—the highest award for military service in the United States—more than 100 years later, on January 16, 2001, Roosevelt was the first president to receive the Medal of Honor, conferred by President Bill Clinton. Teddy Roosevelt's energetic vision helped bring the nation into the new century. America owes nearly 200 million acres of national forest and parkland to his foresight—some of which can be viewed atop Mount Rushmore, where Roosevelt's visage is carved in memorial. Works Cited: Robert W. Merry, President McKinley: Architect of the American Century (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017) Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic” delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910 Medal of Honor Citation, The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/2178/roosevelt-theodore.php Sidney Milkis, “Theodore Roosevelt: Foreign Affairs,” US Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt. The University of Virginia Miller Center. 2017
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Eastern Airlines Flight 855: The Miracle over Miami.
This is the story of how a commercial jetliner was able to avoid utter disaster over the ocean and safely land in Miami, all 172 passengers and crew along with it.
The story is one that is close to home for me as it features my grandfather, Captain Steve C. Thompson, as the main character in this near tragedy. He was a man I grew up with in the same house for more than 16 years and was a father to me.
The reason I am choosing to tell this story is because although I'm heavily biased by my own family's involvement, it changed the way that the FAA, Airlines and aviation travel is conducted today. Seeing that millions of people fly every day, most without any concerns whatsoever, I thought it would be beneficial to hear the story about how it is safe now and what it took to get there.
Although this is a slight deviation in the normal American history episodes we do it still plays an integral part in the nation's story. We hope you enjoy.
Don't forget that you can send in your email submissions for the topic you want to hear about to [email protected]
Check out the latest on our website! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and our subreddit!
Don't forget to "subscribe" to the show on the Apple Podcasts app and leave a review for whatever platform it is that you listen on! Thank you again for all the support!
What follows is a brief outline of the event and some technical info:
1.14 Fire After the airplane landed, fire erupted in the No. 1 engine, and smoke emerged from the No. 3 engine. The flight crew applied internal fire suppressants in these engines, while the crash/fire/rescue (CFR) unit at the airport used 300 gallons of water and 20 gallons of light water 4 to extinguish the fire. The airport CFR units had been alerted and six vehicles, including two Oshkosh T12, 3,000-gallon crash trucks, and 16 firefighters, were positioned on the adjacent taxiway at the approach end of runway 27L and at the midpoint of the runway when the airplane landed. Within 60 seconds, the vehicles were in position at the airplane. 1.1 History of the Flight On May 5, 1983, Eastern Air Lines, Inc., Flight 855, a Lockheed L-1011, N334EA, was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Miami, Florida, to Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas. The flightcrew arrived well before the scheduled takeoff time and conducted all prescribed preflight activities. The captain recalled that the forecast weather conditions for the arrival at Nassau called for scattered rain showers. At 0900,1 the weather conditions at Nassau were, in part: 500 feet scattered, 1,000 feet broken, 7,000 feet overcast, visibility 4 miles with light rain and fog. Additionally, a frontal system extended north-northeast from extreme southern Florida and the Florida Keys. The weather conditions at Miami International Airport at 0900 were: ceiling 2,300 feet broken, visibility 7 miles, and no significant weather. The flight engineer performed the "walk-around" inspection of the airplane. He stated that there were no indications of oil leaks from any of the engines. He also stated that there were no abnormal engine instrument readings during engine start or the taxi-to-takeoff. At 0856, Flight 855 departed runway 27R at Miami International Airport with 162 passengers and a crew of 10 aboard. The flight was on an instrument flight rules (IFR) plan to Nassau with an estimated time en route of 37 minutes. At the time, the captain was sitting in the left cockpit seat, the check captain was sitting in the right cockpit seat, and the flight engineer was at his station at the engineer's panel. The captain and the check captain stated that the takeoff and the initial climb to Flight Level (FL) 230 were uneventful. The flight engineer stated that he monitored the activities of the captain during takeoff and scanned the flight engineer's panel for abnormal indications; all engine instrument readings were normal. At 1,000 feet,2 the flight engineer turned back to his panel to regulate the cabin pressurization and the cabin cooling. The flight engineer stated that he also checked the electrical system and the engine instruments, and that, as the airplane passed through 1,500 feet, he called Eastern Air Lines at Miami to report the departure time. He then completed the climb checklist, called the Eastern Air Lines Miami Technical Center to establish contact with the flight dispatcher, and continued to scan the engine instruments. The flight engineer stated that from takeoff until the airplane was level at FL 230 the oil quantity gauges did not fluctuate, and that all three indicators were indicating about 18 quarts (full indication is 21 quarts). About 0908:14, Flight 855 leveled at FL 230. About 0910, the flight was cleared to descend to 9,000 feet, and the captain began the descent. At 0911:17, the flight engineer contacted Nassau approach