The United States Constitution is the cornerstone that supports our liberty. Yet most people are only vaguely aware of all that it specifies and why.

What if the Constitution and the disagreements that led to its crafting could be simply explained in about an hour?

That’s why Round Table Companies, a business begun by Corey Michael Blake, decided to do something about helping people understand complex topics. After Blake was joined in the business by a filmmaker, the men decided to create nonfiction comics (sometimes referred to as graphic novels) that tell important stories about our country.

The United States Constitution

Among the books Round Table Companies produced is an illustrated version of The United States Constitution. The comic is nonfiction, featuring how the founding fathers decided what needed to be in the document.

“The comic includes 100 percent of the original Constitution text as well as an illustrated storyline that depicts how the founding fathers created the document,” says a spokesperson for Round Table. “Narratives of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine and James Madison bring in a human component. This is vital to understanding the development of each article of the Constitution.”

Writing the Constitution was only part of the story. After the founding fathers were satisfied with the document, they needed to return to their home states to have it ratified so that it could become the law of the land. Ratification for initial approval took about nine months. (All 13 states ratified it within two years, by May 29, 1790.)

No Founding Mothers but Women Included

While there were no founding mothers who took part in the convention in Philadelphia, Round Table and the comic’s creators have included women as part of the process that looks to the future.

A female in period clothes is used to depict several of the explanations concerning the power of the Constitution. Women are represented in the sections that address Congress and its responsibilities. There’s no changing the all-male past but it’s good to see both genders represented going forward.

Preparing a Graphic Novel is No Easy Task

Though a reader can absorb the contents of the comic in under an hour, a graphic novel can take years to produce. The text needs to be researched and carefully planned, keeping in mind how and where to use illustrations. Once a written draft is approved, an artist takes over. For this comic, writer Nadja Baer scripted this adaptation. All the artwork was completed by Nathan Leuth.

“While the challenge of presenting the story clearly and simply meant that some detail had to be omitted, I wanted to remain true to what the men were discussing that hot summer in Philadelphia,” says Nadja Baer. “I read first-hand accounts of what transpired and then went on to read what historians had to say about the era and the work underway at the Constitutional Convention.

“Next I read six or seven biographies of the men to be featured in the story. I also read several books about both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I needed to have a solid foundation of knowledge.”

The Importance of Discussion

If students can read the story and absorb the detail without struggle, then this leaves classroom time open for discussion. That’s where Professor Katie Monnin came in.

Dr. Monnin is an educational consultant who specializes in educational engagement and outreach. She was hired to work on the project and put together a curriculum for teachers.  

For Dr. Monnin, the project offered an opportunity to help a company practice what she preaches: “Literacy research shows that we are living through the greatest communication revolution of all time. Just as the printing press transformed communication, all of the technologies being released are creating a similar transformation for us now.

“With the teaching options available today, it is vital that we use both images and text,” says Dr. Monnin. “For a long time, we have known that kids learn on more than one level. Today both schools and publishers are beginning to embrace the fact that material needs to be presented both in text and as a visual in order to seal in learning for the students.

“I have worked with graphic novels for over ten years now, continues Dr. Monnin. “I am most proud of this behind-the-scenes look at the Constitution. The book represents an amazing level of scholarship. It is 100 percent accurate to the Constitution, yet there is a modern feel that makes it relevant to life today.”

More Progress in Education

Dr. Monnin’s work continues to focus on way to help students learn through discussion. She is now involved with www.Kialo-Edu.com,  a free digital platform to make classroom give-and-take more constructive, teach civil discourse, and develop critical thinking skills.

Kialo provides templates for discussions. With questions like “Should IDs be required for Americans to vote?” or “Does traditional media help or hinder public understanding of political issues in the United States?” or “What is the best method for peaceful protest?”

Students are led through a thought process and can make up their own minds based on factual materials. Classroom teachers can pick up on what interests the students and expand from there.

Kialo offers innumerable options on many topics. It has been used in high school and college classrooms throughout the country. Because it is run by a nonprofit, it is entirely free. The website has been in operation since 2011.

It is a great companion to the already-published “The U.S. Constitution: A Round Table Comic.” Click the link to order copies.

To read about the American flag, read Mary Pickersgill: Maker of the Star Spangled Banner.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 forever changed the lives of Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast. Within days, they were ordered to register with government offices. Rumors spread that these American citizens might function as Japanese spies.

The government decided that the proper action was to round up all those of Japanese descent who lived along the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. The citizens were told to sell their goods and divest themselves of their property.

Many were first and second-generation American citizens. The treatment by the government was unheard of and illegal, but the Japanese did not seem to have a choice. The families packed what they could carry and left their homes, not knowing what to expect.

This story is about one man—Fred Korematsu—an American citizen of Japanese descent who recognized that what was happening went against everything America stood for. He decided to do something about it.

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The Korematsu Family

Kakusaburo Korematsu (Fred Korematsu’s father) entered the United States in 1905. The woman he would marry moved from Japan in 1914, and they married soon after. At that time, it was still legal for the Japanese to purchase land, so the family bought 25 acres near Oakland, California. Kakusaburo Korematsu had worked in the flower business, so he began a nursery growing and selling plants and flowers. 

The couple soon had children. The boy known as Fred was the third of four sons. All of the boys attended school but were expected to help at the nursery each week. Toyosaburo “Fred” Korematsu (1919-2005) acquired the name Fred from a teacher who decided his Japanese name was too difficult to pronounce.

The Bombing of Pearl Harbor

In 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, Fred Korematsu wanted to help the United States. He was an American citizen and old enough to enlist. He went to both the National Guard and the Coast Guard to sign up, but he was turned away. The military was not taking men of Japanese descent.

Korematsu realized there had to be other ways to help. The shipbuilding industry in Oakland was booming. More warships were needed. Korematsu trained and was soon employed as a welder at a shipyard.

Government Takes Action

The government began raiding Japanese homes and arresting community leaders. They had no evidence against these people. There was just a fear that they might be spies for the Japanese government. When the police entered the homes of the Japanese —including the Korematsu’s–they impounded items like flashlights and cameras—anything they felt could be used to send messages to the enemy.

Soon an order (Executive Order 9066) was given that the Japanese people on the West Coast were to be moved elsewhere by the government. They were told to bring with them only what they could carry. They needed to give away other possessions and decide what to do with their property.

