 Dancing Down Broadway
May 25, 1878 -
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Was Born
Tap, tap, shuffle, tap. Have you ever tap danced or watched
others shuffle and tap? Some of those moves you've seen may
have been created by legendary tap dancer Bill "Bojangles"
Robinson. Born on May 25, 1878, in Richmond, Virginia,
Robinson invented a new way to tap, transforming it from a
flat-footed dance to a style that pushed the performer to
his toes. Many of Robinson's steps, including the famous
"stair dance," are commonly used today. Where did Mr.
Bojangles get his feet moving?
Orphaned as a baby, Robinson began performing in local beer
gardens at age six. Within two years, this young "hoofer,"
or song-and-dance man, was entertaining audiences far from
home. He performed on stage in "vaudeville," shows featuring
numbers by dancers, singers, comedians, and actors. By the
time he was a young adult, he earned top dollar dancing on
the vaudeville circuit and in nightclubs. You may have seen
him in old movies, dancing alongside a little dimpled girl
with golden curls. Can you guess who she was?
When motion pictures and radio took over vaudeville's
popularity in the 1930s, Robinson danced right into the
scene. He appeared in 14 films, most frequently opposite
Shirley Temple. He also appeared with Lena Horne in Stormy
Weather (1943), an African American production, rare at the
time.
Bill Robinson continued to wow audiences with his moves on
stage and in film, even late into his life. On his 61st
birthday, he danced down the street of Broadway in New York
City. Performers and fans of dance still pay tribute to Bill
"Bojangles" Robinson, a man of professional genius and
personal generosity. |
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Give My Regards to Broadway
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. |
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Too Young to Work
November 17, 1878 -
Reformer Grace Abbott Was Born
It is no surprise that Grace Abbott grew up to be an
activist and social reformer. She was born on November 17,
1878 in Grand Island, Nebraska, into a family of activists.
Her father was a leader in state politics, and her mother
took part in the Underground Railroad (helping to free
slaves) and the woman's suffrage movement (helping women
earn the right to vote).
After graduating from college and teaching high school,
Abbott went to the University of Chicago, where she earned a
master's degree in political science. She lived there for
nine years, until 1917, and worked for immigrants' rights.
But immigration was not the only cause that Abbott became
known for. Can you guess what other issue related to
children she dedicated much of her life?
In 1917, Abbott left Chicago to join the Department of
Labor, where she was assigned to the Children's Bureau in
charge of investigating and reporting on issues related to
child welfare. She began working on the first federal law
restricting child labor. In 1918, the U.S. Supreme Court
struck down the legislation. Although she was disappointed,
Abbott used her influence to make sure that wartime
contractors did not rely on child labor. How old should
someone be in order to be allowed to work?
The Children's Bureau campaigned for a constitutional
amendment limiting child labor. Although it was never
ratified, it did set an example for legislation regulating
the labor of children under the age of 16, which was passed
during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938.
Abbott didn't stop with child labor. She also advocated for
other programs. In 1921, the Sheppard-Towner Act passed,
directing the Children's Bureau to administer an aid program
to the states for child and maternity health care.
After a career of fighting for funding and protecting the
Children's Bureau, Abbott retired from government service in
1934. By that time, she was confident that the work of the
Children's Bureau would continue, and the Social Security
Act would provide assistance to mothers and children. |
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The Creole State
December 8, 1879 -
Louisiana Ratified a New State
Constitution
In an effort to respond to the demands of diversity as well
as to the events of the Civil War and Reconstruction,
Louisianans revised and passed new constitutions 10 times
between 1812 and 1921. On December 8, 1879, Louisiana
ratified a new state constitution, and at the same time,
moved the state capitol from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.
Louisiana has a rich history with many different cultures
playing a part. Do you know who some of those people were?
Before Europeans settled in Louisiana, Native Americans had
lived there for 16,000 years. Although the Spanish were the
first Europeans to discover Louisiana, the French were the
first to colonize the territory. French Canadians from the
colony of Acadia sought refuge in Louisiana during the 1750s
and 1760s after being driven out of Canada by the British.