control and reported descending through FL 200, 70 miles from Nassau. Nassau approach control reported the weather as ceiling 1,000 feet broken and visibility 5 miles, ceilings to the east and south as 500 to 800 feet, and thunderstorms to the north. Nassau approach control informed Flight 855 that it was following a light twin-engine airplane which was about 30 miles ahead of it. The flight engineer then prepared the landing card data for landing at Nassau and read the descent and in-range checklist in preparation for landing. He stated that he also received requests from the cabin attendants for routine items involving the passengers and the arrival at Nassau. The flight engineer stated that he did not scan his panel or the oil quantity or pressure gages for about 5 minutes because he was preparing the landing data information. During that time, he sat at a small desk in front of the engineer's panel. The oil pressure and quantity gages were at eye level. As Flight 855 descended through 15,000 feet, the captain informed the flight engineer that the low oil pressure warning light was on for the No. 2 engine. The flight engineer stated that at this point he had finished the in range call and the landing data card. He looked at the oil quantity and pressure gages and saw that Nos. 1 and 3 indicated about 15 quarts with the oil pressure in the "green" or acceptable range. However, the No. 2 engine indicated a quantity of 8 quarts, and the pressure was fluctuating between 15 psi and 25 psi. The flight engineer was not concerned with the quantity indications, since he stated that he expected to see fluctuations of up to 3 quarts on either side of 18 quarts. However, he had never had an oil pressure problem with the L-1011. The flight engineer then advised the captain that the oil pressure on the No. 2 engine was fluctuating between 15 and 25 psi, that the minimum pressure required for normal engine operation was 30 psi, and that the oil quantity gage for the engine was reading 8 quarts while the other two engines indicated about 15 quarts. The captain ordered the flight engineer to shut down the No. 2 engine, and the captain started the auxiliary power unit (APU). At 0915:26, while at 12,300 feet, the captain requested a clearance back to Miami; the check captain concurred in the request. At the time, the airplane was about 50 miles from Nassau. The captain later stated that he elected to return to Miami rather than continue to Nassau because of the deteriorating weather conditions which had been reported at Nassau and which he had observed on airborne radar. Also, he anticipated some delay in landing at Nassau due to the nonradar environment and a light twin-engine airplane reported ahead of Flight 855, and he believed that he could land at Miami sooner than at Nassau. At 0915:48, Flight 855 was cleared to make a 180° turn and to maintain 12,000 feet. At 0918:11, Flight 855 contacted Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), and at 0918:36, the flight was cleared to climb to FL 200. During this time the flight engineer completed the engine shutdown checklist and the secondary items on the emergency checklist. He said that these tasks required about 4 minutes to complete, so he was not constantly monitoring the indications on engines Nos. 1 and 3. NextPage LivePublish Page 1 of 2 http://hfskyway.faa.gov/NTSB/lpext.dll/NTSB/23bc/23c7/23c8?f=templates&fn=docu... 2/11/2005 As the airplane climbed through 15,000 feet, the low oil pressure light for the No. 3 engine illuminated, followed by illumination of the light for the No. 1 engine. At that time, the oil quantity gages for all three engines read zero. At 0923:15, with the airplane level at 16,000 feet, Flight 855 informed Miami ARTCC of the engine gage readings but indicated that "we believe it to be faulty indications since the chance of all three engines having zero oil pressure and zero quantity is almost nil." The flight engineer then contacted the Miami Eastern Air Lines maintenance personnel to determine if there was a common electrical source which could affect the engine instruments. The captain stated that he assumed that the problem of low oil pressure and zero oil quantity for the three engines was a faulty indicator problem since the likelihood of simultaneous oil exhaustion in all three engines was "one in millions I would think." During this time, the Miami Technical Center called back to Flight 855 to say that the No. 2 AC bus was the common power source for the oil quantity instruments. The flight engineer checked the appropriate circuit breaker and found no discrepancies. At 0928:20, the No. 3 engine failed. The airplane, which was about 80 miles from Miami, began a gradual descent. The flightcrew stated that they realized at this point that the indications of zero oil pressure and quantity were correct and were not the result of a gage problem. At 0929:15, Miami ARTCC cleared Flight 855 to descend to any altitude required and to fly directly to Miami International Airport for a landing on runway 27L. The flight engineer called the senior flight attendant to the cockpit and instructed her to prepare the cabin for a ditching. The senior flight attendant, in turn, briefed the other flight attendants, who then began preditching preparations. The flightcrew attempted to restart the No. 2 engine but was not successful; and at 0933:20, the No. 1 engine failed. The airplane was about 12,000 feet above the ocean. The rate of descent, which was about 600 feet per minute (fpm) with one engine operating, increased to about 1,600 fpm with no engines operating. The indicated airspeed remained about 225 knots throughout the descent. The APU provided hydraulic pressure and electrical power to the airplane after all engines stopped operating. As a result, the flightcrew had the ability to operate all the controls of the airplane despite the total loss of engine power. At 0933:38, Flight 855 advised Miami ARTCC that no engines were operating; the airplane was about 55 miles from Miami. Shortly thereafter, the flight engineer announced over the public address system that a "ditching is imminent." The senior flight attendant assumed that the airplane was about to enter the water and instructed the passengers to assume the brace position. