Alan's Today in US History

Today In US History

2009-07-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

July 5, 1810
Phineas Taylor Barnum Was Born

Have you ever been to the circus? What about a sideshow with bearded ladies, giant elephants, and "real" mermaids? P.T. Barnum would like you to see them all.

Born on July 5, 1810, in Bethel, Connecticut, Phineas Taylor Barnum became a master showman of both the genuine and the fantastic. Whether actual wonders or freakish fakes, Barnum's attractions always drew crowds.
"Along in June P.T. Barnum would come to Waterbury, [Connecticut]," said a Barnum fan, Art Botsford, "We'd all go down on the morning train, and spend the day there. Shops [were] shut down tight. If they didn't nobody would work anyway."

Barnum was skilled at fooling his audiences. When he was only 25 years old, he passed off Joice Heth as George Washington's 161-year-old nurse. You might not have been fooled by the hoax, but a lot of people came to see her. What would you pay to see the bearded Princess Ali?

In 1842, P.T. Barnum took over the American Museum in New York City. He brought oddities of all sorts to the museum. Among the most famous of his attractions was the fake FeeJee Mermaid, a cross between a human and a fish.

Barnum's most famous and profitable exhibit was Charles Stratton, a 25-inch-tall man whom Barnum promoted as General Tom Thumb. The exhibit drew 20 million people. Barnum even took Stratton to the White House, where the two of them met President Abraham Lincoln.

P.T. Barnum was over 60 when he and James Bailey created the "Greatest Show on Earth." You may know it as the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. There are all kinds of circuses you can go to today, although it is unlikely you will ever find another FeeJee Mermaid.

Today In US History

2009-07-04T00:00:00.001-07:00

July 4, 1776
Independence Day: Americans Celebrate the Birth of Their Nation
It's Independence Day!

Today, all across the United States, people are wishing each other a happy Fourth of July. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence. Though it is the Constitution that provides the legal and governmental framework for the United States, the Declaration, with its eloquent assertion "all Men are created equal," is equally beloved by the American people. On the Declaration's first anniversary, many citizens of Philadelphia had a spontaneous July 4th celebration. But it wasn't until after the War of 1812 that observing Independence Day became commonplace.

In the past, large public events were arranged to take place on July 4 in order to coincide with the holiday. The groundbreaking ceremonies for the Erie Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad both took place on July 4. But even without these events, Americans have long celebrated Independence Day with great fanfare. Picnics and parades fill the day while fireworks fill the night sky. A band may play one of John Philip Sousa's marches, such as "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Friends and families barbeque, hold contests and races, wave flags, sing, or listen to patriotic speeches. By the 1870s, the Fourth of July was one of America's most important holidays.

In 1859, still in the days of slavery, the Banneker Institute of Philadelphia urged African Americans to celebrate Independence Day, even though it recognized that the ideals of the Declaration of Independence were in conflict with the practice of slavery. Nonetheless, the institute expressed the hope that soon, "our long lost rights will be restored to us."

The Fourth of July became a legal holiday in 1941. Every year the celebration of the American ideal that--"all Men are created equal"--continues. How do you celebrate Independence Day?

Today In US History

2009-07-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

July 3, 1878
George M. Cohan Was Born
Your favorite songwriter may have won a Grammy, but what about a medal from Congress? In 1940, Congress awarded George M. Cohan a special medal for composing "Over There." Cohan wrote the song as a patriotic tribute when the U.S. entered World War I. Have you heard of it? If not, there's another song he wrote that you might sing at school.

Besides "Over There," Cohan also wrote, "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy." George M. Cohan was born on July 3, 1878, in Providence, Rhode Island. He had little formal training, but he and his sister joined their parents' vaudeville act and became known as "The Four Cohans." Cohan had many talents. He not only wrote songs, but also he acted and wrote plays. The movie "Yankee Doodle Dandy" was made about his career.

Next time you're watching television, see if you can find it on an old movie station, or rent it. Then you'll get to see the kind of song and dance people watched before the Grammys and MTV.