The Acadians' descendants, the "Cajuns," culturally dominate
much of southern Louisiana. Today, New Orleans is a "melting
pot" of French, Spanish, and African cultures, and hosts the
colorful Mardi Gras festival each year.
Situated on the banks of the Mississippi River, New Orleans,
often referred to as the Creole city, has been a center for
American creativity. The birthplace of jazz, New Orleans has
produced famed musical artists, including Jelly Roll Morton,
Louis Armstrong, and Mahalia Jackson. The New Orleans Jazz
Festival is an annual event, drawing musicians and tourists
from all over the world. Writer Truman Capote was born in
New Orleans, and the city is also the setting for Tennessee
Williams's famous play, A Streetcar Named Desire. |
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 Let There Be Light!
December 31, 1879 -
First Public Demonstration of
Edison's Light Bulb
Can you imagine what life was like before you could simply
flip a switch and turn on a light? How would not having
electric light affect the way you live your life? In the
1870s, many inventors were working on creating lighting
devices, but until Edison became involved, what existed was
electric arc lighting. This kind of lighting system was one
in which lights were connected in a series circuit, so if
one failed, the whole circuit failed. Edison boasted that he
would create a safe, reliable, and inexpensive electric
light that would replace gaslight.
On December 31, 1879, after years of work and thousands of
experiments, Edison gave the first public demonstration of
the incandescent light bulb at his laboratory in Menlo Park,
New Jersey. An incandescent light has a thread-like object,
or filament, that gives off light when heated to
incandescence (hot enough to emit light) by an electric
current.
Edison was able to spend so much time on this invention
because, thanks to his reputation as a successful inventor,
he had the support of some leading financiers of the day.
J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilts established the Edison Light
Company and advanced Edison $30,000 for research and
development.
Edison did not work on creating the incandescent electric
light alone. He was assisted by Francis Upton, a 26-year-old
graduate of Princeton University with a master's degree in
science. Upton provided the mathematical and theoretical
expertise that Edison lacked. In October 1879, they produced
a bulb with a platinum filament. But platinum was too
expensive, so instead they found that a carbon filament
provided a good light at a cheaper price. Although there
were problems with the early incandescent lighting systems
for years, Edison's reputation as the world's greatest
inventor was firmly established. |
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Dear Diary
February 3, 1880 -
Theodore Roosevelt Wrote in His Diary
Do you keep a diary or a journal? Do you remember any
entries that stand out?
On February 3, 1880, Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his diary:
"... I drove over in my sleigh to Chestnut Hill, the horse
plunging to his belly in the great drifts, and the wind
cutting my face like a knife. My sweet life was just as
lovable and pretty as ever; it seems hardly possible that I
can kiss her and hold her in my arms. "
Who was Roosevelt's "sweet life?"
Roosevelt's "sweet life" was Alice Hathaway Lee, whom he
married 10 months after his February 3 diary entry. Sadly,
Alice Hathaway died four years later, after giving birth to
the couple's first child in 1884. Only a few hours earlier,
Roosevelt's mother, Martha Bulloch Roosevelt had died in the
same house.
After the double funeral and the christening of his new baby
daughter, Alice, on February 17, 1884, Roosevelt wrote, "For
joy or for sorrow my life has now been lived out."
Yet, Theodore Roosevelt's life had only just begun.
After his wife's death, Roosevelt consoled himself by
writing, hunting, fishing, and working on his ranch in the
Dakota Territory.
Two years later, he married his childhood friend, Edith
Kermit Carow. The Roosevelts had a close and happy family
life and little Alice soon became the eldest sister of four
boys and a girl. When Roosevelt became president of the
United States, the White House became a playground for his
six children and a collection of pets, including several
dogs, a pony, and a flying squirrel.
Roosevelt continued to record his life, not only in his
diaries, but also in his letters. Have you started to record
your own personal history? |
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Hello, Is the Sun Shining?
June 3, 1880 -
Alexander Graham Bell Invented the
Photophone
You may know that a telephone uses electricity to send voice
communications. However, you may not know that the man who
invented the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)
had another invention that used light to transmit sound. He
called it the photophone.