The Japanese in the Oakland area were alarmed and fearful. They knew what was happening was wrong, but they decided that being a loyal American meant that they needed to obey the order.  They began preparing to leave.

Fred Korematsu Saw Things Differently

Fred Korematsu disagreed with what was happening. He was in love with a woman of Italian descent and didn’t want to leave her—they hoped to marry. Korematsu rented an apartment under an assumed name (Clyde Sarah), saying he was Spanish and Hawaiian.  

In the meantime, his family, friends, and neighbors were being bussed out of the neighborhood. Because the government did not yet have a place for the families to live, they were being taken to area racetracks and would have to live in horse stalls.

In the Oakland area, the people were taken to a racetrack in San Bruno called Tanforan. Just over 8,000 Japanese people were held under military guard at Tanforan. Sixty-four percent of them were American citizens.

Arrested

After a month or so on his own, Fred Korematsu was stopped on the street for questioning. His different name did not convince the police, and the officers took him to the local jail. There was no time to notify Ida (his girlfriend) or his family that he was in prison. Shortly, however, a newspaper reporter wrote about his situation.

A few days later, he received a visit from Ernest Besig, an attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU understood civil rights were taken away from the Japanese on the West Coast. But the organization needed a legal case to bring to court. Fred Korematsu’s situation sounded perfect.

Besig explained to Korematsu that he would not be charged legal fees. All he needed to do was share what happened to him as an American citizen. The ACLU would mount a case challenging the imprisonment of Japanese Americans as unconstitutional.

In Court

At his first court appearance, Korematsu was told that before the imprisonment of others could be addressed, Korematsu must be tried for refusing the government order to go to prison camp. Once that as settled, the ACLU could move on to the illegality of imprisoning American citizens.

Bail for Korematsu was set at $2500, which was covered by the ACLU. But as Fred and Ernest Besig walked out of the courthouse, military police awaited Korematsu. He was arrested again and put in a car to be taken to Tanforan to be held with his family until other arrangements could be made.

Family Uncertain

The Korematsu family was uncertain about welcoming Fred back.  They and their friends felt patriotism involved following the government’s orders. Fred had not done that, and they were ashamed.

But family was family. They made room for Fred in the two horse stalls they shared.

In the meantime, the ACLU and Ernest Besig continued the fight to get the Japanese out of prison camps.

Loses First Court Case

On September 8, 1942, the judge ruled that Fred Korematsu was guilty of disobeying the government’s direct order to report to a prison camp. Besig and the ACLU explained to Fred that they would appeal the decision, but it would take time.  

Topaz, Utah

“Relocation centers” was the term used by the government for the specially-built “towns” for the Japanese-American citizens. Over the course of the war, 120,000 Japanese were held in these centers.

The housing was surrounded by barbed wire. Guard towers overlooked the territory. What’s more, the government selected areas where land was cheap—mostly in hot, arid parts of the country. Few would have wanted the land. If someone did escape, there was really nowhere to go.

The Korematsus and other families from Oakland were sent to Topaz, Utah, located about 150 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

Everyone in the camp was expected to work. Most had jobs at the camp, but a few were allowed to take jobs that were off the property. After Fred Korematsu had been there about three months, he was permitted to leave the camp to pick sugar beets on a nearby farm. It was backbreaking work, but Korematsu was glad to leave the camp for a time each day.

In addition to working, the Japanese put their minds to making the area habitable. They created community centers, places of worship, and they organized baseball and other sports teams to keep people’s spirits up.

Work Rules Loosen

As the war continued, the government loosened the work rules somewhat. While most of the Japanese had no options, a few were able to make a case for why they should leave the relocation centers. Those who had college plans, or a job (not on the West Coast) waiting for them, were usually permitted to leave.

With his skills as a welder, Fred Korematsu made a good case for the fact that he could help the war effort if he could relocate to a city where they needed welders. Eventually, he was permitted to move to Salt Lake City to find work.

Court Case Continues

The ACLU kept trying to revive the court case concerning the wrongful imprisonment of Japanese citizens. Then finally, in March of 1944, the Supreme Court announced that the Korematsu case would be on the autumn docket (the list of cases for the upcoming session.)

Korematsu was not needed for the hearing before the Supreme Court. Everything would be handled by the attorneys, so he relocated to Detroit. He was hired at a Navy yard doing welding on doors for ships.

Besig and the other attorneys would keep him informed.

Bad News

In December of 1944, the Court handed down its opinion. In a 6-3 split decision, the judges ruled that the government’s decision to round up Japanese Americans on the West Coast was a “military necessity.” The decision was made during wartime, so there was no opportunity to investigate who—if anyone—actually posed a threat to the United States.

According to the ruling, these people had to be “removed.”

As the ACLU staff read through the file, the attorneys saw that the report that held great sway was from West Coast commander Lt. General John L. DeWitt. He stated there was concern that local Japanese residents might send messages or reports to Japan, revealing what the United States was doing to prepare for war.

Split Decision

The Supreme Court often has split decisions. At those times, the majority prevails, but the dissenting judges always explain the reason for their dissent. In this decision, three of the judges agreed with the ACLU. They felt that the decision was racist and the rights of Japanese Americans were violated.

Fred Korematsu was devastated. Though he had made the best of his life despite the court issues, he saw the broader precedent-setting impact of what this could do to society: The government could take away the rights of other Americans without needing to find evidence of wrongdoing. (This issue came up again after the attacks of 9-11 as well as in 2016-17, when the government tried to ban travelers from countries where the people were predominantly Muslim.)

After the War

In Detroit, Fred Korematsu had a good job and met a woman named Kathryn. They both hoped to move to California, but because Kathryn was white, laws in California would not permit them to marry. They married in Detroit where it was legal before moving to Oakland.  

Because Fred Korematsu was convicted of a crime, there were certain jobs for which he was ineligible. However, he was hired as a draftsman for a builder in Oakland, and when he could, he took on side jobs to add more to the family income. He attended church regularly, joined the Lions Club, and helped build the Little League organization in which his children played.

Life Continues

Though life in Oakland was good, Korematsu remained puzzled as to why the Supreme Court voted against him. It was clear that the rights of Japanese Americans were violated.

