THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT THE JULY 4TH INSTALLMENT OF "ELECTION DISAFFECTION, PT. 3" IN WHICH THE BOYS RESURRECT THOMAS JEFFERSON'S CAMPAIGN SONG, AND CROON VOTING RIGHTS DITTIES FROM THE TIMES OF THE 14TH AND 19TH AMENDMENTS.

Ok, tomorrow is July 4th, our 250th year celebration of our Declaration of Independence.  The temperatures are sweltering, both outside and politically. There’s been a lot of talk recently about the nation’s division, using words like “unprecedented,” but going back over elections past over the the last two and a half centuries, you find that to be a recurring American theme. The founding fathers (about whom we’ve heard so many patriotic references lately) were embroiled in their own knock down - drag outs: John Adams “Alien and Sedition Acts” of 1797 … that term sound familiar? Trump was evoking it recently during one of his ploys regarding deportation…. Made it a crime to criticize his administration. It backfired because Adams pissed off the moderates, and in 1800 Thomas Jefferson (the writer of the declaration of Independence) won the office with this “Free Speech” anthem:It seems that the author of our Declaration of Independence might also be dubbed the “author of America’s Ethnic Cleansing policy” In 1801, a few months after taking the oath of office, Jefferson wrote to James Monroe, then governor of Virginia, outlining his American Dream:“White settlers, sturdy independent farmers, will increase in numbers and eventually cover the whole northern, if not southern continent… nor can we contemplate with satisfaction either blot of mixture on that surface,”Moving on…Let’s talk about THE CONSTITUTION for a moment.  You may have heard references to this document that we all, INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT, pledge allegiance to as members of a democracy. It’s a living document that guarantees us all our rights, and which requires a super majority vote by both the House (the people’s house) and the Senate in order to change, and the its only been amended 27 times since its ratification in 1789. Living Document? Does that mean that hard won amendments like the right to vote, which people fought and died for to make us “a more perfect union” - can be taken away if a tyrant finds it a threat to their power? The following songs illustrate the ongoing challenges that opposed, and continue to threaten our right to vote - (the 15th amendment, passed in 1869, which granted the right to African American Men), but which was impeded -  by any means necessary - in Southern states, until 1965 with the passing of a federal ‘Voting Rights Act - (but, is currently being threatened again).And the 19th amendment, finally passed in 1920, which gave this fundamental right to women (half of the population) - after many decades of struggle by the women’s suffrage movement.Hearing these songs again, reminds me to keep some perspective during this broiling holiday season. Thanks for listening everyone. Enjoy your holiday, and stay safe.