Ghosts of Good News Past: Liberty, Freedom, 'Howl'

Spring is finally creeping in. Despite cold weather still lingering across, sunshine and longer days are hopefully sending you out for a weekend of fresh air and wild debauchery. In the event you're feel a little cerebral or sentimental, Tonic has lined up your weekly Ghosts. From slavery abolition to peace marches and sit-ins, there are always some good bits of news for you to soak up. This week in history is peppered in symbols of freedom. Read on. The get your free butt back out of the house and into these first days of the season.

March 23, 1775: "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death." Patrick Henry makes his iconic Revolutionary War speech. March 27, 1794: The U.S. Navy is born. March 25, 1807: Britain abolishes slavery by passing the Slave Trade Act. March 26, 1827: R.I.P. Beethoven. March 26, 1953: The beginning of the end of an epidemic — the vaccine for polio is announced by Jonas Salk. March 25, 1955: Ginsburg's "Howl" considered too obscene to pass through U.S. Customs and copies are seized. Any press is good press for this American classic. March 29, 1961: Nelson Mandela acquitted of the charge of treason … after four long years of trial. March 25, 1965: Martin Luther King Jr. leads demonstrators into Mobile, Ala., after marching for four days from Selma. March 26, 1967: Central Park Be-In is staged, peacefully protesting war and discrimination. March 27, 1970: Flight of the Concord. The legendary aircraft makes its first supersonic flight. March 22, 1972: Equal Rights Amendment passed. Unfortunately, it would fail to be ratified into the constitution.