November 9, 1906 - President Theodore Roosevelt travels to Panama

 On this day in history, 107 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt took a trip to Panama that would essentially revolutionize America’s trading system in the years to follow.

Shortly after assuming the presidency in 1901, Roosevelt began working to negotiate a treaty with Columbia to construct a canal in Panama, which was, at that time, Columbian territory. When Columbia began to waver in their decision to sign over these rights, however, Roosevelt instigated a revolution between Columbia and their Panamanian subjects. Although the battle lasted less than a day, with it a new nation, Panama, was generated. Through the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, America was able to acquire all rights necessary to construct the passage that would eventually connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, for just $10 million. [1]

Several years after the initial construction began, Roosevelt traveled to the canal site to observe what progress had been made, becoming the first president of the United States to leave the country during his tenure. Roosevelt’s visit proved successful in boosting morale and interest in the Panama Canal project. Upon arrival, the president was shocked by the chaos that erupted from the project’s overall disorganization; workers suffered poor working conditions, life threatening illnesses, and an overall lack of proper nutrition. He rallied to provide a better environment for those employed at the canal, including improved medical attention and healthcare. [2]

Approximately 30,000 workers labored in ten-hour shifts in order to complete the $400 million project by 1914. The Panama Canal stretches nearly fifty miles across the diameter of the Isthmus of Panama and shortens the route from New York to San Francisco by nearly 8,000 miles. [3]

Ultimately, the construction of the canal was a massive undertaking, with massive rewards; bringing forth tremendous economic advantages to the United States. 1974 marked the canal’s first toll increase, raising prices from 90 cents to $1.08 per cargo ton; America’s ownership of the canal allowing the nation to reap all such profits. The record toll amount was set the following year by a passenger ship that was charged $42,077.88 for passage [4].

Because the route through Panama was so significantly shorter than the alternative route, America, as well as other countries involved in trade, were also able to enjoy larger profits from transported goods. Despite the economic advantages that America incurred, however, Panama received hardly any benefit at all. Panamanians were prohibited from marketing goods or services of any kind within the Canal Zone and were often refused employment on the Canal. It was not until 1977, during Jimmy Carter’s administration, that the Panama Canal Treaty was signed, promising to repeal the United States’ power over the canal by the year 2000, at which time Panama would be responsible for the defense and operation of the canal. [5]

Now, nearly 100 years after construction reached completion, the Panama Canal is still being used; allowing shipments of commercial goods to be transported more quickly and efficiently than ever before. Approximately 14,000 ships pass through the Panama Canal each day, traffic ranging from automobile shipments to military vessels [6].

It is thanks to Theodore Roosevelt’s great vision and perseverance that we are now able to enjoy the benefits of the Panama Canal, or as he called it, “This Great Enterprise.” In the words of Roosevelt himself, “The canal was by far the most important action I took in foreign affairs during the time I was president. When nobody could or would exercise efficient authority, I exercised it.” [7]

- Brittany W.




[1,3] “American President: A Reference Resource,” Miller Center University of Virginia, accessed November 1, 2013, http://millercenter.org/president/roosevelt/essays/biography/5

2 “Teddy Roosevelt travels to Panama,” On this Day in History, accessed November 1, 2013, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/teddy-roosevelt-travels-to-panama

4 “Timeline: Creating the Canal,” American Experience, accessed November 8, 2013, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/panama/2/

5 “Panama Treaty of 1977,” Council on Foreign Relations, accessed November 1, 2013, http://www.cfr.org/panama/panama-canal-treaty-1977/p12637

6 “What is the purpose of the Panama Canal?,” USA Today, accessed November 1, 2013, http://traveltips.usatoday.com/purpose-panama-canal-63793.html

7 “Teddy Roosevelt travels to Panama on Nov. 9, 1906,” Politico, accessed November 1, 2013, http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6790.html

November 7, 1972 - Girls Allowed to Join New Jersey Little League Teams

Maria Pepe, 1972

Over thirty years ago, a young girl named Maria Pepe changed Little League baseball forever. She was the first girl to ever step foot on a Little League baseball field and play a game with the boys in 1972. Little did she know she was about to become the center of national attention and a legal battle that would help shape the role of women in sports around the world.[1]