Today In US History

2009-07-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

July 2, 1881
Charles J. Guiteau Shot President Garfield
The president's been shot, but he's not dead...yet. No, it would take much dirtier hands than Charles J. Guiteau's to kill President Garfield. When Guiteau, a lawyer with a history of mental illness, shot Garfield in the back on July 2, 1881, he thought God had told him to shoot the president. He also thought he had killed the president, but it wasn't the bullet that did the job.

Over the next few weeks, surgeons tried to locate the bullet in the president's back. Even Alexander Graham Bell tried to help by inventing a metal detector. Unfortunately for the president, the bullet was imbedded so deeply in his body that the metal detector could not locate it. Even more unfortunate was that the importance of sterilization in the operating room hadn't been realized yet. It was the infection, caused by doctors probing the president's wound with unwashed hands, that eventually killed James A. Garfield.

Today In US History

2009-07-01T05:19:00.001-07:00

July 1, 1898
Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders
Before becoming President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He resigned in 1898 to organize the Rough Riders, the first voluntary cavalry in the Spanish-American War. The U.S. was fighting against Spain over Spain's colonial policies with Cuba. Roosevelt recruited a diverse group of cowboys, miners, law enforcement officials, and Native Americans to join the Rough Riders. They participated in the capture of Kettle Hill, then charged across a valley to assist in the seizure of San Juan Ridge, the highest point of which is San Juan Hill.

The Rough Riders are best remembered for their charge up San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898. Roosevelt and his Rough Riders were a colorful group of characters. During the war, they received the most publicity of any unit in the army. Have you seen any of those old Westerns where the posse rides after the bad guys in a cloud of dust? That's pretty much how the Rough Riders were portrayed. Of course, the reality was that the Rough Riders didn't win the war on their own. There were many soldiers and cavalry units who fought and died in the war.

A few days after the Rough Riders' charge up San Juan Hill, the Spanish fleet fled Cuba. It was just a matter of weeks before the war had ended and the U.S. was victorious.

Today In US History

2009-06-30T08:02:00.001-07:00

June 30, 1864
Yosemite Land Grant Signed
What would happen if land were not preserved? People would probably develop it and build on it, right? Fortunately, President Abraham Lincoln saw to it that no one would develop Yosemite when he signed the Yosemite Land Grant on June 30, 1864.

This land grant, or piece of legislation, provided California with 39,000 acres of the Yosemite Valley and the nearby Mariposa Big Tree Grove "upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation." Do you know what has happened to Yosemite since then?
Because of the Yosemite Land Grant the incredible landscape of Yosemite, with its impressive cliffs, massive trees, and breathtaking waterfalls, has been preserved and open to the public. Have you been to a national park? Was it crowded?

The problem of tourism soon overwhelmed Yosemite Valley and the Big Tree Grove as they quickly became "must see" vacation destinations. In 1890, the public wanted the park returned to the federal government and, as a result, Yosemite National Park was established.

Today, Yosemite includes nearly 1,200 square miles of the central Sierra Nevada mountain range. With mountains as high as 13,000 feet above sea level, the park preserves alpine wilderness, groves of Giant Sequoias, and the Yosemite Valley's cliffs, waterfalls, wildflowers, and impressive rock formations.

Today In US History

2009-06-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

June 8
Frank Lloyd Wright Was Born
June 8, 1867
Some people do their most creative work late in life. Frank Lloyd Wright was one of America's most influential architects, and he designed some of his most famous buildings when he was over seventy years old. Wright was born on June 8, 1867, in Richland Center, Wisconsin. He was trained to be an engineer but mostly taught himself how to design buildings. He believed houses should be comfortable for the occupants but should also blend in with their environment. He took this idea to its limit when he designed a house in Pennsylvania named Fallingwater, which is suspended above a waterfall. Wright designed other buildings with unique characteristics.

Wright designed the Guggenheim Museum of modern and contemporary art in New York City. This modern structure marked a bold departure from traditional museum design. Its exhibition space featured a spiraling six-story ramp, which encircled an open center space lit by a glass dome. When Wright died at ninety years of age, he had just finished the design for a mile-high office building (it was never built). How long do you think it would take an elevator to get to the top? Have you ever seen a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright?

