Today In History; December 1

Lincoln used the address to present a moderate message concerning his policy towards slavery. Just 10 weeks before, he had issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that slaves in territories still in rebellion as of January 1, 1863, would be free. The measure was not welcomed by everyone in the North–it met with considerable resistance from conservative Democrats who did not want to fight a war to free slaves.

The November 1862 elections were widely interpreted as a condemnation of the emancipation plan. The Democrats won the New York governorship and 34 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, though the Republicans gained five Senate seats and maintained control of most state legislatures. Lincoln used the State of the Union address to present a more moderate position on emancipation. He mentioned gradual, compensated emancipation of slaves, which many moderates and conservatives desired, but he also asserted that the slaves liberated thus far by Union armies would remain forever free.

Lincoln’s closing paragraph was a statement on the trials of the time: “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present…fellow citizens, we cannot escape history…The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union…In giving freedom to the slave, we ensure freedom to the free–honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth.”

Other Memorable Or Interesting Events Occurring On This Day In History:

1640 – Portugal regains independence after 60 years under Spanish rule;

1779 – George Washington establishes winter quarters at Morristown;

1741 – Empress Elisabeth orders expulsion of all Jews from Russia;

1821 – Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) proclaims independence from Spain;

1824 – Presidential election goes to House of Representatives as no candidate had received a majority of the total of electoral votes, the presidency was given to John Quincy Adams;

1835 – Hans Christian Anderson published his first book of fairy tales;

1860 – “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens was first published in a weekly serial form;

1868 – John Rockefeller begins anti oil war;

1878 – First White House telephone was installed;

1884 – Deputy Sherriff Elfego Baca, legendary defender of south-western Hispanos holds off a gang of 80 cowboys determined to kill him in Frisco (now Reserve) New Mexico;

1887 – Sherlock Holmes first appears in print in “Study in Scarlet”;

1909 – First Israeli kibbutz founded, Degan Alef;

1913 – First ‘Drive Up’ gasoline station opens in Pittsburgh, PA;

1913 – Henry Ford installs first moving assembly line for mass production of a complete car reducing the time to build a car from over 12 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes;

1918 – Danish parliament grants Iceland independence;

1918 – Yugoslavia declares independence & establishes a monarchy;

1929 – Game of ‘BINGO’ invented by Edwin S Lowe;

1930 – Ruth Nichols becomes first woman pilot to cross continent;

1941 – Japanese Emperor Hirohito signs declaration of war on the United States, Great Britain & the Netherlands;

1942 – Gasoline rationing in U.S. begins during WWII;

1943 – Franklin D Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin agree to Operation Overlord, (D-Day);

1955 – Rosa Parks is jailed in Montgomery Alabama for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man which was a violation of a city racial segregation law. When arrested, she said “Why do you push us around?” to which the officer responded, “I don’t know, but the law is the law and you’re under arrest.”;

1958 – Fire at a grade school in Chicago kills 90 students; The Our Lady of Angels school was operated by Sisters of Charity in Chicago;

1959 – 12 nations, including the U.S. and the Soviet Union, sign the Antarctica Treaty which bans military activity or weapons testing on that continent, it was the first arms control treaty signed during the cold war;

1969 – U.S. government holds first “Draft Lottery” since WWII;

1973 – Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, died in Tel Aviv at 87;

1990 – ‘Chunnel’, an underwater tunnel 132 feet below the English channel between Folkestone England & Calais France reaches breakthrough as workers drill an opening the size of a car between the two ends linking Great Britain and Europe;

1991 – Ukrainians vote overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union.

Today’s Useless But Amazing Fact:

The only month in recorded history not to have had a full moon was in February 1865.

Today’s ‘I’m Confused Question:

Why isn’t pop”corn” a vegetable?

Today’s Funny Biblical Question:

Where did Noah keep the woodpeckers?

Today’s Health Issue:

I don’t suffer from stress; I’m a carrier!

Today’s Advice:

Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience!

Today’s Mature Advice:

I’ve learned that one good turn gets most of the blankets!

Today’s Inspirational Thought:

The journey to happiness involves finding the courage to go down into ourselves and take responsibility for what’s there; All of it.  – Richard Rohr

Today’s Funny Puppy Picture:

Today’s Motivational Picture:

Until Tomorrow – God Bless to All !!!