At 12:04 on the morning of March 24, 1989, the huge oil tanker Exxon Valdez smashed into Bligh Reef, ripping holes in its hull and spilling 10.9 million gallons of crude oil into the pristine waters of Alaska’s Prince William Sound. At its greatest extent oil covered 1,300 square miles. It was not the largest oil spill in history, but it occurred in an area teeming with life and had devastating environmental consequences. read more...
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The most moving accounts we have from the Civil War are often the letters soldiers wrote to their loved ones during that great conflict. When one of those letters was published by the writer’s home paper, the emotional response went beyond the soldier’s family to the greater community—Macon, Georgia, in the following example. This letter, simply titled “A Soldier’s Letter,” was written on March 24 and published in the May 7, 1862, edition of the Macon Weekly Telegraph: read more...
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When Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) by huge margins in first the House and then the Senate (the Senate vote taking place on March 22, 1972), it seemed that 50 years of hard work by women’s rights advocates had finally come to fruition. The ERA simply stated: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Only one hurdle remained: 38 states had to ratify the ERA within seven years; the deadline was March 22, 1979. read more...
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On March 22, 1972, 50 years of hard work by women’s rights activists finally paid off when Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). As soon as 38 states ratified the amendment within the next seven years, the U.S. read more...
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By the time Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led the third—and, this time, successful—Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march, the press knew this was a big story. The first march, on March 7, 1965, was stopped by police violence; the Alabama state and local police beat up the 600 peaceful marchers in Selma, injuring dozens and sending 17 to the hospital. The horrific pictures and news stories of this “Bloody Sunday” police rampage shocked the nation, and especially grabbed the attention of President Lyndon Johnson. read more...
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It took three tries, but on March 21, 1965, several thousand demonstrators led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., began a Voting Rights March from Selma to Montgomery that succeeded in reaching the Alabama state capital. read more...
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Alaska’s Iditarod dog sled race is a grueling test of endurance for both humans and dogs, as competitors follow a trail more than 1,100 miles long through forests, over mountains and across frozen rivers. The sled drivers and dog teams are often caught in fierce blizzards that cause white-out conditions and can bring a wind-chill factor of 100 degrees below zero! Begun in 1973, the first 12 Iditarod races were won by men—but that all changed in the 13th race. read more...
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The nation achieved a historic first when the 99th Pursuit Squadron (the “Tuskegee Airmen”) was activated on March 19, 1941, the first African American unit of the Army Air Corps. Over 250 men were trained at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois. In June the base of operations was switched to the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, giving the group its more famous name. The formation of this unit was seen as an experiment; many whites were skeptical that blacks had the intelligence, and even the courage, to become skilled fighter pilots. read more...
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It remains a mystery, one that perhaps may never be solved. This much is clear: early in the morning of March 18, 1990, two thieves dressed as Boston police officers tricked the pair of security guards at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum into granting them entry. Once inside, they bound and gagged the guards and stole 13 immensely valuable works of art, worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The thieves have never been caught, and the stolen treasures have never turned up—23 years and counting… read more...
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Every now and then in the annals of history one comes across incredible stories of great courage and heroism. Such is the story of Captain Lawrence Oates, who on March 17, 1912, stepped out of an Antarctic expedition’s tent into a blizzard, knowing full well he was walking to his certain death. Oates realized his weakened condition was slowing down his three companions and increasing the chances they would not survive the return trip (the party had reached the South Pole on January 18). Oates told the men: “I am just going outside and may be some time.” Then he stepped out, and was gone. read more...
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I understand that when writing a blog, it’s necessary to show a picture and say a few words about yourself, so that people don’t think a nameless, faceless committee or advisory board is running the show. Here I am, a real person. My name is Tony Pettinato, and I live in Deerfield, Mass. I did my undergraduate studies in English at Oberlin College, my graduate work in Journalism at UC Berkeley, and have been a reporter for six newspapers. For the past fourteen years I have worked at NewsBank, six of those as a managing editor for the U.S. Congressional Serial Set project – NewsBank’s acclaimed effort that digitized and indexed twelve million pages of primary source documents – that gratified my lifelong interest in American history. And that led me to editing this history blog!
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