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April 30, 2015 – Segment 1
Marc talks about what happened on this day in history, including the day Bessie Coleman died, the day Christopher Columbus was given the money to set sail into the Western Hemisphere, and the day Hawaii became a territory of the United States.
Transcript of this day in history included below.
This is Marc Steiner, and today is April the 30th. Welcome to This Day In History.
(1492 – Nancy Schimmel)
This is where it all began, today in 1492 when The King of Spain gave Christopher Columbus the go ahead, the money to set sail. And thus began the colonization of the Western Hemisphere, and soon to come the enslavement of African people. ..
The expansion of the United States reached new heights today in 1804 when our country bought the Louisiana Purchase from France. 8 years later, the territory of Orleans became the 18th state in the Union under the name “Louisiana.”
The Battle of Jenkins Ferry on the Saline River in Arkansas took place today in 1864, and many Black regiments were at the forefront when Union troops destroyed the Confederate army that day. They were enraged by the atrocities committed at the Battle of Poison Spring two weeks earlier,when Confederate troops dismembered, mutilated and tortured Black troops. The Second Kansas Colored Volunteers went into battle shouting, “Remember Poison Spring!”
In 1871, a mob massacred more than 100 unarmed Apaches who had placed themselves under U.S. protection at Camp Grant, Arizona. When they were brought to trial for the deadly rampage the 146 men – White Mexicans and Too Odham Indians – they were set free on grounds of self defense. It took the jury 18 minutes to come to the verdict.
Today in 1900, Hawaii went from being an independent sovereign nation to become a territory of the US; Its first Governor was a man who wanted that land to plant his pineapples, Sanford B. Dole.
All of those who were around today in 1975 were riveted to their television sets as North Vietnamese and National Liberation Front troops marched in Saigon to win the Vietnam War. The scenes of people climbing the fences of the US Embassy to flee on the few remaining helicopters is an indelible imprint … Those Vietnamese who supported the Americans being pushed back and helicopters thrown into the sea once they dropped off their passengers on US navy ships.
Here’s a song for your April the 30th. Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman passed away today in 1926. No one would let her learn to fly because she was a woman and because she was Black. But, she was determined. She went to France and learned how to fly, and became the first African American woman to have an international aviation license. When she returned to the United States, thousands came out to watch her air show. On this day in in 1926, after a mechanic left a wrench in her engine by mistake, she plummeted to the earth. All hail Bessie Coleman. And we hear “Jesus Savior Pilot Me,” the song that was sung at her funeral.
(Jesus Savior Pilot Me)
To continue your exploration of this day in history, take a look at some of our favorite sources: Charles H. Wright Museum: Today in Black History; African American Registry; BlackPast; NYTimes on this Day; EyewitnessToHistory.com; The Civil War Trust; Voices in Labor: Today in Labor History; Union Communication Services at The Worker Institute: Today in Labor History; BBC On This Day; The Holocaust History Project; PBS African American World; PBS; Today in Women’s History; South African History Online; This Day In North American Indian History; Jewish Virtual Library; The People History; Wikipedia List of Historical Anniversaries; Yenoba; and This Day in Music
