February 27 Birthday
On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag building in Berlin was set on fire. Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist, was found inside and confessed. The Nazi government blamed the fire on a communist conspiracy and used it to pass the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended civil liberties — freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the privacy of communications. The decree was never rescinded. It was the legal foundation of the Nazi dictatorship. Van der Lubbe was executed. Whether he acted alone has been debated for decades. The fire was the crisis that Hitler needed — within weeks, he had the Enabling Act passed, giving him dictatorial powers. The lesson is not that crises are dangerous; it is that they are useful. The 22nd Amendment was ratified on February 27, 1951, limiting presidents to two terms. The amendment was a Republican response to Franklin Roosevelt's four elections. The two-term tradition had been established by George Washington and followed by every president until Roosevelt. The amendment was passed by a Republican Congress in 1947 and ratified by state legislatures over four years. It has been challenged but never seriously threatened. The only president to serve under the amendment and attempt to repeal it was Ronald Reagan, who supported repeal but did not pursue it. The amendment ensures that no president, however popular, can accumulate the power that comes with incumbency indefinitely. John Steinbeck, born this day in 1902, wrote The Grapes of Wrath (1939), the story of the Joad family's migration from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to California. The book was banned in many communities, including Kern County, California, where the Joads ended up. Farmers burned it. It won the Pulitzer Prize. Steinbeck worked as a caretaker, a ranch hand, and a fish picker before becoming a writer. He served as a war correspondent during World War II and wrote government propaganda. He won the Nobel Prize in 1962. The New York Times reviewed the award unfavorably, calling his literary ability "limited." He never got over the review. Ralph Nader, born this day in 1934, published Unsafe at Any Speed in 1965, attacking the auto industry for prioritizing style over safety. The book led to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Nader ran for president six times, including the 2000 Green Party campaign that many believe cost Al Gore the election in Florida. He has never won more than 3% of the vote. His consumer advocacy has saved an estimated one million lives through seat belts, airbags, and crash standards. People born on February 27 fall under the zodiac sign of Pisces. The birthstone is Amethyst and the birth flower is Violet. Historical events on February 27 include 1900: British Labour Party founded at a conference in London, 1933: Reichstag building in Berlin set on fire, 1951: 22nd Amendment ratified, limiting US presidents to two terms. Famous people born on February 27 include John Steinbeck (1902), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807), Ralph Nader (1934).