Imagine a solar-powered telephone, and you're close to
understanding the important gadget Alexander Graham Bell
invented on June 3, 1880, four years after he had patented
the telephone. Bell considered the photophone one of his
most important inventions. He's probably right, since the
technology behind the photophone led to the technology that
helps computers send information around the world today.
Bell's photophone was based on transmitting sound on a beam
of light. A person's voice was projected through an
instrument toward a mirror. The vibrations of the voice
caused similar vibrations in the mirror. Sunlight was then
directed into the mirror, where the vibrations were captured
and projected back to the photophone's receiver. There they
were converted back into sound.
It took a long time before the idea behind Bell's photophone
became practical. The original machine had a big flaw: when
the weather was cloudy it didn't work! Today, digital voice
and data communications are transmitted at the speed of
light through glass fibers called optical fiber. |
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The Kid Escapes
April 28, 1881 -
Billy the Kid Escaped from Jail
When you think of the old Wild West, what legendary outlaw
comes to mind? Many people would think of Billy the Kid. On
April 28, 1881, Billy the Kid escaped from the jailhouse in
Lincoln, New Mexico. He avoided capture until July 14, when
he was ambushed and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett at a ranch
house. Billy the Kid is buried in Fort Sumner, New Mexico,
though some believe the myth that he lived on. Who was Billy
the Kid?
Billy the Kid is not someone you would want to be like.
Although he has become a symbol of the legendary Wild West,
Billy the Kid was born on New York City's East Side, in 1859
or 1860. As a young teenager, he moved with his family to
New Mexico, by way of Kansas and Colorado. While still a
boy, Billy the Kid began roaming the Southwest and northern
Mexico, frequently with gangs. The landscape in this
photograph was familiar to the outlaw. And an outlaw he was.
Billy the Kid was reported to be responsible for the murder
of 21 men by the time he was 21 years old (the actual was
between four and ten). He was convicted of murder and
sentenced to hang before he made his dramatic escape from
the Lincoln County jail. Scholars still don't know Billy the
Kid's true identity; though some believe his given name may
have been either William Bonney or Henry McCarty. Movies and
books have long romanticized the old West and characters
like Billy the Kid. But what was the "Wild West" really
like? Ask your friends and family what they know. |
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 Wash Those Hands!
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. |
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Labor Takes A Holiday
September 5, 1882 -
The Very First Labor Day
If you could create a holiday, what would it be called? What
date would you choose for your holiday? Peter J. McGuire, a
carpenter and labor union leader, was the person who came up
with the idea for Labor Day. He thought American workers
should be honored with their own day. He proposed his idea
to New York's Central Labor Union early in 1882, and they
thought the holiday was a good idea, too. With four long
months between Independence Day and Thanksgiving, Peter
suggested a month halfway in between. But what date should
they choose?
The very first Labor Day was held on a Tuesday, September 5,
1882, in New York City. The day was celebrated with a
picnic, concert and speeches. Ten thousand workers marched
in a parade from City Hall to Union Square.
Soon after that first celebration, the holiday was moved to
the first Monday in September, the day we still honor.
Congress passed legislation making Labor Day a national
holiday in 1894. Labor Day is not just a day to celebrate
the accomplishments of workers; for some people, it is also
a day to talk about their concerns and to discuss ways to
get better working conditions and salaries. How do you
celebrate the last holiday of the summer? |
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How a River Can Light Your Home
September 30, 1882 -
The World's First Hydroelectric Power
Plant Began Operation
When you look at rushing waterfalls and rivers, you may not
immediately think of electricity. But hydroelectric
(water-powered) power plants are responsible for lighting
many of our homes and neighborhoods. On September 30, 1882,
the world's first hydroelectric power plant began operation
on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin. The plant, later
named the Appleton Edison Light Company, was initiated by
Appleton paper manufacturer H.J. Rogers, who had been
inspired by Thomas Edison's plans for an
electricity-producing station in New York.
