26 th September

1774 Johnny Appleseed was born.

1815 The Act of the Holy Alliance was signed.

1898 George Gershwin was born. (See September 30th entry.)

1919 President Woodrow Wilson collapsed. (See December 28th entry.)

1960 The first Nixon-Kennedy debate was televised.

This was a very big day for the spoken word, back in 1960. The first televised Presidential debates were aired nationwide. Candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon started a trend in national election campaigns with their televised, face-to - face confrontation. The power of words and their delivery—not to mention a close shave—were never more dramatically illustrated. It became a common forum for presidential campaigns in the future, offering both voters a chance to contrast and compare the opinions of the candidates without media bias.

In 1919, on this day, President Woodrow Wilson collapsed. He had been on the road conducting a forty-date speaking tour. His mission was to gamer the nation’s support for the Treaty of Versailles. Unfortunately, he did not rally the people to accept the far-

Reaching, global nature of the treaty which would have involved the United States in the international political arena for the first time. It would take another world war and three more decades before Americans were convinced that they were not an isolated entity, but rather one of world’s major hubs.

In the name of Christianity, many politically-directed activities have taken shape. The Crusades, the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and the European Inquisitions are just a few of those deeds. On this day in 1815, the Act of the Holy Alliance was signed by the Czar of Russia, the Emperor of Austro-Hungary, and the King of Prussia. The agreement stated that: “They will consider themselves as members of one and the same Christian nation.” Gradually other Christian monarchs throughout Europe signed the act with the exception of two key figures: Great Britain’s king and the pope himself.

When Jacob Gershowitz’s parents bought a piano for his brother Ira, they quickly discovered that Jacob had a remarkable talent: he could listen to a song, then sit down in front of the keys and tentatively play it. Encouraged by his parents, Jacob took lessons. born on this day in 1898, Jacob Gershowitz found a career in music under the name George Gershwin, and went on to write such masterpieces as Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, and Porgy and Bess—an opera which was highly controversial when it opened as it dealt with the issue of black poverty in the South. Though he passed away in 1937, his music continues to live.

Today marks the birth, in 1774, of a simple American icon. According to popular legend, John Chapman—better known as Johnny Appleseed—slung a sack of apple seeds over his shoulder and set out from his home in New York State. He headed for the frontier, planting trees which would not bear fruit for his consumption, but for anyone who might happen upon them in the future. Chapman gave saplings to the natives and new settlers. In addition to the apple trees and a coterie of medicinal herbs, he planted seeds of a different sort. He would sit under the shade of one of his trees, and invite passers - by to join him while he read passages from the Bible and other books.