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| This Month in History
D&G General Contracting Co. has always found it interesting to look back on events that shaped the modern world. Each month, we'll explore a different historical event. July In 1863, the Civil War was largely a stalemate. Continual fighting took place in Northern Virginia, but neither side seemed to be gaining an edge. In fact, the political climate in the northern states was even turning against the war. General Robert E. Lee decided that it would be strategic to launch a second invasion of the north after the first had failed a year earlier. It would transfer the war out of Northern Virginia and, if successful, could allow the Confederate army to utilize some of the north's resources. On July 1, Lee met the Union army outside of Gettysburg, PA. While the first day went to the Confederates, the Union army took a strong defensive battle and held strong. On July 3, Lee retreated to the Potomac River and crossed back into Northern Virginia. All told, over 50,000 people died in the Battle of Gettysburg, the most bloody battle ever fought by American soldiers. Many consider the battle the turning point in the war, which continued for two more years. Lee never again attacked the northern states and the union went on to ravish the southern states. In addition, if Lee had won, he would have been in a prime position to capture Baltimore, Philadelphia and possibly Washington, D.C. Previous Months June While the history of the Seminole Indians is unique and exciting, June of 1837 provided to be a pivotal month for the tribe. A few years earlier, the United States Government declared the Seminoles, along with other tribes across the eastern United States, would be relocated to Oklahoma. The Seminoles were the only tribe who fought the order, resulting in the Second Seminole War. Early in 1837, the government began rounding up the Seminoles for their march to their new homeland. Led by Chief Osceola, the tribe instituted a daring escape plan that resulted in the release of over 700 of their people. The fresh recruits retreated to the shores of Lake Okeechobee and resulted in several successful battles for the Seminoles. Next year, under the guise of a peace conference, Osceola and several other chiefs were captured. Most escaped, but Osceola died shortly thereafter in prison of small pox. The United States spent $40 million and seven years to remove 3,000 Seminoles from Florida. It was the only Indian removal project that involved all divisions of the United States military. It was also the only defeat for the military by a Native American tribe. You can learn more about the Seminole Indians on their Website. May On May 6, 1915 Babe Ruth hit his first home run. On May 25, 1935, he hit his last. A lot happened in those 20 years that made Babe Ruth ranked the No. 1 baseball player in the history of the sport. Here's a couple of Babe Ruth facts to celebrate his May accomplishments: * While most people know the Boston Red Sox were Ruth's first team, The Philadelphia Athletics and Cincinnati Reds both turned down the opportunity to sign Ruth first. * When the Red Sox sold Ruth to the Yankees, they were not the first team the Red Sox approached. The Red Sox approached five other teams who were pressured by the American League president to reject the deal because Ruth was demanding a raise and threatening to sit out. * The Chicago White Sox offered the Red Sox Shoeless Joe Jackson of the Black Sox Scandal in exchange for Ruth. * In his last appearance at Yankees Stadium, just 2,000 people attended the game. * Ruth pitched just five games for the Yankees and won all of them. His last game he pitched in 1933 was a complete game. * In the game where Ruth hit home run 714, he went 4-4 with six RBIs and three home runs. * Ruth wanted to manage the Yankees and left the team thinking he would be in a manager/player role with the Boston Braves. His last game was May 30, 1935. April April Fool's Day is a holiday that few celebrate except to play pranks on their friends and co-workers. However, it's a day that has been celebrated for nearly 500 years! In 1564, the King of France decided to move to the Gregorian calendar. The switch moved New Year's Day from April 1 to January 1. Of course, word of the change was slow to reach everyone and some people just didn't like to celebrate the new New Year's Day. Those people were called "fools" by those who celebrated the new date. But there may be other beginnings to April Fool's Day. Some say the tradition is taken straight from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, written in 1392, where Chaucer talked about the cock being tricked by the fox on the 32nd day of March. By the 18th century, the popular thought was the holiday originated with Noah, who sent a dove off to find land a day early, the first day of the Hebrew month that corresponds with April. March On Feb. 3, 1845, the state of Florida was born. Although it was home to the first European settlement of the American landmass, Florida was tossed between Spanish and British rule for most of its early history, formally becoming a United States territory in 1921. At the time it became a U.S. territory, the population was mostly Spanish, African-American and Native American people. However, many settlers moved to Florida to try and establish the plantation culture found in most of the deep south. By 1840, after the three Seminole Wars, 54,477 people lived in Florida, mostly between the Suwanee and Apalachicola Rivers. In addition, nearly half the population were slaves. In 1845, statehood was granted and William D. Mosley was elected the first governor. However, it was not to last. Slavery was a significant issue in Florida with half of the population remaining slaves through the 1850s. Abraham Lincoln was elected president without one vote from Florida, and the state joined the Confederacy shortly after Lincoln was sworn into office. Five years later, Federal troops entered Tallahassee, without any major battles being fought in the state. February On Feb. 8, 1910, the Boy Scouts of America were formed. At that time, there were several other loosely-based scouting programs throughout the United States. What set the Boy Scouts of America from other programs was the following:
From there, the organization grew into what it is today, a major charity that has affected millions of youth across the United States. To donate or become involved, please visit the Central Florida Council at www.cflscouting.org/ January Over 150 years ago, the city of London was facing many of the same problems Central Florida is currently facing. The roads leading from the outskirts of town to downtown were jammed packed with congestion and there was no simple way to transport people in the masses. While England had plenty of trains, they all stopped at the outskirts of town. In 1854, Parliament approved a private company to build an underground train into the center of London. Much like today, funding became an issue and construction of the train stalled. For six years, the project waited for money until the City of London finally agreed to subsidize the project. Construction began in 1860.