Unlike Edison's New York plant which used steam power to
drive its generators, the Appleton plant used the natural
energy of the Fox River. When the plant opened, it produced
enough electricity to light Rogers's home, the plant itself,
and a nearby building. Hydroelectric power plants of today
generate a lot more electricity. By the early 20th century,
these plants produced a significant portion of the country's
electric energy. The cheap electricity provided by the
plants spurred industrial growth in many regions of the
country. To get even more power out of the flowing water,
the government started building dams.
In 1933, the U.S. government established the Tennessee
Valley Authority (TVA), which introduced hydroelectric power
plants to the South's troubled Tennessee River Valley. The
TVA built dams, managed flood control and soil conservation
programs, and more. It greatly boosted the region's economy.
And this development happened in other places as well. Soon,
people across the country were enjoying electricity in
homes, schools, and offices, reading by electric lamp
instead of candlelight or kerosene. New electricity-powered
technologies entered American homes, including electric
refrigerators and stoves, radios, televisions, and can
openers. Today, people take electricity for granted, not
able to imagine life without it. |
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Going to the Met
October 22, 1883 -
The Metropolitan Opera House Opened
in New York
Did you know that in some U.S. towns and cities, the opera
house used to serve as a center of community activity? The
most famous opera house in the country, the Metropolitan
Opera in New York, opened on October 22, 1883. The first
performance was of Charles Gounod's Faust, the fascinating
tale of a German sorcerer who sells his soul to the devil in
exchange for knowledge, power, youth, and love. Have you
heard of this story before?
Although composed in French and based on a German poem,
Faust was sung in Italian, the favored language of the
Metropolitan Opera's early management. If you saw the opera
now, "supertitles" on a screen above the stage would provide
an English translation of the words, though watching the
movement on stage and hearing the emotion of the voices
might be enough for you to understand the story. The
Metropolitan Opera has attracted amazing voices and talented
artists from around the world, like legendary conductor
Arturo Toscanini and great singer Geraldine Farrar.
Historically, opera houses have served a variety of
functions in towns and cities across the country, hosting
community dances, fairs, plays, and vaudeville shows as well
as operas and other musical events. Since 1966, the
Metropolitan Opera Association has made its home at the
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. There
you can hear opera vocalists such as Luciano Pavarotti and
Cecilia Bartoli; on other nights, the Lincoln Center hosts
plays, ballet, symphony orchestras, and other types of
performances. Ask older relatives if they ever went to
dances at their local opera house. |
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Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?
November 18, 1883 -
Four Standard Time Zones for the
Continental U.S. Were Introduced
Before the U.S. had time zones, how did people traveling
across the country know what time it was? Until the
invention of the railway, it took such a long time to get
from one place to another, that local "sun" time could be
used. When traveling to the east or to the west, a person
would have to change his or her watch by one minute every 12
miles in order to always have the correct time.
When people began traveling hundreds of miles in a day by
train, calculating the time became a problem. Railroad lines
needed to create schedules for departures and arrivals, but
every city had a different time!
At first the railroad managers tried to address the problem
by establishing 100 different railroad time zones. With so
many time zones, different railroad lines were sometimes on
different time systems, and scheduling remained confusing
and uncertain.
Finally, the railway managers agreed to use four time zones
for the continental United States: Eastern, Central,
Mountain, and Pacific. Local times would no longer be used
by the railroads. The U.S. Naval Observatory, responsible
for establishing the official time in the United States,
agreed to make the change. At 12 noon on November 18, 1883,
the U.S. Naval Observatory began signaling the change.
As Greenwich Mean Time (the official time used by the U. S.
Naval Observatory) was transmitted by telegraph, authorities
in major cities and managers of the railroads reset their
clocks. All over the United States and Canada, people
changed their clocks and watches to match the time for the
zone they lived in. Quickly, the confusion caused by the
many different standards of time was resolved.
