Well, it’s a new week and we’re closer to Halloween, but what happened this week in history?
On October 20th, 1803, the U.S Senate approved a treaty with France providing for the purchase of the territory of Louisiana, which doubled the size of the United States. How did this all start? One man, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, wanted the port of New Orleans for economic purposes, including the free flow of American goods down the Mississippi River, and for strategic and security purposes, such as using the port as a beachhead for invasion access to the Gulf of Mexico under Napoleon. In early 1830, President Jefferson sent James Monroe, a close friend and a diplomat for France (the 5th president of the United States), to the country to make a deal only for New Orleans and West Florida. In France, James Monroe and Robert Livingston negotiated the Louisiana Purchase with Napoleon’s government. Initially, Monroe thought he was only agreeing to the territory of New Orleans, but France offered the entire territory instead. The French did this because they needed funds for European wars against Great Britain, and because it would be difficult to defend their large territory from the British. They agreed on the purchase of the Louisiana Territory for $15 million (about $430 million in U.S. dollars today) on April 3oth, 1803. Jefferson was eager about the purchase, but needed the Louisiana Purchase treaty to be approved by the Senate. Jefferson had a dilemma with the purchase due to the Constitution not giving explicit instructions for how the president could purchase a territory. He also feared that waiting to pass an amendment would allow France to change their mind. The treaty was easily ratified by the Senate, with a vote of 24 to 7. The treaty was officially proclaimed on October 21st, 1803, by President Jefferson.
On October 21st, 1879, Thomas Edison had his first successful test of the light bulb, which lasted for 13 hours. Edison made over 1,000 attempts to invent a commercially viable light bulb, famously stating that he didn’t fail, but rather found 1,000 ways that didn’t work. The light bulb used a carbonized cotton thread filament and was placed in a glass bulb, with air being removed, creating a vacuum. He later discovered the use of carbonized bamboo that year. On December 31st, 1879, he would present the light bulb to a crowd of spectators at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. His light bulb would later be used in homes around the world and be a reliable source of light for people.
On October 22nd, 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced that U.S. spy planes had discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba. These missile sites – under construction but near completion – housed medium-range missiles capable of striking several major U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C. Cuba had been a communist country and had been a close ally to the Soviet Union in February of 1960. In 1961, the U.S. planned the Bay of Pigs Invasion to overthrow the communist government of Fidel Castro, but they failed, and it was considered an embarrassment to the U.S. government. At 3:00 pm EDT on October 22nd, Kennedy formally established the executive committee (EXCOMM) with the National Security Action Memorandum (NSAM) 196. At 5:00 pm, he met with Congressional leaders, who opposed the blockade and demanded a stronger response. In Moscow, U.S. Ambassador Foy D. Kohler briefed Khrushchev on the pending blockade and Kennedy’s speech to the nation. At 7:00 pm EDT, Kennedy delivered a nationwide address on all major networks, announcing the discovery of the missiles. During the speech, a directive went out to all US forces worldwide, placing them on DEFCON 3. Kennedy also issued a naval blockade of Cuba, stopping the Soviets from sending nuclear missiles or stopping them from entering Cuban waters. The U.S public’s reaction was heightened fear with the presence of nuclear missiles 90 to 100 miles away from the United States, but there wasn’t any widespread panic. If you would like to read the speech for yourself, here is the link: https://loveman.sdsu.edu/docs/1962Kennedy_missilecrisisspeech.pdf
On October 23rd, 1946, the United Nations General Assembly held their first meeting in New York City. The United Nations was created after World War II to prevent future wars by maintaining peace and security. Its other goals include developing friendly relationships between nations, solving global problems, and promoting human rights. The United Nations is made up of delegates from 50 countries who met in 1945 to write the UN Charter, aiming to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” The purpose of the UN General Assembly is to serve as the main deliberative body of all 193 UN member states, providing a forum for discussions of a wide range of international issues and for developing international law. The first meeting of the UN General Assembly was in London, United Kingdom, on January 10th, 1946. The UN permanently moved its headquarters to Manhattan in 1951, and the UN General Assembly convened there starting in October 1952.
On October 24th, 2005, Rosa Parks died from natural causes at the age of 92 in Detroit, Michigan. Born on February 4th, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, to Leona McCauley and James McCauley, she is best known for her work in the Civil Rights Movement. On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. She was coming home from her job as a dressmaker and was tired from working. In Alabama, many laws were based on segregation. They segregated places like buses, diners, schools, movie theaters, and neighborhoods. All the seats in the white only section were filled, so when the white man walked onto the bus, the driver demanded that Rosa move her seat, but she refused. She was arrested, convicted of disorderly conduct, and fined. Her acts led to the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, which lasted for 381 days and ultimately ended segregation on Montgomery buses. She was a lifelong activist for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She won many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Honor in 1996, the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2000 on the television series Touched by an Angel.