The fact that the Japanese were able to return to their homes after the war was not good enough. Their lives were disrupted, and neighborhoods were destroyed. Few got their land or possessions back.

Where was the justice? He often thought about whether there was a way to re-open his court case.

Important Phone Call

Reporters sometimes called Korematsu, wanting to write his story, but he generally turned them down. One day in January of 1982—almost 40 years since the Supreme Court ruling—Fred received a phone call from an attorney who asked to meet with him.

To Korematsu, something about this call seemed different. He agreed to the meeting.

When attorney Peter Irons (1940- ) arrived at the Korematsu house, he presented Fred with some long-forgotten government papers relating to the Korematsu case that he and researcher Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga uncovered in the National Archives.

Irons gave Korematsu time to read through and digest the material.

Fred Korematsu saw what Irons and his researcher discovered. The legal case presented to the Supreme Court in the 1940s was not based on fact. In presenting the case against Korematsu and the Japanese, the military and the attorneys indicated they held evidence that the Japanese in the U.S. were messaging or sending word to the Japanese military about U.S. efforts for the war.  

They did not.

Newly Discovered Documents

In the newly discovered documents, West Coast commander General DeWitt noted that the government actually did not yet have much evidence. DeWitt stated that the Department of Justice would not permit thorough searches of the homes and businesses along the West Coast. The general felt there was still every reason to believe that ship-to-shore messaging was going on.

It was clear to Peter Irons and his team that there was no concrete evidence. The government was simply excusing what they wanted to do, which was remove the Japanese. The case was based purely on speculation and seemed outright racist.

For that, Japanese lives were upended, and family finances were destroyed. For four long years, Japanese Americans were sent to “relocation centers” in some of driest, least desirable parts of our country. The people were treated as prisoners. The locations were surrounded by barbed wire, and they were guarded at all times.

What’s more, the majority of the people swept up in this operation were American citizens.

Working the Case

Peter Irons and Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga spent two years uncovering more research and building a team of young lawyers who believed in Korematsu’s cause.  They moved forward with optimism, but everyone involved knew that a loss would be devastating to Fred Korematsu and the Japanese population.

Case Heard in Federal Court in San Francisco

In January of 1983, the case was taken up by a judge in San Francisco’s Federal Court.

Korematsu took part in the trial and addressed the major issue at hand: “We can never forget this incident as long as we live. The horse stalls that we stayed in were made for horses, not human beings. 

“As long as my record stands in federal court, any American citizen can be held in prison or a concentration camp without a trial or a hearing. That is, if they look like the enemy of this country. Therefore, I would like to see the government do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Judge Marilyn Hall Patel sided with Fred Korematsu and his team. Government lawyers in the 1940s did not actually have evidence that there was “military necessity” to round up and hold Japanese Americans.  Judge Patel wrote: “Korematsu’s case “stands as a caution that in times of international hostility and antagonisms our institutions, legislative, executive, and judicial, must…protect all citizens from the petty fears and prejudices that are so easily aroused.” 

The judge also overturned Korematsu’s conviction for not reporting to prison camp.

Korematsu Continues The Work

Fred Korematsu won his case, but he knew that his job was not finished. What happened to the Japanese could happen to other Americans at a different time.  He dedicated himself to traveling the country to tell the story of his injustice.  His entire family worked alongside him.

Other Japanese Americans joined Korematsu and told their stories. Five years later, the U.S. government passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and offered a public apology for imprisoning innocent citizens and admitted to the government’s wrongdoing. The law also provided reparations: Each Japanese American still living who had been imprisoned was to receive $20,000 each. (This was not much when weighed against the losses of the Japanese.)

Presidential Medal

On January 15, 1998, President Bill Clinton honored Fred Korematsu with the highest award that can be presented to a civilian—the Presidential Medal of Freedom.   

Still a Problem

Because the ruling in federal court was favorable to Korematsu, there was no need to appeal to the Supreme Court. However, the Korematsu and the ACLU were well aware that at some point the lower court ruling might not be enough.

The highest court in the land still stands behind the 1945 Supreme Court decision that the government was justified in arresting and imprisoning Japanese even without cause.

Dissenting Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson wrote in his opinion at the time that if not overturned, the 1945 decision “lies around like a loaded weapon.” It remain a ruling that could be used to enforce or excuse discrimination at any time.

Fred T. Korematsu Institute

Fred and Kathryn Korematsu’s children, Ken and Karen, knew the importance of their father’s work. In 2009, the family formed the Fred T. Korematsu Institute. Its purpose is to educate and promote civic partnership that advances racial equity, social justice, and human rights for all.

Karen Korematsu currently runs the organization. She spends her days working to make sure that what happened to her father does not happen to other Americans.   In an Op Ed in the New York Times in February of 2017, she wrote:

“I have taken on my father’s work to remind Americans what happens when our Constitution is ignored in the name of national security….Let us come together to reject discrimination based on religion, race or national origin, and to oppose the mass deportation of people who look or pray differently from the majority of Americans.”

***

Despite government’s attitude toward the Japanese, many of the men wanted to fight for the United States. Read about Joe Sakato who was a member of the esteemed 442nd Infantry, a highly-honored all-Japanese unit. Sakoto received the Medal of Honor posthumously.

Jackie Robinson was the first Black major league baseball player, but he was almost prevented from getting to his first spring training in 1946.  

In 1945, Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signed Robinson to a contract with the Montreal Royals. If he played well there, he had a shot at the majors. But when Robinson left Los Angeles on his way to Daytona Beach, Florida, Jim Crow customs blocked his way.

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Traveling From California

Jackie Robinson signed the Royals contract in the autumn of 1945, and he spent the winter in Los Angeles. He was expected in Daytona Beach in March of 1946. He and his girlfriend Rachel Isum decided they wanted to get married before they left L.A. Two weeks after the wedding, the two of them boarded an American Airlines flight in Los Angeles on their way to Florida.

As Daniel L. Rust explains in his book, Flying Across America, airplanes in the 1940s could not fly across the country without several stops to re-fuel. When they stopped in New Orleans, Robinson and his wife were not permitted to re-board with the rest of the other passengers. In the New Orleans airport, they talked to ticket agents looking for another flight. When time passed and they wanted to buy lunch, they were refused service in the coffee shop.

