Have a GREAT Break!

 

This Day In History

 

The horror classic Scream, directed by Wes Craven, was released in American theatres; it became especially known for using the genre's clichés for comic effect.

December 20, 1996

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-20

This Day In History

 

Articles of impeachment approved against U.S. President Bill Clinton

On this day in 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Bill Clinton, charging him with perjury and obstruction of justice, though Clinton was acquitted by the Senate the following month.

December 19, 1998

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-19

This Day In History

 

Slavery abolished in the United States

On this day in 1865, by proclamation of the U.S. secretary of state, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery, officially entered into force, having been ratified by the requisite states on December 6.

December 18, 1865

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-18

Personification Story E.C.

 

Personification is when you give a non human item human qualities.  So your last Extra Credit opportunity is to write a Personification story of the Brooks Sumner Affair through the eyes of the cane.  If the cane could talk what would they say?

You do not have to do this, but it is an opportunity.  Due on Canvas by Friday the 20th.

This Day In History

 

After appearing as a cartoon short, the animated television series The Simpsons debuted as a Christmas special; it became a weekly series in 1990.

December 17, 1989

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-17#:~:text=This%20Day%20in%20History%3A%20December%2017&text=On%20this%20day%20in%201903,Library%20of%20Congress%2C%20Washington%2C%20D.C.

This Day In History

 

Boston Tea Party

On this day in 1773, in what is known as the Boston Tea Party, American colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians threw 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Company into Boston Harbor to protest a tax on tea.

December 16, 1773

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-16

This Day In History

 

The Iraq War officially ended as the United States formally declared that its mission in the country was over.

December 15, 2011

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-15

President Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address

 

Every year I have my students read President Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address.  To set the scene it is President Lincoln's first day as President, and 7 Southern States have already left the Union.  In February 1861, a month earlier the Confederacy formed at the Montgomery Plan.  War has not started, but everyone knows it is coming. This address is talking directly to the South.  President Lincoln is making a desperate call for peace and unity.  

I love hearing student's reactions and insights.  Every year classes have different insights.  I am so idealistic, and one year a class HATED the address so much.  I was so surprised by their intensity and passion..  Their big complaint was President Lincoln just wrote a speech.  They believed he should have invaded the South with guns a blazing.  The reality is he could not do that.  President Lincoln was doomed from the start.  Nothing he could have done.  I love that this year's classes realized that.  

Here are two quotes that stood out to many students across the board. 1. "We are not enemies.  We must not be enemies."

One student highlighted that this was his final message and plea for unity.  I often wonder if President Lincoln got to complete Reconstruction we would live in a different America.  He would not let thinngs happen like the Black Codes or the Ku Klux Klan.  President Lincoln said the South was disgruntled countrymen not treasonous traitors.  

2. "I have no intention of messing with Slavery..."

The Immediate cause of the Civil War was the Election of 1860.  The South made it clear that there  would no compromises.  They believed a Republican President would free the slaves.  President Lincoln mentions multiple times he has no intention of freeing the slaves.  His goal is to preserve the Union.

This Day In History

 

A mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, left 28 people dead, including 20 children from Sandy Hook Elementary School and the 20-year-old shooter, Adam Lanza.

December 14, 2012

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-14

This Day In History

 

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces during the Iraq War; three years later he was found guilty of crimes against humanity and was executed.

December 13, 2003

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-13

This Day In History

 

On this day in 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively awarded the presidency to George W. Bush, ruling that a fair recount of ballots in Florida could not be performed by the deadline for certifying the state's electors.

December 12, 2000

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-12

Glory - 1st All Black Troops

 

Frederick Douglass, a famous abolitionist, came up with the idea for all Black Troops.  He convinced President Abraham Lincoln, and the 54th Regiment was born on January 1, 1863.  Douglass's sons fought with the 54th. The biggest frustration was they did not see battle.  Most troops were sent to Indian Territory to protect supplies and forts.  They proved themselves out west with bravery and courage.

They mad a movie about the 54th called Glory.  The cast is fantastic Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freemen, and Denzel Washington.  If you have not seen this film please watch!  You get a real sense of what these guys had to go through!

The military will stay segregated till the 1950s, Korean War.  All Black Troops were always stationed out west.  The Native Americans said their hair looks like Buffalo hair so called them the Buffalo Soldiers.  My Grandfather wrote the Standard on the Buffalo Soldiers.  I am so proud of that and Arlen Fowler is my Grandpa.  He is sadly gone, but when he was still alive he came to my classes to talk about his book.  One thing he said that will always stand out to me is how he described the Buffalo Soldiers.  He said it is a story that needs to be taught!  They demonstrated courage and bravery!

This Day In History

 

Abdication of King Edward VIII

Edward VIII, failing to win acceptance for his desire to marry American divorcée Wallis Warfield Simpson, became the only British sovereign to voluntarily resign the crown, his abdication formally approved this day in 1936.

December 11, 1936

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-11

This Day In History

 

American author Mark Twain's classic novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published, appearing in the United Kingdom and Canada; it was released in the United States the following year.

December 10, 1884

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-10

This Day In History

 

The United Nations General Assembly declared anti-Semitism a form of racism.

December 9, 1998

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-9

Famous Wallace Quote

 

This Day In History

 

John Lennon fatally shot

On this day in 1980, British musician John Lennon—who rose to fame with the Beatles and had a successful solo career—was fatally shot by Mark David Chapman in New York City, causing a global outpouring of grief.

December 8, 1980

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-8

This Day In History

 

Pearl Harbor attack

On this day in 1941, Japanese bombers launched a surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, precipitating the entry of the United States into World War II.

December 7, 1941

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-7

This Day In History

 

Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president of the United States, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew, who had resigned.

December 6, 1973

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-6

The Great Debaters

 

A GREAT movie to see is the Great Debaters.  It is about a debate team from Wiley College in 1940 deep South.  Of course, Denzel Washington plays the debate coach!  The movie follows their journey to a debate tournament at Harvard University.  Of course they make it!  But along the journey you see what life in the Jim Crow South looks like for African Americans.  

In class we talked about Thoreau and Civil Disobedience.  Thoreau hated President Polk and the Mexican American War so he protested peacefully or Civil Disobedience by not paying his taxes.  So now when you protest or resist peacefully one calls it Civil Disobedience.  In the movie when they make it to Harvard for the debate - Harvard tries to throw them on their toes and changed the theme of the debate to Civil Disobedience, but it worked in thier favor.  The last line always gives me goose bumps.

I also love Denzel Washington's introduction to his debaters!

This Day In History

 

South African nationalist and statesman Nelson Mandela, who helped end the country's apartheid system of racial segregation and ushered in a peaceful transition to majority rule, died at age 95.

December 5, 2013

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-5

This Day In History

 

The unmanned space vehicle Mars Pathfinder was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in order to explore the surface of Mars.

December 4, 1996

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-4

This Day In History

 

Illinois was admitted as the 21st state of the United States of America.

December 3, 1818

Taken from: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/December-3