Today In History Flashcards
Aug 15, 1914: Panama Canal opens to traffic
The rush of settlers to California and Oregon in the mid 19th century was the initial impetus of the U.S. desire to build an artificial waterway across Central America.
Aug 16, 1967: Tonkin Gulf Resolution challenged
President Johnson’s broad interpretation of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is attacked by Senator William Fulbright, who feels that Johnson has no mandate to conduct the Vietnam War on the present scale.
Aug 17, 1998: Clinton testifies before grand jury
When questioned about the Lewinsky affair, Clinton denied it, which led Kenneth Starr to charge the president with perjury and obstruction of justice, which in turn prompted his testimony
Aug 18, 1795: George Washington signs Jay Treaty with Britain
Jefferson, Madison and other opponents feared the treaty gave too many concessions to the British.
Aug 19, 1919: President Wilson appears before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson appears personally to argue in favor of its ratification of the Versailles Treaty, the peace settlement that ended the First World War.
Aug 20, 1954: United States decides to support Diem (South Vietnam)
President Eisenhower approves a National Security Council paper titled "Review of U.S. Policy in the Far East." Ultimately, however, Diem would refuse to make any meaningful concessions or institute any significant new reforms and U.S. support was withdrawn.
Aug 21, 1858: Lincoln-Douglas debates begin
In the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates–all about three hours along–Lincoln argued against the spread of slavery while Douglas maintained that each territory should have “popular sovereignty”. Lincoln lost the Senate race, but his campaign brought national attention to the young Republican Party.
Aug 22, 1862: Lincoln replies to Horace Greeley
President Abraham Lincoln writes a carefully worded letter in response to an abolitionist editorial by Horace Greeley, the editor of the influential New York Tribune, and hints at a change in his policy concerning slavery.
Aug 23, 1927: Sacco and Vanzetti executed
Despite worldwide demonstrations in support of their innocence, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are executed for murder.
Aug 24, 1814: British capture and burn Washington
During the War of 1812, British forces march unopposed into Washington, D.C. President James Madison and his wife, Dolley, escaped just before the invaders arrived. Meanwhile, the British troops, ecstatic that they had captured their enemy’s capital, began setting the city aflame in revenge for the burning of Canadian government buildings by U.S. troops earlier in the war.
Aug 25, 1945: The first casualty of the Cold War
John Birch, an American missionary to China, is killed by Chinese communists days after the surrender of Japan, for no apparent reason. In the 1950s, Robert Welch would create a right-wing, anticommunist organization called the John Birch Society.
Aug 26, 1920: 19th Amendment adopted
The 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote, is formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution. The amendment was the culmination of more than 70 years of struggle by woman suffragists.
Aug 27, 1952: Red Scare dominates American politics
Republicans and their allies were obviously planning to use the Red Scare to their advantage in the presidential election of that year, while the Democrats were going to have to battle the perception that they had been "soft" on communism during the administration of President Truman
Aug 28, 1963: King speaks to March on Washington
In the year after the March on Washington, the civil rights movement achieved two of its greatest successes: the ratification of the 24th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished the poll tax and thus a barrier to poor African American voters in the South; and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education and outlawed racial segregation in public facilities.
Aug 29, 1949: Soviets explode atomic bomb
The loss of U.S. atomic supremacy, led President Truman to order development of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon theorized to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan.
Aug 30, 1967: Thurgood Marshall confirmed as Supreme Court justice
Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice
Aug 31, 1935: FDR signs Neutrality Act
The signing came at a time when newly installed fascist governments in Europe were beginning to beat the drums of war.
Sep 1, 1775: King George refuses Olive Branch Petition
Britain’s King George III refused to receive the petition, which, written by John Dickinson, appealed directly to the king and expressed hope for reconciliation between the colonies and Great Britain.
Sep 2, 1945: VJ Day!