Finally a ticket agent got them on a flight out of New Orleans, but it didn’t leave until the next day—and it only went as far as Pensacola. With little choice and no place to sleep, the Robinsons waited for the next day’s flight.

In Pensacola, they were greeted with more bad news. The couple was told no airplane would take them. The Robinsons needed to find another means of transportation.

They completed their trip to Daytona Beach, riding in the back of a segregated bus.

No Official Segregation Laws for Airlines

We often read about Rosa Parks’ refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, but very little is written about what happened to Blacks who wanted to board an airplane. They fared no better than Parks did on the buses.

Jim Crow laws, enacted in southern states by the turn of the 20th century prohibited Black and white people from “comingling” on trains, streetcars, and buses. Perhaps because the airline industry was new, there were no similar laws in place for air travel. Nonetheless, it was not easy for an African American to buy a plane ticket.

If a Black person did manage to buy one, the airline personnel attempted to seat them separately so that white people were not sitting next to them. (Planes must not have been as crowded then.)

Athletes Pushed Color Line

Sports figures were among the early Blacks to push the color line in the air. Professional sports had quickly adapted to using air travel as it meant that game scheduling could be tightened up because it was easier for teams to arrive at their various destinations quickly.

Ten years later, jazz great Ella Fitzgerald fared little better. She won an out-of-court settlement against Pan American Airlines in 1956 when the airline refused to honor her group’s first-class tickets. They put them on the airplane but in coach, instead of the premium seats the popular singer paid for.

Segregated by Custom

Like train stations and bus stations in the South, the airport services in southern states were segregated through the 1950s. Black passengers could not get served in airport restaurants, and there were separate waiting rooms and rest room facilities as well.

In 1960, a Supreme Court ruling specified that airports were subject to federal standards. A study of airports in the South was undertaken. It showed that some form of segregation existed in 7 of the 14 states studied. By the mid-1960s all airports in the United States were officially desegregated.

In 1961, an article in The New York Times (6-28-61) noted that New Orleans airport practices were under review. The Justice Department ruled that the airport violated a nondiscrimination clause they agreed to when they accepted federal funding for the new airport.

The New Orleans manager is quoted as saying, “We will serve Negroes in the coffee shop.” The article goes on to explain: “Until a few days ago Negroes wishing to eat in the International Room or the coffee shop were shunted off to a six-stool snack bar at which cellophane-wrapped cookies, sandwiches, and coffee in paper cups are sold.”

Denied Jobs, Too

Until the late 1950s, Blacks were denied jobs aboard airliners. Until the increasing pressure from the civil rights movement Black applicants were relegated to airport jobs such as skycap (bag handler). The first Black flight attendant was hired by Mohawk Airlines in 1957. Mohawk was a local feeder line in New York. At the time of her hiring, the New York State Commission Against Discrimination had on its docket 17 complaints from “Negro girls” [sic] who had been turned down for stewardess positions.

As Rosa Parks and the civil rights workers knew, change comes about only after many people push back, one incident at a time.

Standing Bear (Ma-chu-nah-zha), a chief among the Ponca Tribe in the mid-19^th century, found himself imprisoned illegally for leaving Indian Territory to take his only son’s body home. The tribe was moved from their homeland by military force in 1877, though the Ponca had full ownership of their land in what is now Nebraska.

The Ponca people were a law-abiding, intelligent people who met most governmental requests with some form of accommodation. But the government was intent on moving Native Americans to areas that opened land for white settlers.

A father taking his son’s bones home to be buried became a cause white men could identify with, and eventually two pro bono attorneys helped Standing Bear make a legal case against the government.

Federal Judge Elmer Dundy decided in Standing Bear’s favor. He wrote that there was nothing wrong with [Native Americans] wanting to maintain their homeland on which they held title. He summarized saying that citizen’s rights “extend to the Indian as well as to the more fortunate white race.”

This was a landmark legal case and the first time a Native American was recognized as a citizen. It was a strong first step for the tribes, but it was not until 1924 and the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act that all Indians born in the United States were declared citizens.

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About the Ponca Tribe

The Ponca were once a part of the Omaha Tribe, from which they separated amicably. The Ponca homeland in the mid-1800s was in a fertile area along the Niobrara River near what eventually became the state line between Nebraska and South Dakota.

They lived in earth lodges and raised much of their own food. During the cold winter months, they went on buffalo hunts on the plains north of their homeland.

Governance of the tribe was accomplished by a group of chiefs, each of whom assumed specific responsibilities.  Standing Bear’s father had been a chief and Standing Bear (1829-1908) became one of the ten chiefs when his father died. He also had a brother, Big Snake.

The Ponca Tribe believed in peaceful transactions with others, including their neighbors and the U.S. government.

Like most other tribes, the Poncas were being moved around by the U.S. government during the 19^th century. In 1858, the Ponca granted the government access to their hunting grounds, and in turn, they received title to their homeland on the Niobrara River.  However, by 1865, the government had already violated that agreement, moving the Poncas down river to a less desirable spot.

Desire for Land by the Government

As early as 1854 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, an increasing number of white settlers were moving West. The federal government had long discussed plans for relocating the Native Americans to land that could be considered their own (reservations). Some of the land was rich and fertile like the Black Hills were, other land was deemed theirs because it was less desirable than land the white settlers might want.

In 1875, Indian Agent A.J. Carrier spoke with President Ulysses Grant about moving the Ponca Tribe to Indian Territory (modern day Oklahoma). Carrier knew the Ponca were not pleased with having been moved off the land agreed to in the Treaty of 1858. He thought perhaps Indian Territory would solve this problem.

But other matters were more pressing. After the Battle of Little Bighorn, the government continued to fight with the Sioux for access to the gold in the Black Hills.  Eventually a settlement was reached giving certain additional land to the Sioux and the Lakota who had helped them. The Lakota Tribe was given the land that legally was still assigned to the Ponca.

It was up to Indian agent Carrier, soon joined by Indian Inspector E.C. Kemble, to begin moving the Ponca off the land along the river. Initial discussions went badly for the government. The Ponca chiefs were clear and in complete agreement with each other. They were not going to move.

Agent Meeting with the Chiefs

The Ponca had done as the government asked. They built houses like the White men’s homes, and they continued farming as they had done for many years. They were good neighbors to the nearby tribes as well as the white settlers. There was no reason for them to move on.