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard and other potential rescue vessels were notified of the emergency by Miami ARTCC. The initial notification was made to Coast Guard District Headquarters at 0928:18. A Coast Guard Falconjet and a helicopter immediately departed the Coast Guard station at Opa Locka, Florida. At 0936, a helicopter and a C-130 airplane, both of which were already in flight from USCG Air Station, Clearwater, Florida, were diverted to assist Flight 855. Additionally, three more Coast Guard helicopters and another Falconjet were alerted and prepared to respond to the emergency. One Coast Guard cutter and five other patrol vessels were standing by at sea. An Air Force C-130 and a helicopter, both from Homestead Air Force Base, were alerted and were preparing to takeoff. All aircraft and surface vessels were alerted and either underway or preparing to get underway by 0944. The captain attempted to restart the No. 2 engine for a second time but was unsuccessful. He then attempted to start the Nos. 3 and 1 engines, but again was unsuccessful; simultaneously, the flightcrew was proceeding through the ditching checklist. The captain then attempted a third time to start the No. 2 engine. At 0938:18, when the airplane was at 4,000 feet and with an indicated airspeed of about 250 knots, the No. 2 engine restarted. The airplane was about 22 miles from Miami. The descent was arrested at about 3,000 feet, and at 0940:20, a gradual climb was started to 3,900 feet. At 0943, Flight 855 leveled at 3,900 feet and began the final descent for landing at Miami International Airport. The passengers and flight attendants remained in the brace position until just before landing, when the captain announced that they would land at Miami. At 0946, the airplane landed. Air traffic control reported to the captain after the airplane landed that smoke was emerging from the No. 1 engine. The captain discharged the fire bottles in the engine and the smoke stopped. He later discharged the firebottles in the No. 3 engine after smoke was reported to him by ground personnel. Because the airplane could not be taxied on the power generated by the No. 2 engine, it was towed to the gate and passengers deplaned normally at the terminal. The accident occurred during the hours of daylight. 2.2 Flightcrew Decisions The Safety Board analyzed the decision of the captain to return to Miami rather than to continue the flight to Nassau once the No. 2 engine had been shut down because of low oil quantity and pressure. The airplane was about 50 miles from Nassau and about 110 miles from Miami when he made the decision. At that time, the other two engines were operating normally, and the airplane could be flown on two engines without a significant reduction in safety. As a result, the captain was not concerned about the capability of the airplane to fly either to Miami or Nassau; from a distance perspective, in his view, either airport could be reached without assuming additional risks and without taxing the performance capability of the airplane. The captain and the check captain stated that the decision to return to Miami was influenced by the length of time required to land the airplane from its position about 50 miles west of Nassau. The weather report the flight engineer received from Nassau at 0912 indicated a 1,000-foot ceiling, with lower ceilings to the south and east, and thunderstorms to the north. Since the instrument approach to Nassau International Airport required navigating to the southeast of the airport, the captain could expect low-level flight in IFR conditions before landing. Additionally, since Nassau had no radar coverage, he could not be given radar vectors either around the traffic which had been reported ahead of him, or directly to the airport. The last two factors would have required additional low-level flight to complete the instrument approach at Nassau International Airport. On the other hand, the captain knew that he could make a straight-in, VFR approach at Miami. The captain said that after analyzing the options available, he determined that he would be able to land in less time by returning to Miami International Airport. The Safety Board concludes that, given the information available, the captain made an appropriate decision. The captain's estimate that he could land sooner at Miami was probably correct in view of the weather conditions at Nassau. Additionally, the possibility of a missed approach existed at Nassau International Airport, while Miami weather insured a VFR landing. Finally, there was no urgent reason to attempt a two-engine nonprecision instrument approach when a less demanding VFR landing could be made in substantially the same or perhaps even a reduced timeframe. The Safety Board examined the flightcrew's analysis of the meaning of the oil quantity and pressure gage indications. The shutdown of the No. 2 engine about 0915:15, after the indications of low oil pressure and quantity, was the proper decision. The Safety Board is concerned, however, that the flight engineer had not noted the declining gage indications, especially the oil pressure, before the low oil pressure light illuminated. As a result, the captain had to call the flight engineer's attention to the flight engineers panel, instead of the flight engineer observing the oil pressure and quantity indications first. The flight engineer was occupied with his proper duties preparing for the landing at Nassau. However, by his own admission, he had not scanned the engine gages for about 5 minutes before the No. 2 low oil pressure light came on. The primary duty of the flight engineer was to