Protests begin because the parents of the Hoboken community believe girls should not play in Little League baseball and the matter is sent to Williamsport, New York, home of Little League baseball. The ruling is that the Young Democrats, Marias team, can't play anymore Little League games unless they take Maria off the team. The 12-year-old Hoboken girl started three games for the Young Democrats and pitched all three games until she was kicked off by her coach.[2] Revealing the prevailing social views on girls in sports, the little league stated that, “girls’ bone strength, muscle strength and reaction time were inferior to those of boys”.[3] That ends her Little League career, but the National Organization for Women sues Little League Baseball on her behalf that it is against equal rights. On November 7, 1973 Sylvia Pressler a Hearing Examiner for the New Jersey Civil Rights Division, ruled in favor of letting girls into Little League baseball. This ruling was later upheld in the Superior Court in early 1974; once passed it was a change that eventually allowed millions of girls on a global scale to participate in the largest organized youth sports program.[4] Maria is in high school and too old to play Little League baseball, but doesn't take long for the ruling in Maria’s case to start to make a difference in 1974 when Bunny Taylor another 12 year old girl becomes the first girl to pitch a no-hitter.[5]

Women in the 1970s dealt with major hardship of still not being equal to men. One great example of none equality rights was with girls like Maria being turned away from a male sport because of gender. The National Organization for Women gets involved in this case because of the gender problem and they were looking for strives in women’s rights during the 1970s. Women were striving in the 1970s to be a part of the Women Rights movement and Maria left her footprint in Women Rights history. [6]


- Frank F.





1. “Landmark Decision Allowed Girls to Play Little League. (n.d.). MomsTeam. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www.momsteam.com/sports/baseball/general/landmark-decision-allowed-girls-to-play-little-league”

2. “ESPN top 10 Women sports movment. (n.d.). ESPN. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/moments/uswomen.html”

3.”ESPN top 10”

4. Settimi, Christina. "Before Title IX There Was Maria Pepe Waiting 'His Turn At Bat'." Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/2012/06/24/before-title-ix-there-was-maria-pepe/2/ (accessed November 2, 2013).

5. “Women and their Roles throughout American History. (n.d.). : Women in the 1970's. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://womenrolehistory.blogspot.com/2011/09/women-in-1970s.html”

6. “Women and their Roles”

7. “Landmark decision Allowed”

November 5, 1968 - Richard Nixon Wins the Presidential Election

Nixon’s presidential victory relates to the factors his campaign was directed and established on. After serving as vice-president for eight years, Richard Nixon ran for president against John F. Kennedy in 1962; however, Kennedy won the majority of the popular vote by 0.17% (1). Two years after losing the presidential election, Richard Nixon ran for governor of California against Edmund G. Brown, but Brown won the election by 5% (2). However, failing again was not the end of Nixon’s political career as many political critics believed. By February 1968, Nixon’s political career recovered in the Republican Party and he announced his candidacy for president (3). Eventually in 1938, Richard Nixon won the presidential election against Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and George Wallace of the American Party (3).

Firstly, foreign policy was one of the major factors in Nixon’s election (4). Through Nixon’s diplomatic achievements during Dwight Eisenhower’s administration garnered him public trust and support, and his claim that to stop the war in Vietnam was soothing to the ears of the people who were tired of the anti-war protests and its controversy (5). Therefore, Vietnam War played a vital role in the election of 1938. It also gave Nixon the chance to direct his campaign towards the “silent majority” of the middle class and the working class (6). Unlike the Democrats, the Republican candidates were careful to craft an image of moderation and dignity, which stood in contrast to the disorder in the Democratic Party. Lyndon Johnson, the sitting president and a Democrat, lost the public relations war to the North Vietnamese, and he dropped out of the race as he struggled in the primaries. Also, Robert Kennedy (a new forerunner) was murdered in June after the primary election in California, leaving the party in disarray (7).

Richard Nixon won about 31.8 million popular votes, while Humphrey won 31.3 million votes. In the Electoral College, Nixon received 301 votes, Humphrey won 191 votes and George Wallace won 46 votes (8). According to some critics, Nixon’s victory was a result of the division in the Democratic Party, rather than to strong support for himself or his platform. He was a president by default, without a mandate or a strong constituency, and that many Americans felt they had corrected a mistake (9). From another perspective, one might conclude that perhaps Nixon won the election because of his perseverance, as Julie Andrews once said, “Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th."

- Teledalase O. and Lindsay T.




(1) “United States presidential election, 1960” Wikipedia, accessed on November 1, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1960

(2) “California gubernatorial election, 1962” Wikipedia, accessed on November 1,2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_gubernatorial_election,_1962

(3) “Richard Nixon elected President” History .com, accessed on November 1,2013 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/richard-nixon-elected-president

(4) “Nixon and Foreign Policy”, accessed on November 1, 2013, http://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/topics/nixon-and-foreign-policy/

(5) “Nixon and Foreign Policy”

(6) “Nixon and Foreign Policy”

(7) “Richard Nixon Back Again: 1968”, accessed on November 1, 2013, http://www.examiner.com/article/richard-nixon-back-again-1968

(8) “Nixon and Foreign Policy”

(9) “Richard Nixon Back Again: 1968”