After a three-month stand-off by the chiefs, the agents finally got the men to agree to visit Indian Territory to look at the land.

The chiefs signed an agreement that they would accompany the agents to survey the new territory. The government agent, however, reported to Washington that the men had signed a document saying they would visit and then begin to relocate.

Journey to Indian Territory

After an arduous winter journey accompanied by the government agents, the Ponca chiefs arrived in Indian Territory and saw the barren land. They also met with other tribes that were relocated. These people shared how their tribes were decimated by malaria, which prevailed in the area.

After viewing several potential properties, the chiefs told the Indian agent they were not going to continue. They planned to return to their homeland and remain there. 

Refused to Continue

The Chiefs’ refusal angered the agents who feared for their jobs. They had told the men in Washington that the Ponca would move—it was just a matter of time. Inspector Kemble refused to give the Chiefs money for train tickets to go home.

Standing Bear and the other chiefs were not deterred. They made plans for several of the chiefs to leave together in the middle of the night. They had few provisions, no map, and little money for buying train tickets to ease their journey. All they knew was to try to follow the railroad tracks. The weather was poor, and they sometimes had to retrace their steps, but the chiefs were angry and determined.

Telegram to the President

As part of wanting the Native Americans to assimilate, the government encouraged tribes across the land to learn English. This gave the Ponca a tool they would use well.  

As they left Indian Territory, they sent a letter to a local newspaper explaining how they had been treated. President Rutherford B. Hayes was now President. They also spent some of their funds to send a telegram to President Rutherford B. Hayes, who was now president. The telegram outlined what they had been through. They did not believe the great white father would expect them to give up their rights to an area they called home.

They received no response from President Hayes, but Hayes took some action. He met with the government administrators in charge of the West to see if there were any better options for the Ponca. No conclusion was reached.

Panic Among the Government Agents

The Indian agents were alarmed when they saw that eight of the chiefs departed. They did not want these men to reach their people to tell their side of the story.  The agents sent word to the military to begin moving the Ponca off their land.

The chiefs arrived home amidst the chaos, and many tears were shed among their people. Standing Bear and his brother were imprisoned for a brief period of time. But the agent was soon told he could not hold the Indians without cause.

But the Indian agents were determined. The tribe had to move. The Ponca were to use their own wagons, loading up what they could. They had to leave behind farm equipment, and many household possessions. They sadly closed the doors on the homes they built where they expected to spend the rest of their lives.

The tribe was marched at bayonet-point to Indian Territory.  As many as one-third of the tribe died during the march. For many the trip was too arduous. Others came down with tuberculosis and no medical help was available. Among those who died were Standing Bear’s wife and also his grown daughter, Prairie Flower.

Indian Territory

When the Ponca were brought by the agents to their assigned land in Indian Territory, it was mid-summer. It was too late to plant crops, and there was very little wood for building shelters. The government provided tents, but those were soon in tatters from the high winds and rain.  During the winter of 1878, Standing Bear’s son, Bear Shield, died.

Bear Shield’s Wish

Before he died, Bear Shield asked his father, “please take me home to be buried in our homeland.” No father would want to deny their child’s final request.

Standing Bear and several other tribe members packed up quickly to carry Bear Shield’s body home to the sacred ground where other Ponca family members were interred. They did not ask for governmental permission as they were returning to their former land.

Again, the weather was horrendous, making the travel difficult.

Brigadier General Crook

When the Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz heard that Native Americans left their new reservation without permission, he ordered Brigadier General George Crook to follow and catch them. The orders were to force them back to Indian Territory.

General Crook had achieved a fearsome reputation as an Indian fighter, but he had been in the West so long that he began to see things differently. He witnessed how heartless the government was to the various tribes and took pity on them. But Crook was an obedient military man and was not going to openly defy his superiors.

By the time, the military caught up with the Chiefs, the Ponca had stopped for a brief respite with friends in the Omaha tribe, helping where they could.

General Crook saw the sad state of the chiefs—several were in poor health, and no one had adequate clothing. Crook decided to imprison the men in the Omaha Barracks to give them time to recover.

Standing Bear was said to have been working in the fields when he was arrested.

Crook’s Next Move

According to Joe Starita, Indian expert and author of I am a Man: Chief Standing Bear’s Journey for Justice, General Crook took steps that would change the nature of events. One night after the arrest, Crook stopped in at the Omaha Daily Herald newspaper to pay his respects to the editor, Thomas Henry Tibbles. According to Starita, Crook explained to Tibbles about the Ponca unfair imprisonment. He suggested there was a story there about a father being denied his right to take the bones of his son home for burial.

 The next day, Tibbles (1840-1928) paid a call to Fort Omaha to visit the tribe members.  That night he went back to his office and began writing. But his story would not be published for a couple of days. It was a Sunday, and as a pastor, he knew the power of the pulpit. He spent Sunday going from church to church in Omaha, explaining the Ponca plight.

Tibbles Was Moved by the Predicament

Thomas Tibbles also tapped into the legal community. As editor of the newspaper, he knew almost everyone in town. He stopped in to visit John L. Webster, a friend and an attorney. Webster was interested in what Tibbles told him, so he reached out to another local attorney, Andrew J. Poppleton, chief attorney of the Union Pacific Railroad.  

While Standing Bear and the other chiefs fully understood that wrong had been done them on multiple occasions, Tibbles and the attorneys met with Standing Bear and explained the legal steps that could be taken. The three men felt a strong case could be made for unfair imprisonment and coercion of the tribe. Webster and Poppleton agreed to work pro bono. With Standing Bear’s agreement, Webster and Poppleton prepared a writ of habeas corpus and filed it with the U.S. District Court in Omaha.

Not Just Any Judge

Tibbles also knew that not just any judge should hear the case. The judge he wanted, however, was bear hunting. Tibbles worked his local network among frontiersmen and mountain men, and soon Judge Elmer Dundy was located. He agreed to return to Omaha to hear the case. 

Serving as Standing Bear’s interpreter was Susette LaFlesche, the eldest daughter in the La Flesche family (Omaha tribe) and sister to the first woman doctor, Susan La Flesche Picotte. 