Today In US History

2009-06-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

June 7
Daniel Boone First Saw the Woodlands of Present-Day Kentucky
June 7, 1769
Have you ever been camping and thought you'd discovered a place that no one else had ever seen? Have you ever been lost in the woods? Imagine wandering through mountains and wilderness that had never been explored and blazing a trail that others would follow. If you can imagine doing this, you're a lot like Daniel Boone.

For months, Boone trekked through forests in the Appalachian Mountains, where few Anglo-Americans had ever been. On June 7, 1769, Boone reached the summit of a ridge and saw the woodlands of what is now Kentucky. He realized then that he had made it across the mountains to the forests on the other side. This trail became known as Wilderness Road and would become one of the main roads for people traveling west. It opened up vast amounts of land for further exploration.

June 7 is celebrated as "Boone Day" in Kentucky. Daniel Boone is considered a hero, not for wearing a raccoon-skin cap, which he's said to have done, but for building a road to the state of Kentucky.

Today In US History

2009-06-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

June 6
D-Day - June 6, 1944
Early in the morning of June 6, 1944, Americans heard on their radios that thousands of American and British soldiers had landed on the beaches of northern France. They were fighting German soldiers. This day marked the beginning of the end of one of the bloodiest wars ever: World War II.
Where were your grandparents and great-grandparents during the Second World War?

During the Second World War, Germany, Italy and Japan were our enemies. The war effort involved thousands of men and women, both fighting abroad and working at home around the clock to build weapons and machines and to raise money. Food, metal, and gasoline were rationed during this time. Ordinary people grew "victory gardens" and saved everything from tin foil to hairpins.

America's involvement in the war lasted a long time--from 1941 to 1945--so music and movies at the time were often about the war. Because so many men were fighting as soldiers, many women worked in factories. Ask your parents or grandparents whether they remember seeing posters from the wartime, like Rosie the Riveter.

The American and British invasion of France was a top-secret mission called "Operation Overlord." When they landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, the goal of every soldier was to drive the German military back. Thousands of men died during that effort, either in the churning waves of the sea or by German gunfire. But enough soldiers struggled up onto the bluffs that, by nightfall, American and British forces had conquered a small area of Nazi-occupied France.

Today In US History

2009-06-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

June 5, 1851
Uncle Tom's Cabin Appeared in Serial Form

Have you read the book Uncle Tom's Cabin? Besides being a good read, this influential book is often included in lists of "causes of the Civil War" (1861-65). It has been translated into at least 23 languages, and has been presented on stage and in film. Harriet Beecher Stowe's story first appeared on June 5, 1851, in serial form, a chapter at a time, in a weekly publication called the National Era. It went on to become one of the nation's earliest bestsellers.

Harriet Beecher Stowe cared deeply about human rights. Her family was active in the Underground Railroad, helping slaves escape to freedom in the North. (The Underground Railroad was a system formed by a group of people who were against slavery. These people helped escaped slaves secretly reach the North.) For 18 years she observed a slave-holding community in Kentucky just across the Ohio River from where she lived in Cincinnati. She didn't like what she saw.

Stowe decided to write a fictional story about slavery and sent it to the editor of an anti-slavery weekly. He paid her $300 for the right to publish her story, and on June 5, 1851, the first chapter appeared in print. Over the next 10 months, Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, was published in 40 installments. People started to discuss Uncle Tom's Cabin and pass around the story. In 1852, a Boston publisher issued Uncle Tom's Cabin as a book. It became an instant bestseller. Three hundred thousand copies were sold the first year, and a half-million copies by 1857. Before long it seemed that everyone had read it, including the president of the United States!

President Lincoln invited Harriet Beecher Stowe to the White House in 1862. According to legend, he is said to have exclaimed, "So this is the little lady who made this big war?" Because the book divided people into those who wished to abolish slavery (abolitionists) and those who wished to maintain slavery (anti-abolitionists), it is often listed as one of the causes of the Civil War. Would you say that the pen is mightier than the sword?

