“We choose to go to the Moon” Speech
On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered one of his most famous and stirring speeches, to generate support for the Apollo program.
Government
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California Admitted to the Union
On September 9, 1850, California became America’s 31st state. The discovery of gold there two years earlier created a population boom that led to the need for a state government.
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Happy Birthday Claude Pepper
Claude Denson Pepper was born on September 8, 1900, in Chambers County, Alabama. Representing Florida in the House and Senate for over 40 years, he was instrumental in the passage of numerous important bills.
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Roosevelt Orchestrates End of War
On September 5, 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt mediated the Treaty of Portsmouth, ending the Russo-Japanese War. It earned him a Nobel Prize and began a long-standing tree-giving tradition between the US and Japan.
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The Wilderness Act
On September 3, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act. The act protected 9 million acres from development and created the National Wilderness Preservation System that consists of more than 111 million acres today.
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The Salad Bowl Strike
On August 23, 1970, the largest farm worker strike in US history began. The strike lasted for nearly seven months, with growers losing about $500,000 a day.
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The First Geneva Convention
On August 22, 1864, twelve nations signed the first Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. This convention and subsequent treaties and protocols established the legal standard for humanitarian treatment in times of war.
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Birth of Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was born in North Bend, Ohio, on August 20, 1833. America’s 23rd president, he was also a Civil War veteran and lawyer.
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19th Amendment Gives Women the Right to Vote
On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was passed, granting women’s suffrage. It was a major victory several decades in the makine.