The Trial

In late April of 1879, the trial known as United States ex rel. Standing Bear v. Crook took place. (Though Crook was sympathetic, he was also the one who carried out the government order.)

The attorneys argued that the Native Americans should be covered by the Fourteenth Amendment.

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The courtroom was packed. Local people and reporters from distant newspapers were there. As the trial was ending, the judge announced that Standing Bear had requested speaking on his own behalf.

With Susette La Flesche serving as interpreter, Standing Bear held out his right hand as if with an offering and spoke quietly but forcefully:  

‘That hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. If you pierce your hand, you also feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be of the same color as yours. I am a man. We are made by the same God.”

Landmark Decision

It was after 10 p.m. when Judge Dundy closed the courtroom, announcing that it would take a few days for him to review all the material. Dundy had treaties to review, government reports, and of course, all the testimony to re-read.

On May 12, 1879, Judge Dundy ruled that the federal had failed to show a basis under law for the Poncas’ arrest and captivity and that “an Indian is a person” within the meaning of the law. It was a landmark case, establishing that the Ponca were people and entitled to its rights and protections.

When the decision was announced, author Starita wrote that General Crook stood and went over and shook Standing Bear’s hand.

Among the newspapers covering the trial was the Kenosha, Wisconsin Telegraph. The reporter wrote: “Judge Dandy…said that before the case was tried, that during his 15 years of judgeship he had never been called on to decide a case ich excited so much sympathy in his heart. On the one side was the poor Indian asking for liberty and on the other side a Christian nation trying to send him back to the Indian Territory.” (Kenosha Telegram, May 29, 1879.)

Dundy’s Decision

With that, General Crook set the tribesmen free. Standing Bear wanted to continue his trip as soon as possible, but he owed a debt to Tibbles and the two attorneys. Because he had no money, he selected several of his possessions to present to Tibbles and the two attorneys in appreciation.

He and the Ponca then started for their homeland.

But after they left, Tibbles realized the ruling left some details unresolved and that Standing Bear may not have fully grasped some legal issues. He needed to follow them to explain.

He went to the Omaha people and asked to borrow two of their fastest horses.  Eight hours later, he and his companion caught up with Standing Bear’s group who had paused for the night. Tibbles explained that while they could no longer be held prisoner, they did not yet have a place to go. Their former land—though now abandoned by the Lakota—was not yet theirs. If they were to set foot on it, they could be re-arrested.

With that, Standing Bear and his people set up camp along the Niobrara River opposite the land that had been theirs.  Soon they identified an island in the river that was owned by no one. They moved their camp there.

The Poncas That Remained in Indian Territory

The Ponca that remained in Indian Territory were doing the best they could, but it was a struggle. Big Snake, Standing Bear’s brother, tired of the area, and decided he would live with the Cheyenne. 

When the newly assigned Indian agent, William Whiteman, heard Big Snake intended to move, he ordered the man arrested.  Big Snake was at the agent’s office at the time. He resisted arrest and was shot at close range. He died on the floor of the goverenment office.

After the Verdict

The courtroom had been filled and there was heightened interest from newspapers in the East. Henry Tibbles knew he needed to spread the word. After returning from his mad dash to warn Standing Bear, he set off for the East on a hastily planned lecture tour. He saw that the story was beginning to have some effect.

Tibbles also ran an article in his newspaper, highlighting quotes from a lengthy article about the case by John A. Owen in The Chicago Tribune:

“The Government has so often violated its treaties and contracts with the Indians that such violation creates no surprise in the minds of the American people. We have become so demoralized in our ideas, both of absolute right and of civil law, that the average white man, as he looks over the Western Territories and sees an Indian reservation which is guaranteed to a tribe by as solemn a contract as a sovereign nation can execute, ratified by the august Senate of the United States, and proclaimed as the law of the land by the President, regards all this as but a trifling obstacle in the way of his taking possession of it.”

East Coast Lecture Tour

Tibbles was pleased with the reaction to his brief lecture tour about the case, but he returned to explain to Standing Bear and his interpreter, Susette La Flesche, that they needed to come with him on the next trip.

Though La Flesche was later to marry Tibbles, they were unmarried at the time. Her father reluctantly gave permission for her to go, but only if her brother was part of the traveling group.

With that, Standing Bear, Tibbles, Susette La Flesche and her brother journeyed from city to city along the East Coast telling the story of the Ponca and other tribes.

Standing Bear looked every inch the part, wearing his headdress and his bear tooth necklace. Over time, he picked up some English so that he could tell part of the story on his own.

Return to the Niobrara River

After several months, traveling from city to city, Standing Bear missed his people and his life along the river. His brother Big Snake was murdered during this time, and he wanted to return to the familiar.

When he got back to the island where the tribe had determined they could live without special permission, Standing Bear was in for a surprise. About 170 Ponca remained in the area and lived on the island. They crossed the river each day. With farm equipment borrowed from the Omaha people, they planted 250 acres of crops. 

Though the land ownership was still uncertain, Standing Bear’s people had outdone themselves doing what the Ponca people do best—being peacefully self-sufficient.

Congressional Investigations

Ultimately, there were two Congressional investigations about the Ponca, including one focused on the death of Big Snake. The government eventually made two separate arrangements. The Ponca who had remained in Indian Territory were given title to their land there. And Standing Bear was finally given back the rights to the Ponca land that the government had given to the Lakota.

And out of all this, came an awareness of the fact that the original landholders in this country were not being well-treated.

As Brigadier General George Crock said: “It seems to me an odd feature of our judicial system that the only people in this country who have no right under the law are the original owners of the soil: an Irishman, German, Chinaman, Turk, or Tartar will be protected in life and property, but the Indian commands respect for his rights only so long as he inspires terror from the rifle.”

Standing Bear

Standing Bear lived in the allotted land in Nebraska for the rest of his life. Since his death from oral cancer did not occur until 1908, he was alive to be aware of some of the ways in which he was honored as waterways and land areas were named for him.

There is now a Chief Standing Bear Memorial Bridge, a Missouri National Recreational River and several other places named in his honor. 

 In the mid-1990s, a memorial park in Ponca City, Oklahoma, was named for Chief Standing Bear. There is a museum there that explains his story.

