Almost from their inception, the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) were greeted with mistrust and persecution by their neighbors. This led to their exodus from New York (where they formed their first church in April 1830), then Ohio, then Missouri. Animosity and violence between Mormons and their neighbors in northwestern Missouri became so great in 1838 that historians have referred to this as the “Mormon War,” and it culminated with a shocking government act. On Oct. 27, 1838, Missouri Governor Lilburn W. read more...
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The American victory during the four-day Battle of Leyte Gulf, which ended Oct. 26, 1944, was the final blow that destroyed the Imperial Japanese Navy. During the biggest naval battle in history, more than 300 warships and 1,800 planes fought a series of battles to determine the fate of the Japanese stronghold on the Philippine islands. When the fighting was over, the Americans had achieved a resounding victory and the Japanese navy ceased to be a viable force for the remainder of the war. read more...
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On Oct. 20, 1803, the U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase Treaty by a vote of 24 to 7. With this one treaty the United States nearly doubled in size, acquiring 828,800 square miles from France for only $15 million—an astonishing bargain at less than 3 cents per acre. All or part of 15 current states were acquired, the port of New Orleans was secured, and France’s ambitions in North America were ended (Napoleon, preoccupied with European concerns, was quite amenable to this). With all these advantages, why was the Senate vote not unanimous? read more...
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It almost seemed like a political advertising campaign gone awry—but one no consultant would ever dare propose. When Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt formed the Progressive Party to run for a third term as president in 1912, it became known as the “Bull Moose Party” after he declared: “I’m as fit as a bull moose.” Then, thanks to a would-be assassin’s bullet, Roosevelt got the chance to back up that claim. read more...
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On this day in 1903, the Boston Americans (later the Red Sox) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 to win Major League Baseball’s first “World’s Championship Series.” The contest between the Pirates, champions of the established National League, and the Americans, champions of the upstart American League, was a best-of-nine series. Even though the favored Pirates won three of the first four games, the Americans came storming back, winning the last four games in a row to take the championship five games to three. read more...
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When a race riot erupted aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk the night of Oct. 12-13, 1972, while the ship was on combat duty in the Tonkin Gulf during the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy knew it had a problem. A casualty toll of 46 injured sailors—3 of them hurt seriously enough to require medical evacuation—drove home the point. The problem was confirmed four days later, when another racial “incident” occurred aboard the fleet oiler USS Hassayampa in Subic Bay, Philippines. read more...
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An ugly incident in U.S. Navy history occurred on Oct. 12, 1972, when a race riot erupted aboard the U.S. carrier Kitty Hawk while on combat duty in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. More than 100, and perhaps as many as 200, African American sailors began attacking their white shipmates that night, in a six-hour brawl that lasted into the morning hours of Oct. 13. By the time the rioting was finally subdued, 46 sailors—40 white, 6 black—had been injured, 3 seriously enough to require hospitalization. read more...
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In terms of lives lost, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was not the deadliest catastrophe in the city’s history. In the extent of its damage, however, the Great Fire was the biggest disaster. The blaze, whose origins are unknown, began Sunday night, Oct. 8, 1871. Strong winds out of the southwest whipped the flames into towering walls of fire that burned uncontrollably. With the city’s waterworks damaged, firefighters were unable to combat the fire. People fled in panic with only the clothes on their back, having no time to salvage any of their possessions. read more...
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No one saw it coming. It was the fifth game of the 1956 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Yankees trotted out a mediocre, part-time starting pitcher, 27-year-old Don Larsen. This journeyman hurler played for seven different teams in his 14-year career, compiling an unimpressive 81-91 record. In 1954, pitching for the Baltimore Orioles, he was a horrible 3-21. Known as a wild partier, his teammates called him “Gooney Bird.” All he did on Oct. read more...
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Hollywood was booming in the first quarter of the 20th century as silent films became one of America’s favorite entertainments. Then on Oct. 6, 1927, something magical happened that radically transformed movies and doomed the silent film era: The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length movie containing songs and dialogue and starring singing sensation Al Jolson, electrified the audience gathered at the Warner Bros.’ theater in New York City for the premiere. It did not happen overnight, but silent movies were on their way out: “talkies” were what film audiences wanted to see. 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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