The USS Missouri hosts the formal surrender of the Japanese government to the Allies
Sep 3, 1783: Treaty of Paris signed
The American Revolution officially comes to an end when representatives of the United States, Great Britain, Spain and France sign the Treaty of Paris. The signing signified America’s status as a free nation
Sep 4, 1957: Arkansas troops prevent desegregation
Governor Orval Faubus enlists the National Guard to prevent nine African American students from entering Central High School in Little Rock. The armed militia troops surrounded the school while an angry crowd of some 400 whites jeered, booed, and threatened to lynch the frightened African American teenagers, who fled shortly after arriving
Sep 5, 1774: First Continental Congress convenes
In response to the British Parliament’s enactment of the Coercive Acts in the American colonies, the first session of the Continental Congress convenes at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia
Sep 6, 1847: Henry David Thoreau leaves Walden and moves in with the Emersons
Deeply influenced by his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poetry and essays, Thoreau lived by Transcendentalist principles
Sep 7, 1813: United States nicknamed Uncle Sam
The name is linked to Samuel Wilson, who supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812. Wilson stamped the barrels with "U.S." for United States, but soldiers began referring to the provisions as "Uncle Sam’s." The local newspaper picked up on the story and Uncle Sam eventually gained widespread acceptance as the nickname for the U.S. federal government.
Sep 8, 1664: New Amsterdam becomes New York
Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant surrenders New Amsterdam, the capital of New Netherland, to an English naval squadron. New Amsterdam’s name was changed to New York, in honor of the Duke of York, who organized the mission
Sep 9, 1850: California becomes the 31st state
After a rancorous debate between the slave-state and free-soil advocates, Congress finally accepted California as a free-labor state under the Compromise of 1850, beginning the state’s long reign as the most powerful economic and political force in the far West.
Sep 10, 1833: Andrew Jackson shuts down Second Bank of the U.S.
President Andrew Jackson announces that the government will no longer use the Second Bank of the United States, the country’s national bank. He then used his executive power to remove all federal funds from the bank, in the final salvo of what is referred to as the "Bank War." LEJ
Sep 11, 2001: Attack on America
Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network based there, began on October 7, 2001. Bin Laden was killed during a raid of his compound in Pakistan by U.S. forces on May 2, 2011.
Sep 12, 1959: Situation deteriorates in South Vietnam
North Vietnamese Premier Pham Van Dong says: "We will drive the Americans into the sea." When President John F. Kennedy took office in 1961, he decided that the line against communism had to be drawn in Vietnam and therefore he increased the number of military advisers in Saigon.
Sep 13, 1814: Key pens Star-Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America’s national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." The poem, originally titled "The Defense of Fort McHenry," was written after Key witnessed the Maryland fort being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812
Sep 14, 1901: Teddy Roosevelt becomes president of the United States
The 42-year-old Theodore Roosevelt is abruptly elevated to the White House when President McKinley dies from an assassin’s bullet.
Sep 15, 1963: Four black schoolgirls killed in Birmingham
A bomb explodes during Sunday morning services in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls. The church bombing was the third in Birmingham in 11 days after a federal order came down to integrate Alabama’s school system.
Sep 16, 1940: Franklin Roosevelt approves military draft
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Selective Service and Training Act, which requires all male citizens between the ages of 26 and 35 to register for the military draft
Sep 17, 1862: Rebels and Yankees clash at the Battle of Antietam
Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and Union General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac fight to a standstill along a Maryland creek on the bloodiest day in American history. Although the battle was a tactical draw, it forced Lee to end his invasion of the North and inspired President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation
Sep 18, 1634: Anne Hutchinson arrives in the New World
Hutchinson preached that faith alone was sufficient for salvation, and therefore individuals had no need for the church or church law. By 1637, her influence had become so great that she was brought to trial and found guilty of heresy against Puritan orthodoxy.
