July 4, 1776
Independence Day: Americans Celebrate the Birth of Their Nation
It's Independence Day!
Today, all across the United States, people are wishing each other a happy Fourth of July. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence. Though it is the Constitution that provides the legal and governmental framework for the United States, the Declaration, with its eloquent assertion "all Men are created equal," is equally beloved by the American people. On the Declaration's first anniversary, many citizens of Philadelphia had a spontaneous July 4th celebration. But it wasn't until after the War of 1812 that observing Independence Day became commonplace.
In the past, large public events were arranged to take place on July 4 in order to coincide with the holiday. The groundbreaking ceremonies for the Erie Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad both took place on July 4. But even without these events, Americans have long celebrated Independence Day with great fanfare. Picnics and parades fill the day while fireworks fill the night sky. A band may play one of John Philip Sousa's marches, such as "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Friends and families barbeque, hold contests and races, wave flags, sing, or listen to patriotic speeches. By the 1870s, the Fourth of July was one of America's most important holidays.
In 1859, still in the days of slavery, the Banneker Institute of Philadelphia urged African Americans to celebrate Independence Day, even though it recognized that the ideals of the Declaration of Independence were in conflict with the practice of slavery. Nonetheless, the institute expressed the hope that soon, "our long lost rights will be restored to us."
The Fourth of July became a legal holiday in 1941. Every year the celebration of the American ideal that--"all Men are created equal"--continues. How do you celebrate Independence Day?
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Today In US History
July 3, 1878
George M. Cohan Was Born
Your favorite songwriter may have won a Grammy, but what about a medal from Congress? In 1940, Congress awarded George M. Cohan a special medal for composing "Over There." Cohan wrote the song as a patriotic tribute when the U.S. entered World War I. Have you heard of it? If not, there's another song he wrote that you might sing at school.
Besides "Over There," Cohan also wrote, "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy." George M. Cohan was born on July 3, 1878, in Providence, Rhode Island. He had little formal training, but he and his sister joined their parents' vaudeville act and became known as "The Four Cohans." Cohan had many talents. He not only wrote songs, but also he acted and wrote plays. The movie "Yankee Doodle Dandy" was made about his career.
Next time you're watching television, see if you can find it on an old movie station, or rent it. Then you'll get to see the kind of song and dance people watched before the Grammys and MTV.
George M. Cohan Was Born
Your favorite songwriter may have won a Grammy, but what about a medal from Congress? In 1940, Congress awarded George M. Cohan a special medal for composing "Over There." Cohan wrote the song as a patriotic tribute when the U.S. entered World War I. Have you heard of it? If not, there's another song he wrote that you might sing at school.
Besides "Over There," Cohan also wrote, "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy." George M. Cohan was born on July 3, 1878, in Providence, Rhode Island. He had little formal training, but he and his sister joined their parents' vaudeville act and became known as "The Four Cohans." Cohan had many talents. He not only wrote songs, but also he acted and wrote plays. The movie "Yankee Doodle Dandy" was made about his career.
Next time you're watching television, see if you can find it on an old movie station, or rent it. Then you'll get to see the kind of song and dance people watched before the Grammys and MTV.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Today In US History
July 2, 1881
Charles J. Guiteau Shot President Garfield
The president's been shot, but he's not dead...yet. No, it would take much dirtier hands than Charles J. Guiteau's to kill President Garfield. When Guiteau, a lawyer with a history of mental illness, shot Garfield in the back on July 2, 1881, he thought God had told him to shoot the president. He also thought he had killed the president, but it wasn't the bullet that did the job.
Over the next few weeks, surgeons tried to locate the bullet in the president's back. Even Alexander Graham Bell tried to help by inventing a metal detector. Unfortunately for the president, the bullet was imbedded so deeply in his body that the metal detector could not locate it. Even more unfortunate was that the importance of sterilization in the operating room hadn't been realized yet. It was the infection, caused by doctors probing the president's wound with unwashed hands, that eventually killed James A. Garfield.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Today In US History
July 1, 1898
Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders
Before becoming President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He resigned in 1898 to organize the Rough Riders, the first voluntary cavalry in the Spanish-American War. The U.S. was fighting against Spain over Spain's colonial policies with Cuba. Roosevelt recruited a diverse group of cowboys, miners, law enforcement officials, and Native Americans to join the Rough Riders. They participated in the capture of Kettle Hill, then charged across a valley to assist in the seizure of San Juan Ridge, the highest point of which is San Juan Hill.