Uncle Tom's Cabin was often produced as a play, so that many people who did not read the book saw it as a powerful stage drama. Although, especially at first, white actors usually played the African American parts in blackface, some productions starred African-American actors and singers. At least seven silent-film versions of Uncle Tom's Cabin had been made by 1927. The 1970 film version stars African-American actress Eartha Kitt.

The book, with its memorable characters, remains powerful today. Pick up a copy and read Uncle Tom's Cabin for yourself.

Today In US History

2009-06-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

June 4, 1919
Nineteenth Amendment Granting Women's Suffrage Was Sent to the States

Do you ever hear people talking about voting or elections? Could you imagine if only men could vote but women could not? More than likely, when your great grandmother was young, she wasn't allowed to vote, even though your great grandfather could.

Today, your mother and grandmother can participate in electing public officials because of the hard work of a lot of women. More than eighty years ago, women were on their way to gaining the right to vote after Congress approved the women's suffrage amendment. On June 4, 1919, Congress sent the potential amendment to the Constitution to the individual states for ratification, or approval. It took more than a year to complete ratification.

Once three-fourths of the states had ratified the 19th Amendment, women were granted the right to vote in 1920. A woman named Alice Paul, who had fought for suffrage, stitched the final star in a banner celebrating the victory of the suffrage movement. Women like Alice Paul were called suffragettes, and they fought for more than seventy years for the right to vote alongside men on Election Day.

Today In US History

2009-05-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

May 18
Plessy v. Ferguson
May 18, 1896
For over 50 years, the states of the American South enforced a policy of separate accommodations for blacks and whites on buses and trains, and in hotels, theaters, and schools. On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in the Plessy v. Ferguson law case that separate-but-equal facilities on trains were constitutional. One justice, John Marshall Harlan, disagreed with the ruling and argued that separating blacks from whites (called segregation) in public facilities created inequality and marked one race as inferior to another.

African American legislator Benjamin W. Arnett described a train ride in segregated Ohio in 1886: "I have traveled in this free country for 20 hours without anything to eat; not because I had no money to pay for it, but because I was colored. Other passengers of a lighter hue had breakfast, dinner and supper. In traveling we are thrown in [cars for blacks only], denied the privilege of buying a berth in the sleeping coach." How did this inequality by law finally change?
By the 1930s, the practice of racial segregation was still widespread. When devastating floods hit Arkansas in 1937, for example, white refugees and black refugees were cared for in separate relief facilities. Finally, after hearing arguments by NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Court reversed the Plessy decision on May 17, 1954. In Brown v. the Board of Education, a unanimous Court agreed with what Justice Harlan had said 50 years ago, that segregation was unconstitutional. What do you know about laws that kept people separated and about later laws that disallowed this practice?

Today In US History

2009-05-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

May 17
The First Kentucky Derby
May 17, 1875
On May 17, 1875, the horse, Aristides, and his rider, Oliver Lewis, crossed the finish line ahead of the rest of the field at the first ever Kentucky Derby. The horse's owner, H.P. McGrath, and a roaring crowd in the stands looked on. Aristides, a Thoroughbred named after an ancient Greek general, earned extra alfalfa that day in Louisville. What would you have seen in Louisville that first race day?

You might have seen well-groomed Thoroughbreds--a cross between Arabian stallions and European mares--along with 15 fine jockeys, 13 of whom, including Oliver Lewis, were African American. You also would have seen cheering crowds sitting anxiously in the bleachers around the track built in 1874 by Meriweather Lewis Clark.

Today In US History

2009-05-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

May 16
Vote to Impeach Andrew Johnson
May 16, 1868
It's no small decision for Congress to impeach (accuse of a crime or misdemeanor) the president, but in 1868 that's exactly what happened. In February, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson. His trial, with the chief justice of the Supreme Court presiding, began on March 30 with the Senate serving as jury. Johnson was accused of having broken the law, but on May 16, 1868, the U.S. Senate failed to convict him by one vote. A second vote taken 10 days later had the same result: one vote short of the two-thirds majority required to convict. What did Johnson do that led to his impeachment and near arrest?