Statuary Hall in Washington

And now, Standing Bear is honored in Washington, D.C. Statuary Hall features two notable people from each state. Standing Bear was added in 2019 to replace William Jennings Bryan. A statue of Willa Cather will soon be the other Nebraskan commemorated. 

In the meantime, a group in Lincoln, Nebraska, wanted a local way to tell Standing Bear’s story. They created a website, filmed a new documentary, and put together a fundraising package to raise money for a Chief Standing Bear Trail that will go from Chief Standing Bear’s homeland in Nebraska through Kansas and into Oklahoma.

The group writes that they see it as a way to expand awareness of this man who gave so much order to fight for citizenship for Native Americans. For more information about this project, click Chief Standing Bear.org.

The history of modern-day presidential debates is actually quite a short one.

While the names Lincoln and Douglas frequently come to mind when one thinks of a debate among esteemed politicians, the Great Debates of 1858, as they were called, were actually held for voters who were selecting the next senator of Illinois. Stephen A. Douglas won the election, but the story of the debates lives on. The men discussed so many of the issues that came to the to the fore during the Civil War that the men’s remarks are frequently quoted. 

However, no precedent was set by those debates. We need to jump forward by more than one hundred years—to 1960—before the United States held its first presidential debate. 

Here’s how it came about.

The Push for a Debate

In 1956, a University of Maryland student by the name of Fred A. Kahn, floated out the idea that a face-to-face debate between the presidential candidates would help voters make up their minds on the vote.

Kahn did what he could to get the idea rolling. In a telephone interview in 2012, he told me:

“I wrote up ten reasons why there should be a presidential debate,” said Kahn. He approached members of both political parties for endorsement of the idea, contacting Eleanor Roosevelt to represent the Democrats, and getting in touch with the Republican Governor of Maryland Theodore McKeldin, who had nominated Dwight Eisenhower at the Republican convention.

“I also contacted the press,” says Kahn. “I sent my information and the endorsements to the AP and UPI. [the major news services of the day].”

Unfortunately, the Maryland Board of Regents that oversees the university stepped in and ruled that no political speeches could be scheduled on campus. (A previous experience with a politician who launched his candidacy from the University of Maryland made them gun-shy.) Administrators pointed out that most college students could not vote anyway. Eighteen-year-olds did not receive the right to vote until 1971.

Debate Scheduled for 1960

But as the next presidential campaign neared, Kahn’s idea took root. In 1960, the nonpartisan League of Women Voters began what has become a campaign tradition. (Now, however, the debates are overseen by a separate Presidential Commission.)

That year, Republican Richard Nixon and Democrat John F. Kennedy, were in a close race. A debate seemed very appropriate.

Debate Result

What is sometimes forgotten about this first debate between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy is that there were two versions of who won.

Nixon was hospitalized earlier in the month for a knee injury. To the television audience, he looked haggard and worn out. Those who watched the debate felt the Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy had presented himself admirably. He looked like a winner.

But radio listeners felt differently. Those people who only listened to the debate felt Richard Nixon was the better candidate.

This split in opinion signaled the fact that television was going to forever change the process of campaigning. Politicians now are highly aware that how they look is very important to the campaign process.

Debates Discontinued, Then Started Again

Presidential debates were not held in 1964, 1968, and 1972, though there were some intra-party debates held during the primaries. By 1976, there was talk of scheduling a presidential debate again. The League of Women Voters was again to sponsor it. 

Representatives of Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter and Republican incumbent President Gerald Ford agreed on a schedule of three debates. Each debate would be devoted to a separate topic.

Afterward, the debate focusing foreign policy was considered a game-changer. Ford noted that “there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration.” Ford was unable to recover from this blunder. Carter went on to win the election.

Debates Continued

The League remained sponsors of the debates in 1980 and 1984, but then things turned ugly. Even before the announcement of the two candidates for 1988 (Republican vice-presidential incumbent George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis), there was a lot of push and pull from the political parties over the details of the debates.

In 1987, the League pulled out with a very pointed announcement about the fact that the debates were no longer independent events: “It has become clear to us that the candidates’ organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity, and answers to tough questions…” The statement concluded by saying that the League could no longer be an “accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.”

Today the debates are sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a group that is made up of former chairs of both the Democratic and Republican National Committees.

But let’s go back to learn a little more about Fred Kahn, the University of Maryland student who originally pushed for the idea of presidential debates. It’s a purely American story.

Fred Kahn’s Story

Kahn was born in 1932 to Jewish parents in Germany, just 40 days before Hitler came to power. His parents fled to Belgium to escape the Nazis. Because traveling with a newborn would have put them all at risk, they left the baby with a childless aunt and uncle eager to care for him. The political situation did not improve so returning for their son became unworkable. In 1938, with the signing of the Munich Pact (with Great Britain and France agreeing to many of Hitler’s demands), circumstances for Jews in Germany became more dire.

Kahn’s father was a competitive bridge player and well-known internationally. He took advantage of his connections to rescue his son.  It was arranged for a family friend, a Christian, to bring Fritz Kahn by tram to the German border. The family felt that guards might not object to a six-year-old child without proper paperwork coming across the border to his waiting parents. 

When Fritz and the woman arrived, his father implored the guards to let the young boy cross, calling, “C’est mon fils!” Slowly, Fritz left the woman who brought him and crossed over to the father he had never known.  

The family spent the next several years in hiding. When Fritz was 19, he emigrated from Belgium to the United States.

Once in the U.S., Kahn was drafted almost immediately. He was willing to serve, but the military discharged him when they learned he was not a citizen. Fred Kahn realized military service would give him his citizenship papers. Knowing that, he willingly returned to a military office and enlisted.  When he reported to Fort Bragg, the officers learned of his language expertise. He was immediately assigned to a U.S. intelligence unit in Europe. 

After the War

In the early 1950s, Fred Kahn returned to the United States. He had his citizenship papers and wanted to attend college. He was accepted at Johns Hopkins and wanted to attend this top-rated school, he knew that even with the G.I. Bill, the costs would be too much.

Instead, he enrolled in the University of Maryland. He did well and became vice president of the International Club. It was from this position that he launched his plan for a presidential debate.