Sep 19, 1881: President Garfield succumbs to shooting wounds
Eighty days after a failed office seeker shot him in Washington, D.C., President James A. Garfield dies of complications from his wounds. This tragedy would lead to civil service reform, the Pendleton Act, in particular
Sep 20, 1878: Author of The Jungle, Upton Sinclair is born
An assignment on meat-packing plants led to his bestselling novel The Jungle, in which an idealistic immigrant goes to work in the Chicago stockyards. The novel’s gritty portrayal of labor abuses and unsanitary conditions led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.
Sep 21, 1780: Benedict Arnold commits treason
American General Benedict Arnold meets with British Major John Andre to discuss handing over West Point to the British, in return for the promise of a large sum of money and a high position in the British army. The plot was foiled and Arnold, a former American hero, became synonymous with the word "traitor."
Sep 22, 1862: Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which sets a date for the freedom of more than 3 million black slaves in the United States and recasts the Civil War as a fight against slavery.
Sep 23, 1806: Lewis and Clark return
Amid much public excitement, American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark return to St. Louis, Missouri. The Lewis and Clark Expedition had set off more than two years before to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase.
Sep 24, 1789: The First Supreme Court
The Judiciary Act of 1789 is passed by Congress and signed by President George Washington, establishing the Supreme Court of the United States as a tribunal made up of six justices who were to serve on the court until death or retirement. That day, President Washington nominated John Jay to preside as chief justice
Sep 25, 1957: Central High School integrated
Under escort from the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, nine black students enter all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. After a tense standoff, President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent 1,000 army paratroopers to Little Rock to enforce the court order.
Sep 26, 1960: Kennedy and Nixon square off in a televised presidential debate
The debate ushered in an era in which television would dominate political campaigns. Kennedy clearly "won" the debate, a fact attributable to both his superior comfort level with the new communication medium and his "telegenic" good looks.
Sep 27, 1779: John Adams appointed to negotiate peace terms with British
The Continental Congress appoints John Adams to travel to France as minister plenipotentiary in charge of negotiating treaties of peace and commerce with Great Britain during the Revolutionary War.
Sep 28, 1781: Battle of Yorktown begins
George Washington ordered troops to block the British escape from Yorktown by land while the French naval fleet blocked the British escape by sea. After three weeks of non-stop bombardment, both day and night, from cannon and artillery, General Lord Cornwallis surrendered to Washington in the field at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, effectively ending the War for Independence.
Sep 29, 1965: Hanoi announces that downed pilots will be treated as war criminals
Hanoi publishes the text of a letter it has written to the Red Cross claiming that since there is no formal state of war, U.S. pilots shot down over the North will not receive the rights of (POWs) and will be treated as war criminals.
Sep 30, 1962: Riots over desegregation of Ole Miss
James H. Meredith, an African American, is escorted onto the University of Mississippi campus by U.S. Marshals, setting off a deadly riot. Two men were killed before the racial violence was quelled by more than 3,000 federal soldiers. The next day, Meredith successfully enrolled and began to attend classes amid continuing disruption.
Oct 1, 1908: Ford Motor Company unveils the Model T
Ford kept prices low by sticking to a single product. By building just one model, for example, the company’s engineers could develop a system of interchangeable parts that reduced waste, saved time and made it easy for unskilled workers to assemble the cars. By 1914, the moving assembly line made it possible to produce thousands of cars every week
Oct 2, 1919: Woodrow Wilson Suffers a Stroke
Wilson slowly regained his health, but the lasting effects of the stroke—he remained partially paralyzed on one side–limited his ability to continue to campaign in favor of the League of Nations. In 1921, Republican Warren Harding’s election to the presidency effectively ended efforts by the League’s supporters to get it ratified. Wilson died in 1924.
Oct 3, 1917: War Revenue Act passed in U.S.
Six months after the United States declared war on Germany and began its participation in the First World War, the U.S. Congress passes the War Revenue Act, increasing income taxes to unprecedented levels in order to raise more money for the war effort.
