Christmas and New Year Wishes from the Romanovs!

The 2020 Christmas card of H.I.H. Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia.
Courtesy of the Chancellery of the Russian Imperial House.

The Chancellery of the Russian Imperial House was kind enough to send us the Christmas card for His Imperial Highness Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia. Like many royal Christmas cards, this one from the Romanov heir delivers its wishes in several languages: Russian, English, French, and Spanish. The monogram of the grand duke is displayed above the picture. 

This year, Grand Duke George will be celebrating the holidays in Moscow, where he moved earlier in 2020. Through the Russian Imperial Foundation and with a desire to assist those in the greatest need during the current coronavirus pandemic (as well as victims of other natural disasters), the grand duke has actively raised funds for food-banks and health clinics in Russia, for a hospital in Italy, and for those affected by a terrible earthquake in Albania. To learn more about the Russian Imperial Foundation, please visit its website. 

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Happold on the Magna Carta Myth

Matthew Happold, Université du Luxembourg, has posted Magna Carta Past and Present: A Speech given to the Oxford University Society of Luxembourg, 10 September 2015:

LC

A speech given to the Oxford University Society of Luxembourg to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.  Looking at Magna Carta - how it came about, what it was, what it achieved, and what it came to represent - it argues that the myth of Magna Carta has been much more powerful than the reality. It concludes that invocations of Magna Carta can be double-edged. One the one hand, they extol the rule of law, but on the other they eulogize English exceptionalism. So it is no surprise that the British Government has seen no contradiction in celebrating 800 years of Magna Carta whilst exploring the possibility of denouncing the European Convention on Human Rights in favour of a British Bill of rights and responsibilities.

--Dan Ernst

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The Prescient Interview Given by Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia in 1905 About Bloody Sunday

At the end of January 1905, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia granted a rare interview to a foreign reporter about the situation in Russia. The uncle of Tsar Nicholas II, fifty-seven year-old Grand Duke Vladimir, the Military Governor of Saint Petersburg, spoke candidly about the events of 22 January 1905 (O.S. 9 January), which have become known to history as "Bloody Sunday." It was noted that Grand Duke Vladimir "is big-framed and dark-visaged, has iron grey hair, and resembles more his brother, Emperor Alexander III, than his nephew, Emperor Nicholas II. Although his face and frame show marks of recent illness, the nervous energy he displays gives the impression of a man of force and action." The interview took place at the residence of the grand duke in Saint Petersburg.

Grand Duke Vladimir: "You must remember I am a grand duke and subject of the Emperor. As such I am extremely loyal to him and I am Russian from the crown of my head to the tip of my toes. What information can I give you?"

Correspondent: "The newspapers abroad have made many statements regarding the events of January 22."

Grand Duke Vladimir: "I know; I have read accounts in the foreign press. I have stood aghast at the frightful stories of the butchery of innocent people which they have printed. I know they say well-intentioned patriots with a priest at their head, coming peacefully to place their grievances before His Majesty were ruthlessly shot down in the streets, but we know that behind this peaceful procession was an anarchistic and socialistic plot of which the overwhelming majority of the workmen were merely innocent tools. We know from examination of the dead and those arrested that some alleged priests were actually revolutionary agitators and students in disguise.

We had to save the city from a mob. Unfortunately to do so innocent and guilty suffered alike. But suppose 140,000 men had reached the gates of the Winter Palace; they would have sacked it as the mob sacked Versailles. From the palace they would have gone elsewhere and the whole city would have been delivered over to anarchy, riot, bloodshed, and flames. Our duty was the duty of every government. The same situation has confronted cities in other countries.

Why, because this occurred in Russia, should the whole world point the finger of scorn upon us? In the midst of our difficulties why should we be turned upon? Why should America, especially, misinterpret and think ill of us? We have always been friends - friends of a century, friends when American needed friends. I remember when America was our great friend. Why has all this changed? What has Russia done to deserve it? What has Russia done to America?

Why should the foreign press, especially that of Great Britain, not hesitate before any calumny? No invention seems too horrible for them to print. They do not explain that on Saturday every available wall in Saint Petersburg was placarded with warnings to the people not to assemble. No; they tell that thousands of innocent people were killed and other thousands wounded and paint the streets as running red with blood. They even say the dead were pushed under the ice of the Neva at night. It is infamous.

They say nothing of isolated officers set upon by mobs in the streets and hammered into insensibility or of policemen killed or wounded. 

As a matter of fact, complete returns show that exactly 126 are dead. Several hundred were wounded. I cannot give the precise figure of the wounded, but you shall have an opportunity to see the full reports."

Correspondent: "They say that Gorky will be hanged."

Grand Duke Vladimir: "Nonsense."

Correspondent: "It is asserted that some of the troops refused to obey commands."