The Rough Riders are best remembered for their charge up San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898. Roosevelt and his Rough Riders were a colorful group of characters. During the war, they received the most publicity of any unit in the army. Have you seen any of those old Westerns where the posse rides after the bad guys in a cloud of dust? That's pretty much how the Rough Riders were portrayed. Of course, the reality was that the Rough Riders didn't win the war on their own. There were many soldiers and cavalry units who fought and died in the war.
A few days after the Rough Riders' charge up San Juan Hill, the Spanish fleet fled Cuba. It was just a matter of weeks before the war had ended and the U.S. was victorious.
Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders
Before becoming President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He resigned in 1898 to organize the Rough Riders, the first voluntary cavalry in the Spanish-American War. The U.S. was fighting against Spain over Spain's colonial policies with Cuba. Roosevelt recruited a diverse group of cowboys, miners, law enforcement officials, and Native Americans to join the Rough Riders. They participated in the capture of Kettle Hill, then charged across a valley to assist in the seizure of San Juan Ridge, the highest point of which is San Juan Hill.
The Rough Riders are best remembered for their charge up San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898. Roosevelt and his Rough Riders were a colorful group of characters. During the war, they received the most publicity of any unit in the army. Have you seen any of those old Westerns where the posse rides after the bad guys in a cloud of dust? That's pretty much how the Rough Riders were portrayed. Of course, the reality was that the Rough Riders didn't win the war on their own. There were many soldiers and cavalry units who fought and died in the war.
A few days after the Rough Riders' charge up San Juan Hill, the Spanish fleet fled Cuba. It was just a matter of weeks before the war had ended and the U.S. was victorious.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Today In US History
June 30, 1864
Yosemite Land Grant Signed
What would happen if land were not preserved? People would probably develop it and build on it, right? Fortunately, President Abraham Lincoln saw to it that no one would develop Yosemite when he signed the Yosemite Land Grant on June 30, 1864.
This land grant, or piece of legislation, provided California with 39,000 acres of the Yosemite Valley and the nearby Mariposa Big Tree Grove "upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation." Do you know what has happened to Yosemite since then?
Because of the Yosemite Land Grant the incredible landscape of Yosemite, with its impressive cliffs, massive trees, and breathtaking waterfalls, has been preserved and open to the public. Have you been to a national park? Was it crowded?
The problem of tourism soon overwhelmed Yosemite Valley and the Big Tree Grove as they quickly became "must see" vacation destinations. In 1890, the public wanted the park returned to the federal government and, as a result, Yosemite National Park was established.
Today, Yosemite includes nearly 1,200 square miles of the central Sierra Nevada mountain range. With mountains as high as 13,000 feet above sea level, the park preserves alpine wilderness, groves of Giant Sequoias, and the Yosemite Valley's cliffs, waterfalls, wildflowers, and impressive rock formations.
Yosemite Land Grant Signed
What would happen if land were not preserved? People would probably develop it and build on it, right? Fortunately, President Abraham Lincoln saw to it that no one would develop Yosemite when he signed the Yosemite Land Grant on June 30, 1864.
This land grant, or piece of legislation, provided California with 39,000 acres of the Yosemite Valley and the nearby Mariposa Big Tree Grove "upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation." Do you know what has happened to Yosemite since then?
Because of the Yosemite Land Grant the incredible landscape of Yosemite, with its impressive cliffs, massive trees, and breathtaking waterfalls, has been preserved and open to the public. Have you been to a national park? Was it crowded?
The problem of tourism soon overwhelmed Yosemite Valley and the Big Tree Grove as they quickly became "must see" vacation destinations. In 1890, the public wanted the park returned to the federal government and, as a result, Yosemite National Park was established.
