NewsInHistory Blog

It was the epitome of the “landmark” ruling—a U.S. Supreme Court decision so profound that it forever changed life in America. On May 17, 1954, the Court announced its Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision, ruling that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. This unanimous Supreme Court ruling overturned the established “separate but equal” doctrine, opening up the path to integration and giving the Civil Rights Movement a solid legal foundation. read more...

Amelia Earhart, the aviation pioneer who mysteriously disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world, amazed the public with her daring feats in the 1920s and ’30s. She set many records flying solo, including being the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, the first woman to fly nonstop across the U.S., and the first pilot—male or female—to fly from Hawaii to California. read more...

Some of the most disturbing attacks in America’s long, troubled history of racism occurred in Alabama on May 14, 1961, when civil rights demonstrators riding buses to challenge segregationist policies in the South were viciously attacked by members of the Ku Klux Klan. The attacks, at bus stations in Anniston and Birmingham, were against “Freedom Riders”: courageous activists—men and women, African American and white—upset that the federal government was not enforcing laws requiring desegregated facilities for interstate public transportation. read more...

At the urging of President James K. Polk, the U.S. Congress declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846, beginning the bloody two-year war of expansion known as the Mexican-American War. Polk was a strong supporter of “Manifest Destiny”—the belief that America had a divine right to expand its territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans—and he was not going to allow Mexico to stand in his way. read more...

Confederate General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson was a demanding and inspiring leader, full of religious conviction and unshakeable faith in his men, often sucking on lemons to help with his chronic indigestion. He was brave in battle, and brilliant in military strategy. Jackson’s death—he was mistakenly shot by Southern troops at the Battle of Chancellorsville—was a severe setback to the Confederate cause. read more...

Setting aside a day to honor mothers is a tradition celebrated in many cultures and countries, from ancient times to today. In the United States, Mother’s Day became an official national holiday with the signing of a proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson on May 9, 1914. Some form of a mother’s day, however, had been celebrated in America since shortly after the Civil War, begun as small local gatherings of women whose sons had fought each other in the war. read more...

On the 71st day of a tense standoff, the occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, by traditional members of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tribe on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation—aided by activists from the American Indian Movement (AIM)—finally came to an end on May 8, 1973. The protest resulted in three fatalities, several persons wounded, and much physical destruction to the tiny hamlet of Wounded Knee. read more...

Traditional members of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tribe on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota were fed up in early 1973. Living conditions on the reservation were terrible, and the local government—the tribal council—was dominated by Richard Wilson, a man the traditionalists considered harsh and corrupt. When an attempt to impeach Wilson failed, the traditionalists turned to a more drastic form of action. On Feb. 27, 1973—with the aid of activists from the American Indian Movement (AIM)—more than 200 protesters occupied the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota. read more...