To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward.
~Margaret Fairless Barber
1863 – In the aftermath of his defeat at Gettysburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee sent a letter of resignation as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
The letter, which arrived more than a month after Lee’s retreat from Pennsylvania, indicated how much Lee took the failure at Gettysburg personally. In his letter to Davis, he wrote, “I have been prompted by these reflections more than once since my return from Pennsylvania to propose to Your Excellency the propriety of selecting another commander for this army. No one is more aware than myself of my inability for the duties of my position. I cannot even accomplish what I myself desire… I, therefore, in all sincerity, request your Excellency to take measure to supply my place.”
Lee not only seriously questioned his ability to lead his army; he was also experiencing significant physical fatigue. He might also have sensed that Gettysburg was his last chance to win the war. Regardless, President Davis refused the request. He wrote, “To ask me to substitute you by someone… more fit to command, or who would possess more of the confidence of the army… is to demand an impossibility.”
1969 – Photographer Ian Macmillan was given only ten minutes to take a photo which would become one of the most famous album covers of all time. Standing on a step-ladder while a policeman held up traffic, Macmillan photographed the Beatles walking across the street near the Abbey Road studios in London.
1974 – In an evening televised address, President Richard M. Nixon announced his intention to become the first president in American history to resign, effective at noon the next day. With impeachment proceedings underway against him for his involvement in the Watergate affair, Nixon was finally bowing to pressure from the public and Congress to leave the White House.
“By taking this action, I hope that I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.”
2005 – Iran resumed work at a uranium conversion facility after suspending activities for nine months to avoid U.N. sanctions.
Just keep that in mind
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