NewsInHistory Blog

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...

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...

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...