Kahn graduated from the University of Maryland and was given a Woodrow Wilson fellowship which permitted him to get a graduate degree from his dream school, Johns Hopkins. He then went on to a 30-year career as a political economist, helping to create the Job Corps for the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity. Kahn also worked for the Department of Labor. In 2005, the governor of Maryland appointed Kahn to a new state task force to implement Holocaust, genocide, human rights, and tolerance education.

Fred Kahn, Exemplary U.S. Citizen

Now in retirement, Fred Kahn devotes his time to reminding people of the horrors of the Holocaust so that it will not be repeated.

He is a role model for us all. He chose U.S. citizenship, served in our military, worked for the U.S. government, and now donates his time to an important purpose.

In our phone interview, I asked Kahn for his best advice to others. He replied without hesitation:

“Lots of people have good ideas but they don’t always do what is necessary to get them out there. If there is something that is important to you, get behind it — pursue your ideas.”

Because Fred Kahn did, we now have presidential debates to help us select our candidate.

For more stories about our voting process, see Political Conventions: A Look Way Back.

Lionel Barrymore had a long and successful acting career. From the silent era through the early 1950s, he primarily played character roles in films. Barrymore also directed films and composed music. While he would have loved a career in the fine arts, he made do with hobbies that kept him involved in painting and the graphic arts.

Barrymore was injured in the mid-1930s. This ultimately caused a shift in his career as he became more comfortable with a wheelchair. For almost half of the one hundred films in which he acted, he delivers all his dialogue while sitting down, or he uses a wheelchair. Yet little was made of it by the press, and the audiences clearly didn’t mind.

As The New York Times wrote in his obituary: “It was a tribute to his popularity and ability that parts were written around him, and audiences never questioned the appearance of an actor in a wheelchair.”

Lionel Barrymore’s Early Life

Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954) was born in Philadelphia into the well-known acting family, the Barrymores. (The Barrymore name was retrieved from a deceased relative and established as the family’s stage name.) His parents were both actors—Maurice Blyth and Georgiana Drew. All three of their offspring went into acting. Lionel became a great character actor. Youngest brother, John (1882-1942), played many leading roles and was known for his great looks and famous profile.

Sister Ethel (1879-1959) preferred the stage, and in a career lasting six decades, she earned the title of “First Lady of the American Theater.”

Lionel worked in the theater as a teenager, but he did not intend to continue in the “family business.” As a young man, he moved to Paris and studied art for several years. When he saw that he was not going to earn a decent living with painting, he returned to the U.S. and went back to acting. An early introduction to D.W. Griffith garnered him parts in many silent films.

Barrymore also directed. His first film was His Secret in 1913. Throughout the next two decades, he continued to direct while also acting. In 1929, he won an Academy Award nomination for his directorial work on Madame X.

Two years later, he won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in A Free Soul (1931). Over time his acting career was to predominate.

Barrymore’s Injuries

Lionel Barrymore suffered physically and emotionally in 1936. He broke his hip in an accident, and in December of that year, he lost his beloved wife, Irene Fenwick Barrymore (1887-1936), who was only 49.

The following year, he was filming the movie, Saratoga with Clark Gable and Jean Harlow; he tripped over a cable and broke his hip for the second time.  Repairs for this type of injury were rudimentary then.  Barrymore was plagued with arthritis since the late 1920s, so the second accident meant that he never really recovered. From that time on, it was very painful to walk. He used crutches occasionally but soon settled into the wheelchair full time.

By the date of the accidents, Barrymore had been part of the MGM family for many years. He worked for Louis B. Mayer even before 1924 when MGM was created. The two men had a long and good friendship.

Mayer knew Barrymore was a valuable property to the studio, so Mayer put out the word. Scripts for Barrymore should take into account that he wasn’t comfortable walking.

The studio was happy to keep him working.

Dr. Kildare Movies

In 1938, MGM acquired the rights to the character of Dr. Kildare, based on a book by Max Brand. Scriptwriters amended the story line to be about a young doctor making his way at a city hospital under the watchful eye of his mentor, Dr. Gillespie. Barrymore was cast in the role of Gillespie. Dr. Kildare was played by Lew Ayres.

These movies were highly successful, so additional scripts were prepared. In all of these movies, Barrymore uses his wheelchair but that is never the focus of the story.

In 1942, the war brought about unanticipated changes. Kildare actor Lew Ayres was drafted, but he refused to go. He was a conscientious objector and did not want to fight.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the pro-America war sentiment meant that the public turned against Ayres. He was removed from the films, and the Dr. Kildare films that followed focused on Dr. Leonard Gillespie. (Ayres did serve in the military but as a medic and a chaplain’s assistant. This permitted him to return to his career.)

Dust Up with the Roosevelts

Though Barrymore supported Franklin Roosevelt’s early campaigns for president, his sentiment changed in 1944. In 1944 he actively campaigned for the Republican candidate, Thomas Dewey. This did not sit well with the Roosevelt family.

Two years later when MGM was preparing a film about FDR, the press knew that Barrymore was likely to be cast to be Franklin Roosevelt. A phone call to MGM from Mrs. Roosevelt got Barrymore pulled from the film.

This was only a minor setback in Barrymore’s career. In 1946, Barrymore played the villainous Henry Potter in the Frank Capra classic, It’s a Wonderful Life. Potter was not written as a character in a wheelchair, but when Barrymore was cast in the role, he made it work very successfully.

Two years later he appeared as the hotel owner in Key Largo. That film starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Barrymore went on to make thirteen more films before the end of his life.

During his last two decades, he also played the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in annual broadcasts of A Christmas Carol and was well-remembered for that role.

Successes in Other Fields

In addition to his long list of acting credits and his 1929 nomination for best director, Barrymore succeeded in several other fields. He loved composing music, and several of his compositions were performed by professional orchestras. One of these was “In Memoriam,” written in 1942 on the occasion of his brother’s death. It was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. A few of his compositions were also used in films.

Though painting never brought him professional success, Barrymore continued to work in graphic arts. Several of his prints were recognized by the Society of American Etchers.

Barrymore’s Contribution to Film Industry

It is unfortunate that the film industry has been so slow to follow the great example set by Lionel Barrymore and those who continued to hire him. We are now 75 years from the time when Barrymore demonstrated that an actor in a wheelchair could still bring an important story to audiences. Our progress since that time should be greater.

The story of the invention of the wheelchair is not what you would expect. Click here to read The Wheelchair: Who Thought of It?