November 22, 1963 - The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

The 35th president of the United States

John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960 which was one of the biggest presidential elections because it was the first time presidential debates were televised. Kennedy and Nixon argued with each other very strongly and vigorously. Nixon kept saying that Kennedy was too young and inexperienced to handle all the responsibilities that he would be faced with as president. Kennedy remained poised and many people think the deciding factor in the debates was his charm [1]. JFK became the youngest man to win a presidential election.

Even though JFK was in office just a little past his 1,000 day mark he still managed to achieve great success for the time allotted. JFK's inaugural speech will always be remembered with the phrase "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." [2] JFK was trying to get America back on its feet and moving again. JFK's economic programs, one in which he proposed a cut in the corporate tax from 52% to 47%, helped the country sustain its largest expansion since WWII. Not only did he get economics back on track but he also called for new civil rights legislation because he believed in equal rights and new how important it was for our country.

This day in history will always be remembered . Today is not just a day of weeping but also a day to take a stand on presidential assassinations and to prevent this from ever happening again. Fifty years ago today, President Kennedy was assassinated on a campaign trip in Dallas, Texas. As his motorcade passed by the Texas School Book Depository in Dealey Plaza, gunshots were fired [3]. Although they were not far from the nearest hospital, nothing could be done to save the President. At 1:00 pm on November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead. The whole nation was shocked and will forever be changed from this event. We have not had a presidential assassination since Kennedys and the Secret Service take all the right precautions to keep the President and officials out of harms way. It's sad that it took an assassination like this one to make us realize that but at least we did something about it.

- Hunter O. and Zach P.





[1] "John F. Kennedy" Presidential Library and Museum

http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/November-22-1963-Death-of-the-President.aspx

[2] "John F. Kennedy Elected President" The History Channel Website

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-f-kennedy-elected-president

[3] "John F. Kennedy" The White House Website

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnfkennedy

November 19, 1919 - Congress Rejects the Treaty of Versailles

On November 19, 1919 a peace treaty was rejected for the first time. The Treaty of Versailles was a formal peace treaty between Germany and the allied forces and also included the creation of the League of Nations. