The end of the Shogunate, Brown v. Board of Ed, Psychiatric Diseases and Gay Marriage

As we continue our week of highlighting social reforms...

(see the earlier posts if you have not already)

On this day in 1869, the last remnants of the feudal shogunate Tokugawa were defeated by Imperial Japanese forces in the Battle of Hakodate, ending the Boshin War and paving the way for a constitutional Japanese government.

The next era for Japan would be known as the Meiji Restoration. it was an era of reforms, in some cases overnight, as the country desperately tried to shed its past and adopt more of the seemingly advanced Western ideas and culture. One of the statesman instrumental in the reforms was Ōkubo Toshimichi, a samurai from the Satsuma clan, one that was always opposed to the Tokugwa.  Ironically, it was Toshimichi who engineered some of the reforms included the prohibition of Samurai wearing their katana (swords) in public.  Toshimichi was assassinated by samurai in 1878 (see Monday's post).

The Historical Inebriant:  The Savoy Restoration



http://www.thatsthespirit.com/en/drinks/recipe.asp?recipe_id=1050&drinkname=SAVOY+RESTORATION&cocktail=SAVOY+RESTORATION 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Oz. Vodka
• 1 Oz. Campari
• 1 Oz. Crushed Strawberries 
• Champagne 
• Strawberry (Whole)

Mixing instructions:Mix vodka, Campari, and crushed strawberries with cracked ice in a shaker and serve in a chilled champagne glass, the rim of which has been dipped in sugar. Fill with cold champagne and garnish with a large strawberry.; This is a special signature drink of The Savoy and the Savoy Group, London, and was created to celebrate the restoration of The Savoy's famous lobby

______________________________________________________

On this day in 1954, the United States Supreme Court rules unanimously in Brown v. Board of Education that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and as such violates the 14th amendment of the US Constitution.

_______________________________________________________

On this day in 1990, the World Health Organization's General Assembly eliminates homosexuality from its list of psychiatric diseases.

Also, on this day in 2004, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that under the Massachusetts constitution it was illegal to allow only heterosexual couples to marry., and was the first state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Quite the day.