Many people believe that today marks the start of the Halloween season in the United States, but what happened in history to start the month off?
In 1890, the United States Congress established Yosemite National Park in California. Yosemite is known for its beautiful natural scenery and its waterfalls. Yosemite was discovered by European Americans in 1851, but by 1855, Yosemite became a popular tourist destination. This happened after entrepreneur James Mason Hutchings and artist Thomas Ayres were the first tourists of the area, using their writings and drawing to get people to travel to Yosemite. Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Act, granting Yosemite Valley of giant sequoias to the state of California for public use in 1864. This was a pioneering step for national parks, but it didn’t create a national park under federal jurisdiction. Environmentalist John Muir discovered that the surrounding land was being eaten by grazing sheep in 1889, then in 1890, he and Robert Underwood Johnson successfully campaigned for state-protected land.
In 1908, the first production of Model Ts was completed at the company’s Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit, Michigan. Between 1908 and 1927, the Ford Motor Company would build 15 million Model T cars, but how did the company get to build so many cars? Well, it begins on September 27th, 1908, just a couple of days before the unveiling with Henry Ford. Henry Ford was a genius in the car community and wanted affordable, reliable cars for the masses. The cars would be priced around $825-850 (About $29,052.20- $29,932.57 in today’s dollars), which was lower than the luxury cars of that era. Later, in 1913, he would create the assembly line which, would make automobiles cheaper and quicker to make. In 1927, Henry Ford would retire from the Model T and move on to other projects.
After the end of World War 2, high-ranking Nazi leaders were rounded up. On October 1st, 1946, these high-ranking leaders were sentenced to death by the International War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany. Among those who were condemned were Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi minister of foreign affairs; Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo and the chief of the German air force; and Wilhelm Frick, minister of the interior. Seven others, including Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s former deputy, were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. Three others were acquitted of their crimes. Why were the trials in Nuremberg, Germany, and not in any of the Allied Nations? Because Nuremberg was one of the few German cities that wasn’t destroyed in the war, and was where multiple Nazis rallies took place, symbolizing the end of the Nazis. The judges were made up of four judges from each of the Allied Nations: the Soviet Union, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The four crimes that were at the trial included conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
In 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. After the Chinese Communist Revolution, he named himself the head of state. This proclamation was the climax of years of battles against the regime of National Chinese leader Kai-Shek, who was supported with arms and money from the United States. The loss of China was a severe blow to the United States and pushed the Nationalist government to the small island of Taiwan. Tensions grew with the US and China during the Korean War, but made diplomatic relationships in the 1970s, with President Nixon visiting China, being the first American president to sent foot on Chinese soil in 1972.
Many people forget the history that changes the world, but it’s important to learn about events to be able to shape the present-day stage of the world.