What time zone do you live in? |
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The Last of the Red-Hot Mamas
January 13, 1884 -
Entertainer Sophie Tucker Was Born
Have you ever seen Bette Midler, Roseanne, or Joan Rivers
perform? These women all have a loud, funny, outspoken
style. An entertainer by the name of Sophie Tucker, who
worked in the early 1900s, paved the way for this kind of
showmanship.
Born Sophie Abuza on January 13, 1884, while her mother was
traveling from Russia to the United States, Abuza's Jewish
family was one of millions of Eastern European families who
immigrated to the U.S. Abuza loved to sing and had a great
sense of humor. She started performing at her father's
restaurant in Hartford, Connecticut, where she earned tips
for her songs. After an unsuccessful marriage to a man named
Louis Tuck, she decided to run away and try her luck in New
York City.
Tucker soon became known for her outspoken comedy and her
husky voice. When she first heard a recording of her own
voice, she said, "I sound like a foghorn!" But people loved
her, and in 1911 she recorded her theme song, "Some of These
Days," for the Edison Company. Her song would have been in
the Catalog for Edison Cylinder Records, like the one in
this photo.
By 1914, Sophie Tucker was a star, touring nonstop in the
U.S. and Europe. She was also a generous woman both
personally and professionally. During World War I she raised
over $4 million for service members, and years later she
donated all the proceeds from her autobiography, Some of
These Days, to charity.
Sophie Tucker liked to call herself "The Last of the Red-Hot
Mamas," and she continued to perform in clubs, movies, and
on radio, television, and stage until she was 78! How's that
for a red-hot career! |
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A Woman on the Dollar?
March 8, 1884 -
Susan B. Anthony Supports Women's
Suffrage Amendment
You have probably heard about the new $1 coin with Sacajawea
on it, but did you know that in 1979 the United States had
another dollar coin? That year, the U.S. issued a silver
coin worth $1 that had an image of Susan B. Anthony on one
side. Who was Susan B. Anthony? Here's a hint: she helped
pave the way to give American women the right to vote.
Chances are that when your great-grandmother was young, she
couldn't vote even though your great grandfather could. It
was because of the hard work of a lot of women and men that
your mom and grandmother can vote today. Susan B. Anthony
helped lead that hard work. On March 8, 1884, Anthony
testified before Congress supporting women's suffrage (right
to vote). She urged senators to support an amendment to the
U.S. Constitution that, she said, "shall prohibit the
disenfranchisement of citizens of the United States on
account of sex..."
In some newspapers, Anthony was called a fanatic and
ridiculed for her views.
It wasn't until 1919 that Congress voted to direct the
states to consider ratifying a constitutional amendment to
allow women to vote. Nicknamed the "Anthony Amendment" in
honor of the leader who had died in 1906, the Nineteenth
Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920. For more than 70
years, women like Susan B. Anthony fought for women's right
to vote alongside men on Election Day.
Can you imagine an election in which your dad could vote but
your mom couldn't? |
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Washington Monumental Trivia
December 6, 1884 -
The Washington Monument Was Completed
What do you know about the structure in this photo? In a
city of monuments, it is referred to as "The Monument." It
is, of course, the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.,
completed on December 6, 1884. The focal point of the
National Mall, it is the background for concerts and
fireworks and dominates the capital's skyline.
How long did it take to complete the 555-foot Egyptian
obelisk, topped with a 3,300-pound marble capstone and a
9-inch pyramid of cast aluminum? That question is harder
than it may seem.
The Washington National Monument Society laid the monument's
cornerstone on Independence Day, 1848, 36 years before
completion. But when the obelisk was a height of about 156
feet, the Society lost support and funding. The monument
stood incomplete and untouched for 20 years. Finally, in
1876, President Ulysses S. Grant authorized the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers to finish the project. When fully
constructed, it was the world's tallest structure. Today,
the approximately 36,000-stacked blocks of granite and
marble compose the world's tallest freestanding masonry
structure. But there's even more trivia to top that!