After becoming president following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Johnson wanted to complete Lincoln's plan to reunite the country swiftly. The Civil War (1861-1865) had just ended. His plan was to promote passage of an amendment outlawing slavery, then allow the Confederate states to once again send representatives to Congress and govern themselves. Johnson, however, lacked Lincoln's good judgment. While Congress was in recess, the newly powerful Southern states passed "Black Codes," limiting the rights of freed slaves. An angry Congress proposed a law that would repress those codes; Johnson vetoed it. Congress in return, on March 2, 1867, passed the first override in U.S. history, to protect its civil rights legislation. And on it went.

That same day, Congress passed a law that limited the power of the president. The Tenure of Office Act prohibited the president from removing any government official, including his own cabinet members, without the Senate's approval. Johnson maintained the law was unconstitutional and thus invalid. He fired Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a political enemy, in open defiance of the law.

The House of Representatives then decided to impeach the president, charging him with "high crimes and misdemeanors" as required by the Constitution. Johnson was charged with breaking the law, among other things. During his trial before the Senate (where impeachment hearings are held, according to the Constitution), the charges were shown to be so weak that seven Republicans refused to convict the Democratic president. The votes thus fell one short of the two-thirds necessary for conviction.
Johnson did not attend his trial. When he heard the results, the president broke into tears.

Today In US History

2009-05-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

May 15
Lyman Frank Baum Was Born
May 15, 1856
How did you first learn about the story of a cowardly lion, a scarecrow without a brain and a tin man without a heart? If your answer is the movie "The Wizard of Oz," you'd be right. But did you know there was a book before there was a movie?

Born on May 15, 1856, in Chittenango, New York (not in Kansas), Lyman Frank Baum wrote the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and created a story about the adventures of a girl from Kansas that has delighted kids and grownups for a century. That's right, the book was published in 1900 and was enormously popular from the start. In fact, it was so popular that Baum quit his job as a journalist and wrote thirteen more books about the land of Oz. Do you know how old the movie is?

The film version of the book was made in 1939 with Judy Garland as Dorothy, the girl from Kansas who has a wild adventure along a yellow brick road. The story is still loved all over the world and has been translated into many languages. How many times have you seen the movie? Have you read the book?

Today In US History

2009-05-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

May 14
Jamestown Was Established
May 14, 1607
The Virginia Company of England made a daring proposition: sail to the new, mysterious land, which they called Virginia in honor of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, and begin a settlement. One hundred twenty people made the voyage across the Atlantic. They established Jamestown, Virginia, on May 14, 1607, the first permanent British settlement in North America. Though determined, these settlers didn't know what severe challenges they would face.

Half of the Jamestown settlers were artisans, craftsmen, soldiers, and laborers, including a tailor, a barber, and two surgeons among them. The other half were "gentlemen," men of wealth who did not have a profession, and who may have underestimated the rough work necessary to survive in the New World. After eight months, only 38 of the 120 pioneers were still alive. Among the survivors was Captain John Smith, adventurer and explorer. Despite the hardships, he kept the colony going with his solid leadership those first two years, as Jamestown grew to 500 with new arrivals from England. After he left in 1609, however, more trouble came.
Weather conditions were rough and supplies were low. Only 60 of the 500 colonists survived the harsh winter that followed Smith's departure. Jamestown, though it possessed a good harbor, was swampy, infested with mosquitoes, and lacked freshwater sources. The people fought against disease, famine, and the Algonquian Indians, whose land the British settlers now claimed. The Algonquian chief, Powhatan, at first allowed the visitors to settle, build, and farm in his territory, but as more and more came, he grew tired of the colonists' expansion on his land. Some of the tribe attacked settlers working in the fields.

But there were some years of peace and prosperity. Peace came when Pocahontas, daughter of chief Powhatan, married John Rolfe, a tobacco farmer in Jamestown. Also, new supplies and leadership eventually arrived from England.

