Richard Kreitner

richardkreitner

Richard Kreitner is a contributing writer and the author of Break It Up: Secession, Division, and the Secret History of America's Imperfect Union. His writings are at richardkreitner.com.

October 17, 1931: Al Capone Is Convicted of Income Tax Evasion and Sent to Federal Prison

October 17, 1931: Al Capone Is Convicted of Income Tax Evasion and Sent to Federal Prison October 17, 1931: Al Capone Is Convicted of Income Tax Evasion and Sent to Federal Prison

“Only one thing keeps Al from being supreme: he has to split the millions in profits with his compatriots, the politicians.”

Oct 17, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

October 16, 1995: The Million Man March in Washington, DC

October 16, 1995: The Million Man March in Washington, DC October 16, 1995: The Million Man March in Washington, DC

“Whatever its misogynous and separatist underpinnings, this march drew on a well of community-based black activism.”

Oct 16, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

October 15, 1966: The Black Panther Party Is Founded

October 15, 1966: The Black Panther Party Is Founded October 15, 1966: The Black Panther Party Is Founded

“The most that can be held out is the prospect of still more futile gestures, which assure the Panthers that their movement will some day be crushed.”

Oct 15, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

October 14, 1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis Begins

October 14, 1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis Begins October 14, 1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis Begins

“Thermonuclear war is not, as the world has been saying, unthinkable; quite the contrary, it is perfectly thinkable. Let no one mistake the fact.”

Oct 14, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

October 13, 1974: Ed Sullivan Dies

October 13, 1974: Ed Sullivan Dies October 13, 1974: Ed Sullivan Dies

“His malevolence is almost buried from sight beneath an awesome dullness and ambition.”

Oct 13, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

October 12, 1870: Robert E. Lee Dies

October 12, 1870: Robert E. Lee Dies October 12, 1870: Robert E. Lee Dies

“Skill, courage, patience, and fortitude, and all in the highest degree, nobody can deny him.”

Oct 12, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

October 11, 1986: Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev Meet in Reykjavik, Iceland, to Negotiate Disarmament

October 11, 1986: Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev Meet in Reykjavik, Iceland, to Negotiate Disarmament October 11, 1986: Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev Meet in Reykjavik, Iceland, to Negotiate Disarmament

“It is not nor at the most fundamental level has it ever been postwar U.S. policy to relinquish the ambition of superiority in the arms race.”

Oct 11, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

October 10, 1973: Vice President Spiro Agnew Resigns

October 10, 1973: Vice President Spiro Agnew Resigns October 10, 1973: Vice President Spiro Agnew Resigns

“His is not a rags-to-riches story but a fable about a mediocrity who made it big.”

Oct 10, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

October 9, 1967: Che Guevara Is Executed in Bolivia

October 9, 1967: Che Guevara Is Executed in Bolivia October 9, 1967: Che Guevara Is Executed in Bolivia

“His is a revolutionary ideology in which death and tragedy occupy, close in the foreground, an unwanted, redemptive place.”

Oct 9, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

October 8, 1871: The Great Chicago Fire Kills Hundreds and Burns Most of Downtown

October 8, 1871: The Great Chicago Fire Kills Hundreds and Burns Most of Downtown October 8, 1871: The Great Chicago Fire Kills Hundreds and Burns Most of Downtown

“Very sensible men have declared that they were fully impressed at such a time with the conviction that it was the burning of the world.”

Oct 8, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

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