Today, Yosemite includes nearly 1,200 square miles of the central Sierra Nevada mountain range. With mountains as high as 13,000 feet above sea level, the park preserves alpine wilderness, groves of Giant Sequoias, and the Yosemite Valley's cliffs, waterfalls, wildflowers, and impressive rock formations.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Today In US History
June 8
Frank Lloyd Wright Was Born
June 8, 1867
Some people do their most creative work late in life. Frank Lloyd Wright was one of America's most influential architects, and he designed some of his most famous buildings when he was over seventy years old. Wright was born on June 8, 1867, in Richland Center, Wisconsin. He was trained to be an engineer but mostly taught himself how to design buildings. He believed houses should be comfortable for the occupants but should also blend in with their environment. He took this idea to its limit when he designed a house in Pennsylvania named Fallingwater, which is suspended above a waterfall. Wright designed other buildings with unique characteristics.
Wright designed the Guggenheim Museum of modern and contemporary art in New York City. This modern structure marked a bold departure from traditional museum design. Its exhibition space featured a spiraling six-story ramp, which encircled an open center space lit by a glass dome. When Wright died at ninety years of age, he had just finished the design for a mile-high office building (it was never built). How long do you think it would take an elevator to get to the top? Have you ever seen a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright?
Frank Lloyd Wright Was Born
June 8, 1867
Some people do their most creative work late in life. Frank Lloyd Wright was one of America's most influential architects, and he designed some of his most famous buildings when he was over seventy years old. Wright was born on June 8, 1867, in Richland Center, Wisconsin. He was trained to be an engineer but mostly taught himself how to design buildings. He believed houses should be comfortable for the occupants but should also blend in with their environment. He took this idea to its limit when he designed a house in Pennsylvania named Fallingwater, which is suspended above a waterfall. Wright designed other buildings with unique characteristics.
Wright designed the Guggenheim Museum of modern and contemporary art in New York City. This modern structure marked a bold departure from traditional museum design. Its exhibition space featured a spiraling six-story ramp, which encircled an open center space lit by a glass dome. When Wright died at ninety years of age, he had just finished the design for a mile-high office building (it was never built). How long do you think it would take an elevator to get to the top? Have you ever seen a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright?
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Today In US History
June 7
Daniel Boone First Saw the Woodlands of Present-Day Kentucky
June 7, 1769
Have you ever been camping and thought you'd discovered a place that no one else had ever seen? Have you ever been lost in the woods? Imagine wandering through mountains and wilderness that had never been explored and blazing a trail that others would follow. If you can imagine doing this, you're a lot like Daniel Boone.
For months, Boone trekked through forests in the Appalachian Mountains, where few Anglo-Americans had ever been. On June 7, 1769, Boone reached the summit of a ridge and saw the woodlands of what is now Kentucky. He realized then that he had made it across the mountains to the forests on the other side. This trail became known as Wilderness Road and would become one of the main roads for people traveling west. It opened up vast amounts of land for further exploration.
June 7 is celebrated as "Boone Day" in Kentucky. Daniel Boone is considered a hero, not for wearing a raccoon-skin cap, which he's said to have done, but for building a road to the state of Kentucky.
Daniel Boone First Saw the Woodlands of Present-Day Kentucky
June 7, 1769
Have you ever been camping and thought you'd discovered a place that no one else had ever seen? Have you ever been lost in the woods? Imagine wandering through mountains and wilderness that had never been explored and blazing a trail that others would follow. If you can imagine doing this, you're a lot like Daniel Boone.
For months, Boone trekked through forests in the Appalachian Mountains, where few Anglo-Americans had ever been. On June 7, 1769, Boone reached the summit of a ridge and saw the woodlands of what is now Kentucky. He realized then that he had made it across the mountains to the forests on the other side. This trail became known as Wilderness Road and would become one of the main roads for people traveling west. It opened up vast amounts of land for further exploration.
June 7 is celebrated as "Boone Day" in Kentucky. Daniel Boone is considered a hero, not for wearing a raccoon-skin cap, which he's said to have done, but for building a road to the state of Kentucky.
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