Oct 4, 1957: Soviet Union launches Sputnik I
The successful launch of the unmanned satellite Sputnik I by the Soviet Union shocks and frightens many Americans. As the tiny satellite orbited the earth, Americans reacted with dismay that the Soviets could have gotten so far ahead of the supposedly technologically superior United States.
Oct 5, 1986: Iran-Contra scandal unravels
The scandal involved the secret sale of U.S. weapons to Iran (which was supposed to help in the release of U.S. hostages in the Middle East). Some of the proceeds from these sales were used to covertly fund the Contra war in Nicaragua.
Oct 6, 1973: The Yom Kippur War brings United States and USSR to brink of conflict
Though actual combat did not break out between the two nations, the events surrounding the Yom Kippur War seriously damaged U.S.-Soviet relations and all but destroyed President Richard Nixon’s much publicized policy of detente.
Oct 7, 1913: Moving Assembly Line at Ford
The astounding increase in productivity affected by Ford’s use of the moving assembly line allowed him to drastically reduce the cost of the Model T, thereby accomplishing his dream of making the car affordable to ordinary consumers.
Oct 9, 1635: Rhode Island founder banished from Massachusetts
Religious dissident Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony by the General Court of Massachusetts. Williams had spoken out against the right of civil authorities to punish religious dissension and to confiscate Indian land.
Oct 10, 1951: Truman signs Mutual Security Act
Announcing to the world, and its communist powers in particular, that the U.S. was prepared to provide military aid to "free peoples." The signing of the act came after the Soviet Union exploded their second nuclear weapon in a test on October 3
Oct 11, 1961: Kennedy ponders the Vietnam situation
Kennedy made it clear that he would continue the policy of the former President, Dwight Eisenhower, and support the government of Diem in South Vietnam. Kennedy also made it plain that he supported the ‘Domino Theory’ and he was convinced that if South Vietnam fell to communism, then other states in the region would as a consequence.
Oct 12, 1492: Columbus reaches the New World
After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sights a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and Spice Islands of Asia.
Oct 13, 1845: Texans ratify a state constitution and approve annexation
A majority of the citizens of the independent Republic of Texas approve a proposed constitution, that when accepted by the Congress, will make Texas the 28th American state. Ominously, the Mexican minister warned the U.S. that his nation would consider annexation an act of war. Mexico and the United States would be at war within a year.
Oct 14, 1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis begins
Photographs taken by a high-altitude U-2 spy plane offered incontrovertible evidence that Soviet-made medium-range missiles in Cuba—capable of carrying nuclear warheads—were now stationed 90 miles off the American coastline. During the next two weeks, the United States and the Soviet Union would come as close to nuclear war as they ever had, and a fearful world awaited the outcome
Oct 15, 1965: First draft card burned
Under the Selective Service Act, all American men between the ages of 18 and 35 were required to register with a local draft board. In case of war, the able-bodied ones among them could be drafted to serve in the military. The law required the men to carry their draft cards with them at all times. In an amendment, the law was augmented with four words, to include penalties for any person who "knowingly destroys, knowingly mutilates" the card
Oct 16, 1859: John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry
Brown had hopes that the local slave population would join the raid and through the raid’s success, weapons would be supplied to slaves and freedom fighters throughout the country
Oct 17, 1777: Americans win more than a battle at Saratoga
Soon after word of the Patriot victory at Saratoga reached France, King Louis XVI agreed to recognize the independence of the United States and made arrangements with U.S. Ambassador Benjamin Franklin to begin providing formal French aid to the Patriot cause. This assistance from France was crucial to the eventual American victory in the Revolutionary War.
Oct 18, 1898: U.S. takes control of Puerto Rico
Only one year after 1.Spain granted Puerto Rico self-rule, 2.following the Spanish American War, American troops raise the U.S. flag over the Caribbean nation, 3.formalizing U.S. authority over the island’s one million inhabitants. 4.Puerto Rico’s relationship with the U.S. today is referred to as a commonwealth status
Oct 19, 1781: Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown
British General Charles Cornwallis formally surrenders 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to a French and American force at Yorktown, Virginia, bringing the American Revolution to a close.
