Curio Cabinet

Two houses strive violently for the English throne.

Unfortunately for the Yorks and Lancasters, blood ran red and strong in the family. From May 22, 1455, to June 16, 1487, these two arms of the English royal family failed to resolve their differences to claim a unified monarchy. So they duked it out in a series of conflicts now known as the Wars of the Roses, a reference to the badges each house wore on their apparel: the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster.
 

The Wars of the Roses begins with feckless King Henry VI. His wife Queen Margaret of Anjou ruled in his stead as mental illness frequently left him unfit to govern. After years of Margaret's controversial rulership, Richard, third Duke of York, and his chief lieutenant Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick, assembled a small army and assaulted London to oust Margaret. After a minor clash at St. Albans in 1455, the duke and earl snatched up a catatonic Henry VI, with York proclaiming himself the king's Lord Protector. He enjoyed the role for a year until Henry VI awoke from his stupor one day and returned Margaret to power. York was banished to Ireland but returned to England shortly after with a vengeance.
 

At the Battle of Northampton, York once again won the game of capture the king and became Henry VI's successor in 1460. Margaret retreated to Scotland and amassed a Lancastrian counterattack to reinstate her son, Edward of Westminster, as the rightful heir. She and the Lancaster forces slew York at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, and a phony crown was placed upon his severed head in mockery as the countryside was pillaged.
 

But total victory eluded Margaret, as Londoners denied her rabble entry to the capital. She retreated north again while the Earl of Warwick aligned himself with York's son and heir, Edward, who he then coronated King Edward IV. Together, they defeated Margaret and sent her back into exile. But Edward IV and Warwick's promising bromance soured when the former married Elizabeth Woodville against the latter's wishes in 1464. They met in battle at Edgecote in 1469, with Warwick achieving victory. The two made amends shortly after, but Edward IV, carrying a grudge, declared Warwick a traitor a year later and chased him off.
 

Then something miraculous happened. Enemies of enemies became friends when Margaret and Warwick squashed their beef and teamed up against Edward IV. They raised yet another army under the Lancastrian banner and invaded England, managing to restore mad King Henry VI again. In response, Edward IV rallied the Yorkists and clashed with Warwick, this time at Barnet, where his old ally met death. Taking no chances with his antagonists, Edward IV then proceeded to kill Edward of Westminster (Margaret's son) at Tewkesbury and had mad Henry VI murdered shortly after. Edward IV, himself, died not long after his blood spree came to a close in 1483. In a karmic twist, his brother, Richard of Gloucester, had Edward IV's sons put to death before declaring himself King Richard III.
 

Naturally, Richard III's acts of nepoticide put him in poor standing. Months later, the Duke of Buckingham revolted in favor of crowning Lancastrian heir Henry Tudor. Richard III and Henry Tudor met in battle Bosworth Field, where the former was killed. The latter, crowned Henry VII the same day, decided it was high time to resolve the psychotic York-vs-Lancaster feud. He married leading Yorkist heir Elizabeth of York in 1486, and combined the badges of both houses to create a white rose with red trim dubbed the "Tudor Rose." It was an unnecessary act of amity. By that point, the male lines for both families had been bled dry!
 

Image credit & copyright: Hulton Archive / Getty Images
 

It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
 

Oh yah, it's another Themed Thursday in the Curio Cabinet! Today's theme: war and peace. 85 years ago this summer, 20,000 American World War I veterans marched on Washington and changed veterans' rights forever. After World War I ended, veteran groups began arguing that, while they were off risking their lives in Europe, those who stayed behind enjoyed high wages and a booming economy. The U.S. Congress responded in 1924 by passing the Adjusted Compensation Act, giving a "bonus" of $550 (around $10,000 in today's dollars) to each veteran. In reality, the bonus was essentially life insurance, since it was to be paid upon the veteran's death or in 1945, whichever came first. But when the Great Depression arrived in 1929, World War I veterans were hit especially hard with the scourges of unemployment and malnutrition. In 1932, they decided to march to Washington, demanding their "bonus" be paid immediately. Dubbed the Bonus Army, they grew to over 40,000 by July 1st, building a makeshift city immediately outside the White House gates on Pennsylvania Avenue. But the U.S. Congress adjourned their summer session on July 16th without addressing their demands. As conditions for the starving soldiers and their families worsened, President Herbert Hoover ordered the military to evict the squatters on July 28th. A riot ensued. By the end of the day the Bonus Army camps had burned, the crowd had been dispersed, and two veterans were dead. President Hoover would lose in a landslide a few months later, and Franklin Roosevelt immediately offered members of the Bonus Army construction work on a new highway. Finally, in 1936, Congress passed the Bonus Bill granting early bonus payments to all World War I veterans. Members of the Bonus Army went on to establish a permanent veterans advocacy group, which less than a decade later successfully fought for the GI Bill—ensuring free college tuition and other benefits for all soldiers returning from World War II. Now that's paying it forward!
 

Image credit: Theodor Horydczak, Library of Congress
 

All U.S. citizens have Miranda rights. They include the right to remain silent while under criminal investigation, and the right to an attorney. While we have all heard Miranda rights read during crime scene investigations on TV, you might be surprised to learn who they are named after. The story begins in 1963, with a particularly heinous 24-year-old high school drop-out named Ernesto Miranda (above, on the far left). That year, Miranda was apprehended by police under suspicion of kidnapping, raping, and robbing an 18-year-old girl. Miranda was indeed guilty of all charges. However, his victim was unable to pick him out of a four-man line-up. The investigators feigned otherwise, though, and convinced Miranda that the victim had identified him. They subjected the offender to two hours of intense questioning, and placed him face-to-face with his victim. Miranda eventually confessed and wrote a written statement affirming his guilt and knowledge of his legal rights. He was convicted by an Arizona court and sent to prison. But his lawyer, Alvin Moore, appealed to the state supreme court months later, arguing that Miranda's confession was involuntary and made without full legal awareness. The Arizona Supreme Court rejected Moore's argument, so he got in touch with the American Civil Liberties Union and took the case to the Supreme Court. The court reversed the Arizona decision in a 5-4 ruling on June 13, 1966. Chief Justice Earl Warren's heaping 60-plus-page written opinion declared that defendants must be notified of their rights when they are detained or placed under interrogation. Which means Miranda's ruling was overturned. The slimeball walked free! Though, not for long. In Miranda's retrial, his ex-girlfriend provided crucial evidence that got him sentenced to 20-30 years in prison. He was paroled after 11 years, but was killed in a bar fight just days later. As for his suspected killer? He wryly recited his Miranda rights, and was released without charge.
 

Image credit & copyright: Paul Huebl