Common Sense with Paul Jacob

On June 16, 1723, economist and social philosopher Adam Smith was born. The author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Smith’s influence on the theory and practice of limited government and individual liberty has been enormous.


Lord Byron read a collection of ghost stories to his house guests, on June 16, 1816. This inspired one guest to write the first modern vampire story, and another, Mary Shelley, to write “Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus” — a literary classic that some say started modern science fiction.

The Oregon Treaty, signed June 15, 1846, established the boundary between Great Britain’s Canadian territory and the United States of America, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, using the 49th Parallel as the handy marker. However, the treaty was not exactly clear on the territorial status of the San Juan Islands, so exactly 13 years later, to the day, a war erupted, over a shot pig.

Basically, an American farmer shot a pig rooting through his garden. The pig belonged to an Irishman. The two did not agree upon compensation, and “the authorities” were called in, with infantry mustering from the south and the Governor of Vancouver Island instructing marines to land on San Juan Island — though the rear admiral in charge refused to comply with the order, on the reasonable grounds that war over a pig was not worth it. Local troops from both sides lined up against each other, but under command to defend themselves only and not shoot first. All that was exchanged in this war were insults. It turned out to be a bloodless war, discounting the pig, so it might qualify as the best war in American history.

On June 15, 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle incorrectly added an “e” to the end of a Trenton, N.J., sixth grader’s correctly spelled “potato.”

1,701 years ago, Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius signed the Edict of Milan, proclaiming religious tolerance throughout the Roman Empire.

Also on this date, in 1525, Martin Luther, a priest, married Katharina von Bora, a nun, against the celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1774, Rhode Island became the first British colony in the Americas to prohibit the importation of slaves.

Grover Cleveland had a large portion of his jaw removed, for cancer, during a surgery on a boat in international waters, in 1893. The operation was not officially revealed to the U.S. public until nine years after the president’s death.