Oct 20, 1947: The Red Scare comes to Hollywood
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) of the U.S. Congress opens its investigation into communist infiltration of the American movie industry
Oct 21, 1967: Thousands protest the war in Vietnam
In Washington, D.C. nearly 100,000 people gather to protest the American war effort in Vietnam. More than 50,000 of the protesters marched to the Pentagon to ask for an end to the conflict. The protest was the most dramatic sign of waning U.S. support for President Lyndon Johnson’s war in Vietnam.
Oct 22, 1962: Kennedy announces blockade of Cuba during the Missile Crisis
Kennedy announced that he was ordering a naval "quarantine" of Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from transporting any more offensive weapons to the island and explained that the United States would not tolerate the existence of the missile sites currently in place.
Oct 23, 1855: Rival governments in bleeding Kansas
In opposition to the fraudulently elected pro-slavery legislature of Kansas, the Kansas Free State forces set up a governor and legislature under their Topeka Constitution, a document that outlaws slavery in the territory.
Oct 24, 1945: U.N. formally established
Less than two months after the end of World War II, the United Nations is formally established. The UN would fulfill Woodrow Wilson’s vision of an international body to deter aggressor nations
Oct 25, 1929: Cabinet member guilty in Teapot Dome scandal
During the Teapot Dome scandal, Albert B. Fall, who served as secretary of the interior in President Warren G. Harding’s cabinet, is found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office. Fall was the first individual to be convicted of a crime committed while a presidential cabinet member.
Oct 26, 1825: Erie Canal opens
The effect of the canal was immediate and dramatic. Settlers poured into western New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Goods were transported at one-tenth the previous fee in less than half the previous time. Barge loads of farm produce and raw materials traveled east as manufactured goods and supplies flowed west.
Oct 27, 1858: Teddy Roosevelt born
A dynamic and energetic politician, Theodore Roosevelt is credited with creating the modern presidency.
Oct 28, 1919: Congress enforces prohibition
Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Prohibition Amendment.
Oct 29, 1929: Stock market crashes
In the aftermath of Black Tuesday, America and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression.
Oct 30, 1953: Eisenhower approves NSC 162/2
President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approves National Security Council Paper No. 162/2 (NSC 162/2). The top secret document made clear that America’s nuclear arsenal must be maintained and expanded to meet the communist threat. It also made clear the connection between military spending and a sound American economy.
Oct 31, 1517: Martin Luther posts 95 theses
By the time Luther died, of natural causes, in 1546, his revolutionary beliefs had formed the basis for the Protestant Reformation, which would over the next three centuries revolutionize Western civilization.
Nov 1, 1765: Parliament enacts the Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a direct tax on the colonists and led to an uproar in America over an issue that was to be a major cause of the Revolution: taxation without representation.
Nov 2, 1948: Truman defeats Dewey
In the greatest upset in presidential election history, Democratic incumbent Harry S Truman defeats his Republican challenger, Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York. On election night, long before all the votes were counted, the Chicago Tribune published an early edition with the banner headline "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN."
Nov 3, 1969: Nixon calls on the "silent majority"
President Richard Nixon goes on television and radio to call for national solidarity on the Vietnam War effort and to gather support for his policies; his call for support is an attempt to blunt the renewed strength of the antiwar movement.
Nov 4, 1979: Iranians storm U.S. embassy
Student followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini send shock waves across America when they storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The radical Islamic fundamentalists took 90 hostages.
Nov 5, 1940: FDR re-elected president
Franklin Delano Roosevelt is re-elected for an unprecedented third term as president of the United States. Roosevelt was elected to a third term with the promise of maintaining American neutrality as far as foreign wars were concerned