That 9-inch aluminum pyramid, which completes the top of the
structure as it narrows to a point, is 100-ounces of solid
aluminum, part of the monument's lightning protection
system. In the 1880s, aluminum was a rare metal, selling for
$1.10 per ounce and used primarily for jewelry. The pyramid
was the largest piece of aluminum of its day and was such a
novelty that it was displayed at Tiffany's jewelry store in
New York before it was placed at the top. Last, if you go to
visit the Washington Monument, you will have a spectacular
panoramic view from the observation deck because, by
government mandate, it will always be the tallest structure
in Washington. Now that's some monumental trivia! |
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You Go Girl!!
January 11, 1885 -
Alice Paul Was Born
Alice Paul realized that to make big changes in society, it
takes a strong leader who has determination and powerful
strategies. Born on January 11, 1885, in Moorestown, New
Jersey, Paul provided just such leadership for the woman
suffrage (the right to vote) movement.
With a Ph.D. in social work from the University of
Pennsylvania and training in militant tactics learned from
English suffrage leaders, Paul joined the National American
Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Her first job was to put
on a parade in Washington, D.C., to draw attention to their
cause. The parade took place at the same time as
inauguration festivities for President Woodrow Wilson.
Crowds surrounded the parading women, resulting in near
riots.
Over the next seven years, Paul and others relentlessly
pursued legislation that would add a woman's right to vote
to the Constitution. Paul left NAWSA and formed a political
party, the National Woman's Party, that campaigned and
demonstrated. Party members picketed the White House and
ended up behind bars, where they continued their protest
with a hunger strike, until officials force-fed them.
In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment, allowing women the right
to vote, was finally added to the Constitution. Before her
death in 1977, Alice Paul helped orchestrate enormous
changes in the rights and status of American women,
exemplifying a strong and determined leader. What leaders
today are as strong and determined as Alice Paul? |
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Perfection in Housekeeping
May 2, 1885 -
Good Housekeeping Magazine Debuts
The magazine became extraordinarily popular. By 1911, when
the Hearst Publishing company bought it, 300,000 people read
Good Housekeeping. In 2006, the magazine had approximately
4.6 million paid subscribers. Today Good Housekeeping
includes articles about home, food, fitness, beauty, health,
and family. Have you ever heard of the Good Housekeeping
Institute?
The magazine became extraordinarily popular. By 1911, when
the Hearst Publishing company bought it, 300,000 people read
Good Housekeeping. In 2006, the magazine had approximately
4.6 million paid subscribers. Today Good Housekeeping
includes articles about home, food, fitness, beauty, health,
and family. Have you ever heard of the Good Housekeeping
Institute?
Opened in 1900, the Good Housekeeping Institute is still in
operation today. It tests consumer goods and makes
recommendations to readers. Why do you think it is important
to test consumer goods? |
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Lady Liberty Steps Foot in America
June 19, 1885 -
The Statue of Liberty Arrived at
Bedloe's Island
These toes belong to a famous American lady, but she wasn't
born in America. The Statue of Liberty arrived at its
permanent home on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor on June
19, 1885, as a gift of friendship from the people of France
to the people of the United States. Sculptor Frederic-Auguste
Bartholdi's Liberty Enlightening the World measures 151 feet
high and has come to symbolize freedom and democracy
nationwide. Miss Liberty is made of copper sheets assembled
on a framework of steel supports. How did the enormous
statue emigrate to America?
In order to transport the statue to America, the figure was
disassembled into 350 pieces and packed in 214 crates. Four
months later, it was reassembled on Bedloe's Island (renamed
Liberty Island in 1956). On October 28, 1886, President
Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty before
thousands of spectators. But millions more would meet "Lady
Liberty" in a different way.
The nearby Ellis Island Immigration Station, a major
reception point for immigrants entering the United States,
opened in 1892. Before the station closed in 1943, the
Statue of Liberty welcomed more than 12 million immigrants
to America. On its pedestal, words by poet Emma Lazarus
reflect the hope for freedom and opportunity shared by the
millions who see Miss Liberty after a long ocean journey:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.