An event of momentous consequence took place in 1619, when a Dutch slave trader exchanged a cargo of captive Africans for food. The Africans became indentured servants, trading labor for shelter and eventual freedom. They were among the first African Americans in the colonies. Racial slavery would not become a common occurrence until 1680. For all, the struggle for land and survival continued, but Jamestown was just the beginning. What else do you know about early settlers in North America?

Today In US History

2009-05-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

May 13
Arlington National Cemetery
May 13, 1864
How do you honor the people and events in your life that are important to you? The United States has many monuments and sacred sites to honor people, ideas, things, and events that have left their mark on American history. Arlington National Cemetery is one of those sites. Have you been there? It is located in Virginia across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

On May 13, 1864, a Confederate prisoner of war, who had died at a local hospital, was the first soldier buried at Arlington. The cemetery now contains the graves of soldiers from every war in which the United States has participated, including the American Revolution. What day do you think is most honored at Arlington National Cemetery?

Each year, Memorial Day is honored at Arlington by placing a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns. The Tomb houses the remains of unknown servicemen from World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict, and the Vietnam War. Not all of the 240,000 people buried at Arlington are soldiers. You can also find the graves of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The location itself is full of fascinating stories from the past.
The grounds used to be part of Arlington House, where General Robert E. Lee and his wife Mary Anna married and lived until 1861. When Lee left to take command of the Confederate troops, the Union Army turned his old home into a military headquarters and the land around it into a camp. The Arlington House has now been restored to its pre-Civil War condition and is a memorial to Robert E. Lee. You can visit it and imagine yourself traveling back in time to the 1830s. If you could build a monument or memorial, what or whom would you honor?

Today In US History

2009-05-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

May 12
Henry Cabot Lodge Was Born
May 12, 1850
How involved should the U.S. be in international affairs? Political leaders have hotly debated this issue since the very beginning of this country. Back in 1919, Republican statesman Henry Cabot Lodge led a successful fight against American participation in the League of Nations, the world peacekeeping organization proposed by President Woodrow Wilson after World War I. Born on May 12, 1850, in Boston, Massachusetts, Lodge believed that membership in the organization would destroy the power of the U.S. by binding the nation to international obligations it would not--or could not--keep. He spoke dramatically:

"The United States is the world's best hope," Lodge said. Entangle her, and "you will destroy her powerful good, and endanger her very existence." Because of Senator Lodge's arguments as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the League of Nations formed without U.S. participation. After World War II, the League of Nations was replaced by the United Nations. Times had changed. In 1953, Lodge's grandson, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., became ambassador to the U.N. and America has since intervened in many international situations. Talk with your friends and family about what you think the proper role of the U.S. should be worldwide.

Today In US History

2009-05-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

May 11
Minnesota Became the 32nd State
May 11, 1858
Known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," Minnesota became the 32nd state in the Union on May 11, 1858. What makes this state important? For one, its waterways are vital to the state's and the nation's economies. Besides its quantity of lakes, it is the northernmost stop of the Mississippi River and the westernmost point of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which runs through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite the convenient access to the state, immigration was slow until the second half of the 19th century, when people in the east started to hear about Minnesota's woodlands and fertile prairie. Between 1850 and 1857, the state population skyrocketed from 6,077 to more than 150,000. Long before that, the Ojibwa (Chippewa) and Dakota (Sioux) tribes made the land their home. For them state borders were nonexistent, so their territory extended well beyond what is today Minnesota. The French claimed the territory in the mid-1600s. It became U.S. territory through the Treaty of Paris (1783) and the Louisiana Purchase (1803).

Minnesota today is still a leader in farming, lumbering, and milling, as well as printing and iron production. Have you visited Minnesota? What do you know about its twin cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul? Ask your family and friends what they know about Minnesota, the "Land of 10,000 Lakes."

Today In US History

2009-05-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

May 10
Jefferson Davis Was Captured
May 10, 1865
Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, had been captured!
Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), president of the Confederate states (the South) during the Civil War, was captured when the Union Army caught up to him on May 10, 1865, in Irwinville, Georgia. His best general, Robert E. Lee, had surrendered on April 9 at Appomattox in Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant, which effectively ended the Civil War. When Lee surrendered to the North, Davis and his Cabinet moved south, hoping to continue the struggle until better terms could be secured from the North.