Grand Duke Vladimir: "There is no question of the loyalty of the troops. They did their duty. They were ready, as I am ready, to die in the streets for the Emperor. A soldier was asked by one workman why he fired, the questioner saying to him, 'You will be a workman soon.' 'Perhaps,' he replied, 'then you may be a soldier and know what it is to obey your oath to do your duty to your Emperor.'"

Correspondent: "Might I ask Your Imperial Highness's view of the present situation?"

Grand Duke Vladimir: "With this unhappy war upon our shoulders we are passing through a crisis. I will not attempt to conceal it - it cannot be concealed - but, with the help of God, we will emerge from it as we have emerged from other troubles in the past. In the interior there are many elements of discord, but the situation is not so bad as it is painted. The disorders at Warsaw, Kiev, and elsewhere are largely industrial, produced by trade depression and consequent lack of employment on account of the war. They are not revolutionary at base.

People speak of a constitution. A constitution would mean the end of Russia, as the state would be gone, anarchy would supervene, and when it ended the empire would be disintegrated. Finland, Poland, and perhaps other frontier provinces would have broken away. Russia is not ripe for a constitution. Go out among the peasants, who compose the vast bulk of the Empire's population, and try to explain to them government by suffrage. The peasant knows nothing of government. He does not even know what the word means. He knows his Emperor. For him, the Emperor is everything. Give the peasant a vote, and all would be anarchy. Still, there is necessity for reforms, and they will be granted by the autocracy."

Correspondent: "Maintaining the principle of autocracy, then, the people will have an opportunity to be heard in the government?"

Grand Duke Vladimir: "Yes. They can, and I am sure they will be given a voice. Of that I am certain. They will be given the means of presenting their needs and grievances to the Sovereign."

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About two weeks after Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich gave this interview, his younger brother Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich was assassinated in Moscow on 17 February 1905.

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Ben Anh

Ben Anh

Photo Shoot Spring 2020

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Pfander on Common Law Qualified Immunity

James E. Pfander, Northwestern University School of Law, has posted Zones of Discretion at Common Law:

Scott Keller argues in an important forthcoming article that the common law recognized forms of qualified immunity. This reply suggests that Keller’s authorities comprise a body of administrative law, rather than a body of qualified immunity law. Many of the doctrines Keller identifies operate much the way Chief Justice Marshall’s account of judicial review operated in Marbury v. Madison. Marshall acknowledged that matters lawfully assigned to the discretion of the executive branch were beyond the scope of judicial review. But where an official’s lawful discretion ended, and legal boundaries were transgressed, the common law was available (indeed obliged according to Marshall) to supply a remedy. In much of what Keller points to, common law courts were acknowledging that executive officials enjoyed zones of lawful discretion. But the common law did not confer immunity when those boundaries were transgressed. 

--Dan Ernst

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Archduke Georg to Become Hungarian Ambassador to France

According to reports in the Hungarian press, Archduke Georg of Austria (known in civil society as György Habsburg) will soon be Hungary's next ambassador to Paris. Aged fifty-five, the archduke is a diplomat and journalist. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament will meet with the Georg on Monday, and it is almost certain that the archduke will be confirmed to the position. Archduke Georg has held various diplomatic positions since 1996: he has worked as an extraordinary traveling ambassador and represented the interests of the Hungarian Olympic Committee abroad.

Archduke Georg and Archduchess Eilika of Austria at the wedding of Crown Prince Leka of Albania.

Born in 1964 as the second son and youngest child of the late Archduke Otto of Austria and Archduchess Regina (née Saxe-Meiningen), Archduke Georg of Austria has been married since 1997 to Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg (b.1972). The couple have three children: Archduchess Zsófia (b.2001), Archduchess Ildiko (b.2002), and Archduke Károly-Konstantin (b.2004).

Count György Károlyi, current Hungarian Ambassador to Paris.

Archduke Georg of Austria will be replacing Count György Károlyi (b.1946), who has served as the Ambassador of Hungary to France since 2015. 

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New Pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Parma with Their Family

 

In June 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Parma were photographed with their three children on the beach of Scheveningen by Jeroen van der Meyde. Prince Carlos and Princess Annemarie, who celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary this year, are shown with their daughters, Princess Luisa and Princess Cecilia, and their son, Prince Carlos. The duke and duchess will be using one of the images from the photoshoot for their Christmas card.

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Anne Fleming Tributes

Several tributes to my Georgetown Law colleague Anne Fleming have been launched or otherwise transpired since her death on the eve of the present academic year.  I know of four.  The first is a joint effort of the American Society for Legal History (ASLH) and the Business History Conference (BHC), the Anne Fleming Article Prize.  As the BHC explains:

The sudden and unexpected death of Anne Fleming in August 2020 was a tragic loss to academia. Anne's work was at the interface of legal and business history. The central concerns in Anne’s work related to poverty, economic justice, finance and banking, debt, consumer protection, bankruptcy, and other questions of financial equity.  