What kinds of things do you think the Statue of Liberty
inspired? How about music? |
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Have a Coke and a Smile
May 8, 1886 -
The First Coca-Cola Served
When you're thirsty, what do you like to drink? Coca-Cola
maybe? People have been drinking the popular beverage since
May 8, 1886, when Dr. John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist and
inventor of patent medicines, sold the first Coca-Cola at
Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. America's favorite
soft drink has an interesting history. Bookkeeper Frank
Robinson came up with the name, and it is his handwriting we
recognize as the famous Coca-Cola trademark.
By the late 1890s, Coca-Cola was one of America's most
popular fountain drinks. Sales increased from one million to
one hundred million between 1890 and 1900. The company began
to sell syrup to individual bottling companies licensed to
sell the drink. These companies added carbonated water to
the syrup and bottled it. The U.S. soft drink industry still
works this way today.
Now, you may get a can of Coca-Cola out of a machine or a
cup self-served from a fountain at a fast food restaurant,
but until the 1960s, both small-town and big-city dwellers
would sit down in their local soda fountain or ice cream
parlor for the soft drink. Often, the soda fountain was
inside a drug store, and people of all ages would come and
meet there. Perhaps you've seen this type of place in movies
or on TV shows set in the 1950s or 60s.
Next time you have a Coca-Cola, amaze your friends with
historical trivia about the popular soft drink. |
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O Captain! My Captain!
February 9, 1888 -
Walt Whitman Wrote A Letter
Have you ever kept rewriting a story or poem because you
just weren't satisfied with it? Walt Whitman wrote his poem
about President Lincoln, "O Captain! My Captain!" in 1865,
but he revised it in 1866, and again in 1871.
After the wrong version of his poem was published in the
Riverside Literature Series No. 32, Whitman wrote to the
publishers on February 9, 1888. "Somehow you have got a
couple of bad perversions in 'O Captain,'" he wrote, "I send
you a corrected sheet."
Do you know why Whitman wrote the poem about Abraham
Lincoln?
O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is
won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and
daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
Whitman wrote the poem in response to the assassination of
the president just as the Civil War was coming to an end.
His poem was so popular, and he was requested to recite it
so often, that he said, "I'm almost sorry I ever wrote [it]
. . ." |
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A Warrior on the Sports Field
May 28, 1888 -
World-Class Athlete Jim Thorpe Was
Born
Do you play multiple sports? If you admire great athletes
like Deion Sanders that do, meet world-class athlete Jim
Thorpe.
Thorpe was a Sac and Fox Native American who excelled at
every sport he ever played. Born in a one-room cabin in
Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) on May 28, 1888,
Thorpe was named the greatest football player and the
greatest American athlete of the first half of the century
by American sports writers and broadcasters in 1950. The
great-great-grandson of an Indian warrior and athlete,
Thorpe attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in
Pennsylvania. In 1909, he left school to play baseball for
two years before returning to play football, baseball, and
basketball, and train for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics in
track. How do you think he did?
Thorpe won gold medals in both the decathlon and pentathlon
events, but when a reporter revealed his two years of
semi-professional baseball, he was stripped of his medals.
The story doesn't end there.
In his last college season, Thorpe scored 198 points and was
voted first-string, All-American halfback. Once out of
school, he signed to play baseball with the National League
Champion New York Giants. From 1913 to 1929, he usually
switched sports each season from baseball to football, which
he played professionally until he was 41 years old.
Football was not as popular as baseball back then, but
Thorpe helped make it the wildly popular sport it is today
and became the first president of the new American
Professional Football Association (later the National
Football League--NFL). As his professional sports career
drew to a close, the Depression proved a hard time for
Thorpe. He held a variety of jobs, but he could not afford
to buy a ticket to the 1932 Olympic games. When he was
invited to sit in the presidential box, a crowd of 105,000
stood to cheer him. After his death, Thorpe was also given
back his Olympic medals and his name was reentered into the
record books. Can you name other multiple-sports stars? Ask
your family if they have heard of Jim Thorpe. |
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Disaster
May 31, 1889 -
Johnstown Flood Disaster
On May 31, 1889, America suffered one of the greatest
disasters in its history. A flood known as the Johnstown
Flood or the Great Flood of 1889 destroyed the city of
Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Several days before the disaster, a
big storm over Nebraska and Kansas began to move east. When
it got to Pennsylvania, 6 to 10 inches of rain fell in 24
hours. This bad storm meant bad news for the people of
Johnstown.