Davis recounted his capture in his book, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. He was accused of treason and of planning the assassination of President Lincoln. Davis was taken to Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he was treated harshly. Although he was accused of high crimes, he was never brought to trial. After two years in prison, he was released and lived out the rest of his life in relative peace.

When Davis was inaugurated president of the Confederate States of America in 1861, he believed in the right of Southern states to secede and defended his belief until his death in 1889. He spent his remaining years in Biloxi, Mississippi, at the Beauvoir plantation. Davis never asked for, nor was he granted, a pardon for his actions. However, in a speech at Mississippi City, Mississippi, he said: "The past is dead; let it bury its dead, its hopes and its aspirations. Before you lies the future, a future full of golden promise, a future of expanding national glory, before which all the world shall stand amazed."

Today In US History

2009-05-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

May 9
The First Mother's Day
May 9, 1914
Think of all the work that mothers do in raising their children. Mothers need to be celebrated! President Woodrow Wilson realized this on May 9, 1914, proclaiming the first Mother's Day. He asked Americans on that day to give a public "thank you" to their mothers and all mothers. What do you do for your mother on Mother's Day?

Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia wanted to remember her own mother along with all mothers. Anna's mother had been very active in working to improve the health of people in her community. Jarvis's mother also organized a Mother's Friendship event in her community to bring confederate and union soldiers together for a peaceful celebration. Many other women such as Julia Ward Howe, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Elizabeth Smith also fought for peace and encouraged mothers to speak out. Anna Jarvis convinced her mother's church to celebrate Mother's Day on the anniversary of her mother's death, and campaigned for a national day honoring mothers. Because of Jarvis's hard work, Woodrow Wilson chose that date for the national holiday.

Do you know the official flower of Mother's Day? Carnations have come to represent the day--pink for mothers living, white for those passed away. This is because they were distributed at one of the first commemorations honoring Anna Jarvis's mother.

Mother's Day is now celebrated with gifts, visits, and flowers. Around the world in England, France, Sweden, Denmark, India, China, and Mexico, they celebrate moms for two days. Of course, if you ask your mom, she might tell you that every day is Mother's Day.

Today In US History

2009-05-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

May 8
The First Coca-Cola Served
May 8, 1886
When you're thirsty, what do you like to drink? Coca-Cola maybe? People have been drinking the popular beverage since May 8, 1886, when Dr. John S. Pemberton sold the first Coca-Cola at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. America's favorite soft drink has an interesting history. Bookkeeper Frank Robinson came up with the name, and it is his handwriting we recognize as the famous Coca-Cola trademark.
By the late 1890s, Coca-Cola was one of America's most popular fountain drinks. Sales increased by 4000% between 1890 and 1900. The company began to sell syrup to individual bottling companies licensed to sell the drink. These companies added carbonated water to the syrup and bottled it. The U.S. soft drink industry still works this way today.

Now, you may get a can of Coca-Cola out of a machine or a cup self-served from a fountain at a fast food restaurant, but until the 1960s, both small-town and big-city dwellers would sit down in their local soda fountain or ice cream parlor for the soft drink. Often, the soda fountain was inside a drug store, and people of all ages would come and meet there. Perhaps you've seen this type of place in movies or on TV shows set in the 1950s or 60s.

Next time you have a Coca-Cola, amaze your friends with historical trivia about the popular soft drink.

Today In US History

2009-05-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

May 7
Archibald MacLeish, Ninth Librarian of Congress, Was Born
May 7, 1892
Through this Web site, you have access to all kinds of materials in the Library of Congress, America's library. It's huge! You can learn about moments and people in history and actually see documents like Thomas Jefferson's rough draft of the Declaration of Independence. One man to thank for this is Archibald MacLeish, born on May 7, 1892, in Glencoe, Illinois. Poet, playwright, lawyer, public servant, and lover of books, he served as Librarian of Congress from 1939 to 1944.

