Statehood, Slavery, and Woman’s’ Rights

Historic events oddly seem to land on certain dates and months. For example, April 15th; We know it as Tax Day, but it is also the day the Titanic sunk, Abraham Lincoln died due to assassination, Jackie Robinson became the first African American player in major league baseball, Apple II began the personal computer era, mass-media began with the creation of the New York Herald, the Boston Marathon bombing occurred, and most historians believe it is the day Jesus was crucified. Quite a bit for one particular date on the calendar.

The months of July and August are no exception. Many firsts occurred during these months from several state’s being established, women being given full freedom and full rights that they still enjoy today, and slavery being brought to the United States.

Here is a list of firsts that occurred in July and August:

· 1927 years ago, the final book of the Bible, Revelation, was completed

· 807 years ago, England’s King John was forced to sign the Magna-Carta, making all people, even the King, subject to English law

· 675 years ago, the Bubonic plague killed one-third of all the people in Europe

· 520 years ago, Juan de Córdoba sends his African slave from Spain to Hispaniola (Haiti, Dominican Republic)

· 512 years ago, Spain’s King Ferdinand sends 50 slaves to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)

· 403 years ago, a Dutch ship brings 20 slaves to the US from Britain

· Several States were officially founded:

o New York July 26, 1788

o Missouri August 10, 1821

o Colorado August 1, 1876

o Idaho July 3, 1890

o Wyoming July 10, 1890

o Hawaii August 21, 1959 – On this same Day, President Eisenhower ordered the US flag to be organized as it is today - he ordered that the stars would be arranged in nine rows, which were to be staggered horizontally, and 11 columns staggered vertically.

· 229 years ago, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin

· 217 years ago, the US Marines won the first US battle fought on foreign soil. The battle of Derna in Libya, on the “Shores of Tripoli.”

· 213 years ago, England abolished slave trade

· 198 years ago, Mexico abolished slavery

· 192 years ago, the first steam powered trains began running in England from Liverpool to Manchester

· 174 years ago, The Women’s Rights Convention called for Women to have the right to vote

· 163 years ago, the first US Oil Company was formed; Seneca Oil

· 161 years ago, the first major battle of the Civil War was fought; Bull Run

· 160 years ago, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad act leading to the trans-continental railway

· 159 years ago, the battle of Gettysburg was fought and became the turning point of the US Civil War; ~46,000 killed, wounded or captured.

· 141 years ago, President Garfield was shot twice, which would lead to his death 2 months later

· 125 years ago, Guglielmo Marconi patents the wireless telegraph

· 116 years ago, the first AM radio broadcast

· 102 years ago, the 19th Amendment passes giving Women the right to vote

· 99 years ago, President Harding suffers a stroke and dies

· 97 years ago, Adolf Hitler is released from prison and publishes Mein Kompf

· 75 years ago, India obtains independence from England

· 69 years ago, the Korean war ends

· 59 years ago, Congress authorizes the US to intervene in the Viet Nam war

· 59 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. delivers “I Have a Dream” speech

· 58 years ago, President Johnson signs the Civil Rights act

· 57 years ago, President Johnson signs the voting rights act

· 53 years ago, Man first walks on the moon

· 48 years ago, President Nixon resigns due to Watergate

· 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina hits the US killing hundreds

· 11 years ago, the final space shuttle mission was completed; Atlantis

As you can see, some significant firsts, and other activities, occurred during these months, most good, some bad. Many states were founded, slavery was brought to the US, and Women were given full rights. Our flag design first started and remains today, wireless technology began, our first personal computers began, mass-media was established, space travel reached two significant milestones, the birth of what would become “Big-Oil,” and freedom and independence got huge boosts.

It's hard to imagine a world without all of these accomplishments, and I am so glad, and blessed, to be able to live a life thanks to these many accomplishments and to leaders who sacrificed the ultimate.