April 12, 1861-the first shots of the American Civil War fired at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The war lasted from April 12, 1861-April 9, 1865. President Abraham Lincoln was shot five days after the war ended in Ford Theatre and died the next day What led to the Civil War was the argument of slavery. Lincoln campaigned in the 1860 Presidential Election against expanding slavery beyond the states that already existed. Lincoln won the election against Stephen A. Douglas who felt should be left up to the states.
After Lincoln was elected in November, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee seceded from the Union forming the Confederate States of America. These states loved slavery and hated anyone who was not like them.
By April the war was started. For a few years the South was winning the war, but the Battle of Gettsyburg in 1863 which was won by the Union changed the tide of the War. Following the battle Lincoln made his famous Gettysburg Address. The North started pushing back and the following year led by William Tecumseh Sherman burned Atlanta and marched to the Sea Also in 1863 Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed all the slaves.
In 1864 Lincoln was re-elected president defeating one of his Generals George B McClellan. On April 9, 1865 Confederate General Robert E Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse ending the war.
Fast forward to 80 years later. April 12, 1945 while at his summer home in Warm Springs GA, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt succumbed to a cerebral hemhorrage. He was only 63.
Roosevelt was one of the greatest presidents in US history along with Lincoln. He was also elected to four terms, more than any other president. He was born in Hyde Park NY on Jan 30, 1882. He was born into wealth and privilege, graduated from the Groton School and Harvard University. He married his 5th cousin Eleanor Roosevelt who was the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Roosevelt was elected to the NY State Senate in 1910 and re-elected in 1912. In 1913 he was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to be Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He held this position until 1920 when he resigned to run for Vice President of the United States He was defeated.
In 1921 while vacationing with his family at Campobello Island in Canada, he was stricken with polio and spent several years recovering in Warm Springs and Hyde Park. He never fully recovered and had to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. In public he would use crutches and a cane.
In 1928 and 1930 Roosevelt was elected Governor of New York. By 1932 he was considered a contender for the Democrat nominee for President. He won in a landslide over one of the worst presidents in history Herbert Hoover who would not do anything to stop the bleeding of the Great Depression.
Roosevelt's New Deal helped bring the Depression down some and gave people hope. Labor legislation such as overtime pay and better working conditions improved lives. Social Security helped old people retire and enjoy their twilight years. The FDIC made bank deposits secure. The SEC cracked down on unethical stock market manipulation which led to the Great Depression.
Roosevelt was elected three more times-1936, 1940, and 1944. On December 7, 1941 Japan forces bombed Pearl Harbor, dragging the US into World War II. Roosevelt showed his competence during the war, picking the right commanders, boosting morale at home and on the front lines, and working with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin. Unfortunately he did not see the end of World War II as he passed away on April 12, 1945. V-E Day was May 1 and V-J Day was Sept 2, 1945.
It is ironic that April 12 is linked to the two greatest presidents in US History, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. They both handled three of the greatest crises this country has had to endure (Civil War, Great Depression, World War II) very well and as a result the United State of America is a much better country.
No comments:
Post a Comment