While he was Librarian of Congress, MacLeish reorganized the Library and worked to "increase the use of the Library to its readers." With the start of World War II, he also kept the collection safe by sending important pieces, like the Declaration of Independence, to Fort Knox. He also kept the nation's Library open to U.S. military intelligence 24 hours a day for the war effort.
MacLeish had other great accomplishments. As a young man, he practiced law for three years, and then he moved his family to Paris, where he wrote several volumes of poetry. Back in the U.S., he wrote a long story-poem called Conquistador about the Spanish conquest of Mexico. For this he won the 1933 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. (The Pulitzer Prize is given annually to poets and writers, as well as to others for achievements in music and journalism.) After his time as Librarian of Congress, he became assistant Secretary of State. In the 1950s, MacLeish wrote more poetry and a play, JB: A Play in Verse, based on the Book of Job in the Bible, which was awarded the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

You could call Archibald MacLeish a Renaissance man, meaning he had many interests and talents. Perhaps you are a Renaissance person too. What are your interests and talents?

Today In US History

2009-05-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

May 6
Arctic Explorer Robert E. Peary Was Born
May 6, 1856
Even as a boy, Robert E. Peary, born on May 6, 1856, dreamed of exploring the "roof of the world," the frozen Arctic north. They had no parkas or space-age fabrics and no cell phones or advanced navigational devices, but Robert E. Peary and his assistant, Matt Henson, set out to reach the North Pole for the first time in 1905. No one had been there before. Indeed, it took Peary years to put the expedition together.

An engineer, Peary was sent on his first job to the warm tropics rather than the icy northland. In Nicaragua, in Central America, he brought along his African-American assistant, Matthew Henson who became such a trusted companion that the two men traveled together on all of Peary's expeditions. Together, they took steps toward their northernmost goal.
Peary and Henson traveled to Greenland to prepare for the trip, where they learned survival techniques in the sub-zero temperatures from the Inuit tribes of Greenland.

The ship they were traveling on failed to make it through the ice. They tried again in 1908, setting out with 24 companions and 133 dogs. This time, according to their calculations, they made it to the North Pole on April 6, 1909. But scientists discovered in 1989 that Peary and Henson were actually just short of the Pole. Still, Peary and Henson showed that exploration was possible in Arctic regions and paved the way for future explorers. Have you ever done something that made it easier for the next person to do the same thing?

Today In US History

2009-05-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

May 5
Mary Kies Became the First Woman to Receive a U.S. Patent
May 5, 1809
Have you ever invented something? If you have, you may want to do what Mary Kies did: patent it. The Patent Act of 1790 opened the door for anyone, male or female, to protect his or her invention with a patent. However, because in many states women could not legally own property independent of their husbands, many women inventors didn't bother to patent their new inventions. Mary Kies broke that pattern on May 5, 1809. She became the first woman to receive a U.S. patent for her method of weaving straw with silk. With her new method, Kies could make and sell beautiful hats such as this one, and, by law, no one else could sell hats just like hers. That's how a patent works.

What if you come up with a great idea for a new invention? The Good-Hair-Day Hairspray, the perfect spiral football, a backpack that flies you to school. To protect your new invention, you would get a patent. A patent is a government grant that gives the inventor the exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention, usually for a limited period. Nowadays it's 16 to 20 years in most countries. Patents are granted to new and useful machines, manufactured products, industrial processes--such as Kies's method of weaving--and significant improvements of existing processes. Patents encourage entrepreneurs, like weaver and hat maker Mary Kies, to create new and better products all the time.

Mary Kies was not the first American woman to improve hat making. In 1798, New Englander Betsy Metcalf invented a method of braiding straw. Her method became very popular, and she employed many women to make her hats, but she didn't patent her process. When asked why, Metcalf said she didn't want her name being sent to Congress. Kies had a different perspective, and she couldn't have picked a better time to secure her new product, because the U.S. government had stopped importing European goods. (Napolean was at war with many nations of Europe at the time, and one way he tried to win the war was to block trade and hurt his enemies economically. The U.S. did not want to be drawn into this conflict.) President Madison was looking for American industries to replace the lost European goods. First lady Dolley Madison said hats off to Mary Kies for providing just such an opportunity.