The prize is awarded every other year to the author or authors of the best article published in the previous two years in either Law and History Review or Enterprise and Society on the relation of law and business/economy in any region or historical period. It is awarded on the recommendation of the editors of the Law and History Review (the official journal of ASLH) and Enterprise and Society (the official journal of Business History Conference). No submission is necessary. The prize will be awarded in 2022, for work published in 2020 and 2021. The prize is for the amount of $250.

Second, at this year's virtual annual meeting of the ASLH, Laura Kalman, a past president of the Society, noted Professor Fleming's passing at a session devoted to Kathryn T. Preyer Scholars.  Professor Fleming was herself a Preyer Scholar, and she was serving on the selection committee when she died.  “She became the anchor of our committee,” Professor Kalman said.  “She would circulate spread sheets to organize us at the beginning of our deliberations, she was incisive, and she modeled good humor. . . . She combined excellence with humanity, and we join everyone who mourns her premature loss.”

The last two tributes involve Georgetown Law.  The editors and staff of the Georgetown Law Journal have dedicated Volume 109 to Professor Fleming's memory.  I contributed a tribute.  Finally, Dean William M. Treanor has announced that a set of four-year research professorships for recently tenured scholars has been renamed the Anne Fleming Research Professorships.

--Dan Ernst

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December 14, 1911 = Amundsen Wins Race to the South Pole

On today's date, December 14 in 1911, Norwegian Roald Amundsen (below) became the first explorer to reach the South Pole, beating his British rival, Robert Falcon Scott by more than a month.

Amundsen, born in Borge, near Oslo, in 1872, was one of the greatest figures in the history of polar exploration. In 1897, he was first mate on a Belgian expedition that was the first ever to spend the entire winter in Antarctica. In 1903, he steered the 47-ton sloop Gjöa around the coast of Canada using the Northwest Passage and becoming the first navigator to accomplish that treacherous route. He was having some difficulty raising funds for a dash to the North Pole when he heard in 1909 that the Americans Frederick Cook and Robert Peary had already gotten there. Amundsen completed his preparations and in June 1910 sailed instead for Antarctica, secretly changing his plans. Without telling his financial backers or even his own crewmen at first, the Norwegian steered his ship Fram toward Antarctica and set his sights on reaching the South Pole. Before arriving, he sent a letter to Captain Robert Falcon Scott of the British Royal Navy(below)

who was preparing his own expedition in Australia. It read simply: “Beg leave to inform you Fram proceeding Antarctic. Amundsen.” Amundsen sailed his ship into Antarctica’s Bay of Whales and set up base camp 60 miles closer to the pole than Scott. Both explorers set up their means of trasportation Amundsen using sleigh dogs, and Scott employing Siberian motor sledges, Siberian ponies, and dogs. There was considerable press coverage to the two teams in what they called “race for the South Pole.” After spending the early part of 1911 laying down advance caches of food and supplies for their polar journeys, Amundsen and Scott’s expeditions took shelter and spent several months waiting out the dark and frigid Antarctic winter. Amundsen later tried to get a head start by beginning his journey early in September 1911, but was forced to turn back after temperatures fell as far as 68 degrees below zero. Finally, on October 20, 1911, conditions improved enough for his five-man team to begin their dash to the Pole. Scott got underway just a few days later on November 1. Amundsen and Scott relied on vastly different forms of transport during their journeys. Scott employed a combination of sled dogs, Manchurian ponies and even several motorized tractors. The machines fell victim to the arctic temperatures which quickly caused them to break down. Similarly, the cold caused his ponies to grow weak and they had had to be shot. After sending the dogs back to camp, he and his team were forced to spend much of their strength for their journey hauling their heavy supply sledges on foot. Amundsen, meanwhile, relied solely on skis and sled dogs to cross the tundra. The dogs helped his men save their strength, and the explorers later killed the weakest of the animals to supplement their food supply. Thanks to the speed of his dog teams, Amundsen’s party managed to race toward the Pole at a pace of over 20 miles per day. The Norwegians took a previouly untried route that forced them to navigate a dizzying icy trail of crevasses, mountains and glaciers, but by early December, they had penetrated farther into the interior of Antarctica than anyone in history. Amundsen would later summed up his feelings at this moment of triumph: “had the same feeling that I can remember as a little boy on the night before Christmas Eve—an intense

