In addition to the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, America almost had a third war with Great Britain—this one during the 1840s when the two powers competed for control of the Oregon Country. This huge area, stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, from California to Alaska, was highly prized for its fertile land and abundant resources, including timber and furs. read more...
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After the Civil War began with the Confederacy firing on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, the North responded enthusiastically to President Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers to serve for 90 days. The Union mobilized for the war effort, supplying men, arms and equipment, forming a Northern army to suppress the Southern rebellion. Then the monumental task began of converting these raw recruits into an organized, effective fighting force. read more...
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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...
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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...
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A historic first was achieved on May 15, 1970, when President Richard M. Nixon nominated two female colonels to become the first women generals in the history of the U.S. military: Col. Anna Mae Hays and Col. Elizabeth Paschel Hoisington. Since nomination by the president routinely leads to actual promotion (requiring only the formality of Senate approval), it surprised no one when the two women received their one-star rank as brigadier generals on June 11, 1970. They were the first women generals in the (at the time) 196-year history of the U.S. Army. read more...
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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...
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Hiram Cronk achieved two distinctions by the time his life ended on May 13, 1905. For one thing, he had reached the astonishing age of 105. For another, he was the last survivor of the War of 1812, a war the young U.S. had fought with Great Britain nearly a century before. With his death came a third distinction: the city of New York made his funeral a grand occasion, paying all expenses, laying his body in state in City Hall, then burying him in Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn with full military honors. read more...
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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...
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It was a proud moment for residents of the eastern half of Minnesota Territory when Minnesota was admitted into the Union as the 32nd state on May 11, 1858. However, the country they entered was in the midst of being torn apart by political turmoil and public discord, primarily over the issue of slavery, and the debate over Minnesota’s statehood reflected those tensions. read more...
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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...
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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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