Building the world's first underground train was a task. Unlike today where tunnels are dug using special equipment, the first leg of the London train was constructed by digging a big hole, building the tube for the train and then covering it with dirt. In addition, the trains were run on steam and had to be vented, so certain portions of the train were built above ground.
In 1863, the Hammersmith & City Railway opened as the world's first underground railroad. It served 26,000 passengers today and ran 16 miles from Hammersmith to Paddington. The line still operates, although it carries the fewest passengers of all 10 rail lines.
December For nine years, the American colonists battled the British government over a variety of taxes that Parliament voted to impose on various imports into the colonies. In 1764, the first tax, the Sugar Act, placed a tariff on any non-British goods imported into the colonies. In December 1773, the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, led a group of 116 people who dumped imported tea into Boston Harbor on December 16. The events leading up to the Boston Tea Party were more of a struggle between English rule than a statement about taxes. In fact, the taxes on British tea were actually reduced shortly before the Boston Tea Party took place.
The colonists took exception to Parliament issuing new taxes without colonial representation in Parliament and tried to simply send the tea back to England. However, the governor of Massachusetts refused to let the tea leave without the tax being paid. For more information on the Boston Tea Party, visit the Boston Tea Party Historical Society: http://www.boston-tea-party.org/index.html
November
Last month, the Apopka Rotary installed a new community billboard at the corner of Park Ave. and Main St. While not as famous, the sign is the result of a historic event held in New York City 81 years ago this month. On November 6, 1928 the New York Times unveiled something no one had ever seen before - an animated electrical sign. The company installed and illuminated the "Zipper," a news crawl that wrapped around the front of the building and reported the results of the presidential election of Herbert Hoover. Over the next 50 years, the zipper displayed the headlines of the day and served as a focal point as crowds gathered to celebrate and mourn great events in American history. From 1977 to 1986, the Zipper remained dark, but was resurrected by Newsday in 1986. Today, the sign is sponsored by Dow Jones. One interesting fact: A sign in Times Square receives an average of 1.5 million advertising impressions per day. The only advertising medium with a higher reach? The Superbowl. October We all work 40 hours a week, right? How about five days a week? Each of those parameters were established in October 1938 and have not been altered for more than 70 years! Before the law was passed that supported the five-day, 40-hour work week, unions across the country were striking and organizing to shorten the time employees worked. It was not uncommon to work 60 hours or more a week and six days a week. In 1926, Henry Ford, who employed more than 400,000 Americans, voluntarily lowered his workweek to the eight hours a day, five days a week structure. He said at the time: "Now we know from our experience in changing from six to five days and back again that we can get at least as great production in five days as we can in six, and we shall probably get a greater, for the pressure will bring better methods. A full week's wage for a short week's work will pay." Twelve years later, after Ford's words were shown accurate, the Fair Labor Standards Act passed and became law, ensuring those employees were paid time and a half for hours worked. Ford also believed the amount of time people worked would decrease over time. That has not been the case. A recent study showed the average American works 46 hours per week, with nearly 40% of us working more than 50 hours! September Is it too early to start thinking about Thanksgiving? If the nation recognized the first Thanksgiving dinner held in the Americas, it wouldn't be in November. Instead, we'd be celebrating it Sept. 8, 1565 the Spanish settlement in St. Augustine held the first Thanksgiving dinner. On that date, Pedro Menendez de Aviles, a Spanish explorer, invited the Timucua Indians to dinner in St. Augustine after a thanksgiving Mass celebrating the explorers' safe arrival. It's probably a good thing the traditional Plymouth settlement story was taken. After all, who would like to eat a Thanksgiving dinner featuring salt pork, sea biscuits and garbanzo beans, the meal shared that day? August As the Federal government looks to create one of the largest new programs in government, subsidized health care, it's hard not to think that August is the month that made it all possible. July July 2, 1776 June |
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