3 - The Barnes Review

MAy in History
ON MAY 26, 1805, AMERICAN EXPLORER MERI WE THER LEWIS
and his friend William Clark reached the summit of a hill overlooking
the falls of the Missouri River, as part of a year-long journey
to find a navigable river route across the American west to
the Pa cific Coast. Lewis and Clark, accompanied by Indian interpreter
Saca gawea and 43 men, traveled 1,000 miles up the Mis -
souri River, making their way through the vast, uncharted territory
west of the Mississippi, called “Louisiana.” Napoleon took
Loui siana away from Spain in 1800 in hopes of establishing a
French empire based in New Orleans. He dropped the idea after
losing 35,000 men in a military expedition. The United States initially
purchased Loui siana from France in 1803 for $11.25 million.
The actual cost totaled $27.6 million after compensation to
French citizens and final interest payments. With the new territory,
America opened up the west and ultimately created 13 new
states. Left to right are Sacagawea, Lewis and Clark, and Clark’s
manservant, York.
ON MAY 8, 1657, OLIVER CROMWELL (left)
refused the offer by the British Parliament to
make him king. Cromwell was installed as “lord
protector” in 1643, four years after the execution
of Charles I, which marked the end of nearly 50
years of monarchy in a united Britain of
Scotland, England and Wales. Cromwell, declining
the crown, felt that any government run
under the “divine right of kings” theory would
oppress the people and would become just as
corrupt as the recently deposed tyrant. Crom -
well died in 1658, succeeded by his son, Richard.
Richard, however, was unable to control the
army and Parliament. He was forced to resign
the following year, paving the way for the return
of monarchy in Britain with Charles II.
ON MAY 1, 1960, A SOVIET MILITARY AIRCRAFT shot down an
American U-2 reconnaissance plane just inside the Soviet
Union. The pilot, CIA agent Francis Gary Powers, survived
the crash but was captured. Soviet officials claimed the U-2
used aerial photography to detect the radar network and
other special equipment of the country’s anti-aircraft defenses.
In February 1962, the Soviets returned Powers to the
United States in exchange for Soviet spy Rudolph Abel. While
in captivity, Powers kept a diary and secret journal, which the
Powers family donated to the Smithsonian Air and Space
Museum. The museum was asked not to publicly exhibit the
diary and journal until 2004 to give the family ample time to
publish the material. The diary and journal are on display in
the “Looking at Earth” exhibit/gallery at the museum, according
to the family. At left, Nikita Khrushchev looks over some
of the U-2’s debris.