Learn Our History Today: March 28

Learn Our History Today: On March 28, 1774, British Parliament enacted the Coercive Acts, following the Boston Tea Party and other destructive measures by American colonists.  The Coercive Acts were four individual Acts aimed at restoring order in Massachusetts and punishing Boston’s colonists for the Tea Party.  The four Acts included:

The Boston Port Act, which shut down the port of Boston until damages from the Tea Party were repaid
The Massachusetts Government Act, restricting town meetings in Massachusetts
The Administration of Justice Act, protecting British officials from any form of criminal prosecution
The Quartering Act, which required colonists to house British troops in on demand

A fifth act, known as the Quebec Act, which gave freedom of worship to Catholics in Canada, was added in colonial parlance as one of the Intolerable Acts—the largely Protestant colonists did not like the ability of Catholics to worship freely on their borders.

You can introduce your children to the Boston Tea Party and the Coercive Acts with Learn Our History’s video, “The Birth of a Revolution,” available at learnourhistory.com.  And when you try this video, we’ll give you our “Columbus and the Great Discovery” video free, along with 6 more free gifts.

Now back to today’s day in history...In 1862, the Union turned away Rebel forces at the Battle of Glorietta Pass, stopping the invasion of New Mexico Territory.  The Confederates had the goal of claiming the territory they deemed rightfully theirs and use the Western mines to fill its treasury.  But at Pigeon’s Range, near Glorietta Pass, the Confederates stumbled upon some 1,300 Yankees under the command of Colonel John Slough and a battle ensued in the late morning.  In the late afternoon, the Confederates were able to force the Union further down the pass, but night fell and halted their advance.  Then, the tides were turned as the Union managed to attack a Confederate supply train burning 90 wagons and crippling the Confederates.

Also on this day in 1969, our 34th President and a respected World War II general, Dwight D. Eisenhower, died at the age of 78.  Widely known as “Ike,” he was a popular president who held two terms in which he oversaw a period of strong economic growth in the United States and navigated the country through the increasing tensions of the Cold War.

Finally, on this day in 1979, the worst accident in the history of nuclear power in the United States occurred when a pressure valve in a reactor at Three Mile Island on Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna River failed to close.  Cooling water contaminated with radiation was released into adjoining buildings and the core began to overheat.  Although emergency cooling pumps automatically started, operators misread the confusing data in the control room and shut off the emergency water system.  The reactor was shut down but, due to the fission process, residual heat continued to be released.  As a result, the core heated to over 4,000 degrees.  At 5,000 degrees, the core would experience a meltdown causing radiation to drift across the countryside causing fatal illnesses.  Fortunately, by 8:00pm, operators realized that they needed to circulate water through the core so they restarted the pumps, causing the temperature to drop.  It was an extremely close-call as the reactor was less than an hour away from a complete meltdown. 

Although more than half the core was destroyed, the protective shell was in tact and no radiation was escaping.  But two days later, a highly flammable hydrogen gas bubble was discovered inside the reactor building.  Some of the gas had exploded on the 28th and a small amount of radiation was released into the atmosphere, although the explosion was not registered and the public was not notified.  Once the bubble and leak were discovered on the 30th, residents were instructed to take precautionary measures and pregnant women and pre-school children were instructed to leave the area until further notice, causing a widespread panic and prompting over 100,000 people to flee surrounding towns.

Learn Our History Today: January 20

On this day in history, January 20, several US Presidents were inaugurated into office, beginning with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his second term in 1937.  Prior to this, most presidents were inaugurated on  March 4 (with exception to the presidents who took office following the death of their predecessors), but the 20th Amendment which was passed in 1933 made January 20th the official inauguration date for all future presidents.

It’s common knowledge that our president can serve up to two terms in office, meaning up to two inaugurations, but did you know that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated four times?  The two term tradition was an unwritten rule dating back to George Washington’s decision to decline a third-term run in 1796. In 1940, Roosevelt had said he would not run unless he was drafted; well, the delegates ended up nominating him by 946 to 147 on the first ballot, and he went on to win the presidency.  He ran again in 1944, carrying 36 states.  The 22nd Amendment, which was ratified in February 1951, officially set the limit to two terms in office.  In addition, it also limits a president to serving 10 years, in the event one succeeds to the office.

Also on this day in history, the Iran Hostage Crisis ended, just minutes after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration as the 40th president of the United States. Reagan’s first course of business upon entering office was to free the nearly $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets, promoting Iran to release the hostages.

You can teach your children about the Iranian Hostage Crisis and Ronald Reagan’s achievements in Learn Our History’s video, “The Reagan Revolution”, available at http://learnourhistory.com.