expectation of what was going to happen.” Finally, on December 14, 1911, he and his companions arrived at the South Pole. The men planted the Norwegian flag, (Pictured,above)smoked celebratory cigars and posed for snapshots, but they only remained for a few days before beginning the arduous trek back to their base camp. “The goal was reached,” Amundsen wrote, “our journey ended.” Scott's Team Arrives...Late Over a month later on January 17, 1912, Scott and his weary British team finally reached the Pole. And there they found that Scott had left him notes informing him that he had beaten them to their prize location by just over a month. Now Scott had to find their way back to their base camp. Having reached the South Pole late in the summer of the Antarctic. The Temperatures were dropping rapidly as Scott's weary company began its slow and laborious track to the north. But exhaustion from frostbite and not enough food began to spread throughout the weary group. Nevertheless Scott kept a diary of his travels almost the end. "Wednesday, 17 January Great God! this is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have labor to it without the reward of priority "Thursday 29 March Since the 21'st we have had a continuous gale from West Southwest and Southwest. We had fuel to make 2 cups of tea a piece and bare food for two days on the 20th. Every day have been ready to start for depot 11 miles away, but outside the door of the tent it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think can hope for better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more." "For God sake look for our people." The members of Scott's Scott’s group had a much tougher time on their return trek. Scott's dog teams were sent back while Scott and his four explorers continued on foot. On January 18, 1912, they reached the pole only to find that Amundsen had preceded them by over a month. Weather on the return journey was exceptionally bad–two members perished–and a storm later trapped Scott and the other two survivors in their tent only 11 miles from their base camp. Scott’s frozen body was found later that year. Sources = "The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness History" Edited by John B Lewis Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc. 1998. "The Treacherous Race to the South Pole" By Evan Andrews.... https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/amundsen-reaches-south-pole.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Amundsen.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amundsen%27s_South_Pole_expedition.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Falcon_Scott

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The Life & Legacy of John Jay

[We have the following announcement.  DRE]

John Jay (NYPL)

The John Jay Papers Project, Columbia University Libraries, and Columbia University's Office of the Provost are proud to present In Service to the New Nation: The Life & Legacy of John Jay, a  two-day virtual conference (January 22-23, 2021) celebrating the near completion of the Project's seven-volume series The Selected Papers of John Jay.

The conference events are free and open to the public. To attend the events, attendees will need to register beforehand.  For registration information and the full conference program visit In Service to the New Nation: The Life & Legacy of John Jay

Joanne Freeman, Class of 1954 Professor of American History and American Studies at Yale University, will deliver the keynote address "Life in an Age of Conflicts and Extremes." The keynote address will be held via Zoom Webinar on Friday, January 22, 6:00-7:30 PM EST.

There will then be four panel sessions to be held via Zoom Webinar on Saturday, January 23, 10:30 am-5:30 PM EST.

Panel 1: Diplomacy and Politics (10:40 am – 12:00 pm)
Chair, Mary A. Y. Gallagher (John Jay Papers)

Kings College and the Foundations of John Jay’s Diplomacy
Benjamin C. Lyons (Columbia University)

John Jay’s 1788 “Address to the People of the State of New York” and the Dynamics of the Ratification Debate: A New Look
Todd Estes (Oakland University)

Two Treaties, Two Diplomats, and Two Scholarly Editions: John Jay, Thomas Pinckney, and the Art and Practice of Scholarly Editorial Collaboration
Constance B. Schulz (Pinckney Papers, University of South Carolina)

Panel 2: Family, Slavery, and Abolition (1:00 – 2:20 pm)
Chair, Elizabeth M. Nuxoll, (John Jay Papers)

Mastering Paradox: John Jay, Slavery, and Nation Building
David N. Gellman (DePauw University)

John Jay and the Intimate Politics of Slavery and Antislavery
Sarah Gronningsater (University of Pennsylvania)

“One of them married Colonel Stuyvesandt, another of them married my grandfather”: John Jay, Genealogy, and the Shape of a New Nation
Karin Wulf (Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, College of William & Mary)

Panel 3: Navigating Networks and Publics (2:30 – 4:05 pm)
Chair, Herbert Sloan (Barnard College)

John Jay and the Press
Sara Georgini (Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society)

Investing in Social Networking in Sarah Livingston Jay’s New York
Alisa Wade (California State University, Chico)

John Jay in Voluntary America
Jonathan Den Hartog (Samford University)

Did the Man Make the Robe? John Jay Dressed for the Court
Claire Jerry (Smithsonian National Museum of American History)
Bethanee Bemis (Smithsonian National Museum of American History)

Panel 4: Roundtable on The Future of Documentary Editing & the Founding Era (4:15 – 5:20 pm)
Chair, R. Darrell Meadows (National Historical Publications and Records Commission)

Sara Martin (Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society)

Holly C. Shulman (Dolley Madison Digital Edition)

Jennifer E. Steenshorne (John Jay Papers)

Jennifer Stertzer (Washington Papers, Center for Digital Editing)

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