Tidbits
Because History Matters
July 11, 1804 – V.P. Aaron Burr Kills Alexander Hamilton in Duel
Hamilton and Burr intensely disliked each other. Hamilton was born on the Caribbean Island of Nevis. He grew up fatherless and without siblings. In 1773, he immigrated to the American Colonies. He was very poor, but he was brilliant. He managed to get into the College of New Jersey which later became Princeton University. He
graduated at 17 years old. Hamilton joined George Washington’s Army and became an Aid de Camp to General Washington. Hamilton served brilliantly in the Revolutionary War. When George Washington became president, Hamilton was chosen as Secretary of the Treasury. He constructed a brilliant monetary policy and saved the fledgling United States from disaster.
Aaron Burr had just the
opposite beginnings, being born of a wealthy family. Burr did not like Hamilton’s rise to power given his background at birth. Even though they were both in the same political party, they grew to resent each other, more and more. In 1804, Burr accused Hamilton of a public insult and as was the custom of the times, challenged him to a duel at the dueling grounds near Weehawken, New Jersey.
Although it is not clear what happened on the day of the duel, it is believed that Hamilton fired his pistol first into the air as gentlemen often did at the time. Burr, however, looked at it differently, leveling his pistol at Hamilton and firing. The ball struck Hamilton in the abdomen and liver. He died the next day, after being taken back to New York.
Burr
was still Vice President of the United States. He could not be prosecuted for the murder charge that was leveled against him. Even so, public opinion turned against Burr, and his political fortunes crumbled. He was not re-nominated for the position of Vice President for Jefferson’s second term.
In 1806, Burr led a group of armed citizens to seize the newly acquired Louisiana
Territory. Burr was charged with treason but acquitted on a technicality. Despite that, he was viewed as a traitor from then on. Hamilton was always suspicious of Burr. It looks like his suspicions were well grounded.
July 12, 1862 – The Medal of Honor is Created
President Abraham Lincoln
signs into law the awarding of a U.S. Army Medal of Honor, “to such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action…”
July 13, 1787 – Congress Passes the Northwest Ordinance
The Ordinance of 1787 is mostly glossed over in history books and by
history teachers, but the Ordinance had great significance in the development of the United States. The original idea was Thomas Jefferson’s, and it can be traced to the year 1781. Remember, this was only five years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What was so controversial in 1781, and still was when it was presented in 1784, was that slavery was abolished in the states covered by the Ordinance.
The proposed new states in the Northwest originally were 10 territories but it also included Vermont, Tennessee and Kentucky. Southern senators and congressmen would not pass the Ordinance. Three years later it passed because it was limited to five states which included Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and a little corner of Minnesota.
If you look at the Civil War, which came 74 years after the Ordinance of 1787, those states carried the brunt of the fighting. Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant were both from Illinois. Illinois also had the most troops of any state in the Civil War, but the other states, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin also supplied huge amounts of troops and support. Much of the Civil War was financed by excise taxes of the liquor industry based in Peoria,
Illinois.
What many people don’t recognize is that Thomas Jefferson set in motion the mechanism to ban slavery.
July 14, 1881 – Sheriff Pat Garrett Shoots and Kills Billy the Kid.
Billy the Kid’s real name was Henry McCarty.
July 15, 1903 – The Newly Formed Ford Motor Company takes its first order for a two-cylinder Model A automobile. The vehicle was ordered by a Chicago dentist and cost $850. It was delivered one week later.
In 1908, the Ford Motor Company began producing its Model T, which became known as the Tin Lizzy. Then in 1927, Ford begin producing a new version of the Model A.
July 16, 1945 – The First Atomic Bomb is Tested Successfully.
July 16, 1969 – Apollo 11 Blasts Off
The first U.S. lunar landing mission is launched on its 240,000-mile trip to the Moon. The astronauts onboard were Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins. Neil Armstrong would be the first man to set foot on the moon. We’ll always remember his now famous words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap
for mankind.”
July 17, 1996 – TWA Flight 800 Explodes Over Long Island.
The mystery as to why it exploded has never been solved.