Floods were nothing new for the citizens of Johnstown. An
immigrant from Switzerland named Joseph Johns settled
Johnstown where the Conemaugh River forms from the
Stonycreek River and the Little Conemaugh River. Johnstown
is located in a river valley, which is low and floods
easily. However, the people of Johnstown had never seen a
flood like this one.
When the South Fork Dam ripped open upstream, a massive wave
tore through Johnstown. The water destroyed everything in
its path. It caused approximately $17 million in damage and
killed more than 2,200 people. Houses, factories, and
bridges were left in pieces. The water tore down telegraph
lines and destroyed railroad service.
Many people helped Johnstown after the flood. It was among
the first major disasters handled by Clara Barton and the
American Red Cross. (The American Red Cross helps people
during disasters.) People came together from all around the
world to help. Countries like Russia, Turkey, Great Britain,
Australia, and Germany collected money to help rebuild
Johnstown. Can you remember other disasters in which people
helped each other as they did in Johnstown? |
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One Dakota, Two Dakota...
November 2, 1889 -
North Dakota and South Dakota Were
Admitted to the Union
After controversy over the location of a capital, the Dakota
Territory was split in two and divided into North and South
in 1889. Later that year, on November 2, North Dakota and
South Dakota were admitted to the Union as the 39th and 40th
states. This vast territory was one of the last American
regions to be settled.
The first European explorers entered the region in 1738. At
that time, at least eight Native American tribes populated
the area, including the Crow, Cheyenne, and Dakota (Santee
Sioux). The Native influence still characterizes many parts
of the states.
Other than fur trappers, explorers didn't venture much into
the Dakotas until the land came under the possession of the
United States with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. The Lewis
and Clark expedition spent the winter in present-day North
Dakota in 1804. With the 1832 arrival of the steamboat and
the 1862 creation of the Homestead Act, a few people
migrated to the area, but tension between the settlers and
the Sioux discouraged many. It was the 1874 discovery of
gold that brought prospectors pouring into the sacred Black
Hills of the Sioux Reservation. That meant trouble.
After an armed resistance, the Sioux surrendered the Black
Hills to the U.S. in 1877. By 1881, even the powerful chief
Sitting Bull had surrendered. The end of the "Indian crisis"
and the completion of the Northern Pacific Railway brought
more than 100,000 settlers between 1879 and 1886. These new
citizens became divided over the location of the capital.
Northerners named Bismarck their capital in 1883, while
Southerners created their own constitution that year,
selecting Pierre as their capital. Congress did not push the
matter. Instead, Congress passed a law that officially
divided the territory before declaring both North Dakota and
South Dakota states of the Union. |
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The Pineapple Express
November 16, 1889 -
Hawaii
A sailor arrived in Hawaii in 1865 for what he thought would
be a short visit. But, he was thrown from a horse and broke
his leg. He couldn't leave with his ship, so he made Oahu,
the island capital of Hawaii, his home. There, the
enterprising young man, Benjamin Franklin Dillingham,
invested in the island's future, eventually building the
Oahu Railway that began operation on November 16, 1889. The
railway helped bring about an economic boom in Hawaii.
Dillingham first bought a local hardware company and
supplied goods for the growing sugar industry. He figured
that if there was an easier way to transport products from
the inland to the harbor for export, the sugar industry
would grow. He opened the Oahu Railway and Land Company
(OR&L) on November 16, 1889, the birthday of Hawaiian King
Kalakaua.
At first, business was slow, but, as Dillingham predicted,
the railway spurred the growth of new industry. By the early
1900s, the railway covered 160 miles serving several sugar
plantations, pineapple farms, and the popular Haleiwa Hotel
for tourists. After World War II, trucks began taking over
transportation for agricultural business, and eventually the
railway shut down. But Dillingham had made his dream a
reality. |
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