Today marks the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during the final stages of World War II. The attack immediately killed 80,000 people with at least 60,000 more dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout. On August 9, another 40,000 people died in the attack on Nagasaki. Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced his country's unconditional surrender to the Allies six days later.
To learn more about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, try the following resources:
All of my posts on World War II can be found here.
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To learn more about the 14th Amendment & Reconstruction, try the following resources:
All of my posts on Civil Rights can be found here. All of my posts about Reconstruction can be found here. To learn more about the Korean War, try the following resources:
On 20 July 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. successfully landed on the surface of the moon. The next day, the two left the landing craft, Eagle, to become the first people to set foot on another astronomical body. While there, they planted an American flag, spoke with President Richard Nixon, and collected soil and rock samples while astronaut Michael Collins orbited above in the command ship, Columbia.
To learn more about the Apollo 11 mission, try the following resources:
On this day in 1848, more than 300 men and women assembled in Seneca Falls, New York for the nation's first women's rights convention. The group was led by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton who introduced the Declaration of Sentiments, detailing the injustices inflicted upon women in the United States and calling upon them to organize and petition for their rights. The resolution, which included a woman's right to vote after some debate, marked the beginning of the women's suffrage movement in America.
To learn more about the Seneca Falls Convention and the Declaration of Sentiments, try the following resources:
All of my posts about women's rights can be found here.
On this day, the United Nations honors the legacy of Nelson Mandela, the South African activist whose imprisonment became a symbol of anti-apartheid movement. Mandela, who became a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement, was originally opposed to violence. However, following a massacre of unarmed black South Africans, he began to advocate for acts of sabotage against the government. After several arrests, in 1964 he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela spent the next 18 years at the notorious Robben Island prison before being moved to another location, where he lived under house arrest.
In the 1980s, international pressure calling for the Mandela's release built. Finally, in 1989, F.W. de Klerk was elected president of South Africa and began the work to end apartheid and transform the nation into a multi-racial democracy. In February 1990, he ordered Mandela's release from prison. Three years later, the two were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to "break the vicious circle that their country was caught up in." The following year, in South Africa's first multi-racial election, Nelson Mandela won 62% of the votes. On May 10, 1994, he was inaugurated as the country's first black president. Mandela Day serves as a global call to action, celebrating the idea that each individual has the power to change the world. To learn more about Nelson Mandela & the end of apartheid in South Africa, try the following resources:
All of my posts on human rights can be found here. Today is the anniversary of the 1789 storming of the Bastille, the fortress-like prison which was regarded as a symbol of the absolutism of the French monarchy. The event served as a rallying point and a symbolic act of rebellion and is often considered to mark the beginning of the French Revolution.
To learn more about Bastille Day & the French Revolution, try the following resources:
All of my posts on European history can be found here. All of my posts on revolutions can be found here. |