John Philip Sousa was born on this date in 1854, which is as good a reason to post “The Liberty Bell” march as any:
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Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot;
I see of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.—English Nursery Rhyme, author unknown

Today marks the 406th anniversary of the discovery and arrest of Guy Fawkes, one of several conspirators against King James I of England, who was found guarding three dozen kegs of gunpowder under the House of Lords. Under torture, he confessed that there was a plot, known to this day as the Gunpowder Plot, to overthrow the king.

In a Mary Poppins novel from 1943, P.L. Travers wrote about Fawkes: “The plot was discovered, however, before any damage was done. The only result was that King James and his Parliament went on living but Guy Fawkes, poor man, did not. He was executed with the other conspirators. Nevertheless, it is Guy Fawkes who is remembered today and King James who is forgotten. For since that time, the Fifth of November in England, like the Fourth of July in America, has been devoted to Fireworks.”
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The Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law making it illegal to not believe in the divine origin of the Bible 370 years ago today. The punishment for this crime was death by hanging. The law also established a fine of five shillings for failing to attend church on Sunday.

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Presidents of the United States elected on November 4: James Buchanan, Grover Cleveland (1884; a campaign button from that election is at top), Calvin Coolidge, Dwight D. Eisenhower (1952), Ronald Reagan (1980), Barack Obama (2008).
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