monitor the engine instruments--a responsibility which should be done continuously during a flight, and not in between other duties. Additionally, his work station was directly in front of the engine instruments, which were at eye level, so a standard scan of the gages could have been done easily. Additionally, the Safety Board believes that it would have been unusual for the No. 2 engine to have indicated about 8 quarts of oil quantity at 0915 when there were indications of 15 quarts on engines Nos. 1 and 3. Only 8 minutes later, engines Nos. 1 and 3 indicated zero oil pressure and the low oil pressure lights had illuminated. These events indicate that either a rapid loss of oil from engines Nos. 1 and 3 occurred after engine No. 2 was shut down, or that there was actually less than 15 quarts of oil in engines Nos. 1 and 3 when the individual gages indicated 15 quarts. The normal fluctuations of the oil quantity gage, especially in climb and descent, may have given slightly erroneous readings to the flight engineer. However, since he said that the oil quantity gages vary up to 3 quarts, he should have been concerned that the quantity of the oil in the other engines could have been as low as 12 quarts at 0915. Once the airplane had been cleared to return to Miami and to climb to FL 200, the flight engineer was again occupied with cockpit checklist activities. He said that in the 4 or 5 minutes after the No. 2 engine was shut down, he did not notice any declining indications on engines Nos. 1 and 3 until the low oil pressure lights again illuminated. The Safety Board accepts the statement that he was occupied with the secondary items on the emergency checklist. However, once again the flight engineer allowed 4 or 5 minutes to pass without monitoring the engine instruments. As a result, the oil pressure and quantity gages on engines Nos. 1 and 3 declined to a marginal condition before the captain was advised of the situation. After the flight engineer announced that the oil quantities on all three engines were zero, the flightcrew had 5 or 6 minutes to analyze and resolve the problem before the No. 3 engine flamed out at 0928:20. The initial conclusion of all three crewmembers was that they were experiencing indicator problems with the oil pressure gages. The flightcrew's disbelief of the visual indications was because each crewmember considered the possibility of total simultaneous oil depletion on three engines as virtually nonexistent. There were other reasons why the flightcrew would have examined the situation first as an instrumentation problem. First, as each stated, the likelihood of total simultaneous oil depletion was improbable, and had never occurred on any L- 1011; second, all their previous experience would indicate a malfunction with the oil pressure and quantity indicators, since gage and indicator malfunctions are not uncommon events in commercial airplanes; and third, they were unaware NextPage LivePublish Page 1 of 2 http://hfskyway.faa.gov/NTSB/lpext.dll/NTSB/23bc/2505/2508?f=templates&fn=docu... 2/11/2005 of other incidents involving engine shutdowns due to master chip detector installation problems. Consequently, the flightcrew immediately contacted the Miami Technical Center to determine if a single power failure could cause indicator malfunctions. As the inquiry was made to the Technical Center, the flightcrew examined the engine and electrical systems in the cockpit. From a practical position, the analysis of the problem by the flightcrew was logical, and was what most pilots probably would have done if confronted by the same situation. Ideally, a pilot "should always believe his instruments." However, pilots must also analyze information to validate the meaning of the instruments. In this situation, logic said that the engine oil instruments were wrong, and that a less obvious malfunction had occurred. As a result, the first cause of investigation was the electrical system, and the flightcrew proceeded in that analysis according to the proper procedure. Also, the flightcrew's initial analysis was logical because there was little else that could have been done other than to troubleshoot the possible malfunctions. The airplane was commited to return to Miami when the problem was discovered. The climb was immediately stopped at 16,000 feet and the analysis of the facts was started. The only other course of action was to shut down the No. 3 engine when the low oil pressure light illuminated. However, that action would still not have resolved the zero oil quantity indication on the No. 1 engine. Finally, the flightcrew's analysis of the problem was constrained by the timespan of the events. Only 5 or 6 minutes were available from the first recognition of the zero oil quantity until the No. 3 engine flamed out. The No. 3 engine flamed out just as they ascertained that there was no indicator problem, with the result that there was no time to take any other corrective action even if one had existed. Consequently, the Safety Board believes that the flightcrew's actions to identify and correct the problem were logical, especially when considering the time available to analyze the problem and the options available to them. The decision to climb to FL 200 en route to Miami was normal at the time the climb was started. The Safety Board considered the possibility that the selection of climb power to return to Miami may have contributed to an increased rate of oil loss during that stage of the flight. The oil loss resulted in the flame out of both engines. It is possible that a landing at Nassau could have been made before engines No. 1 and 3 flamed out. However, because the actual oil-loss rate and the time needed to land at Nassau are not known, the Safety Board could not determine when the engines would have flamed out had the captain decided to land at Nassau International Airport, or had he elected not to climb to a higher altitude during the return flight to Miami. - Se mer
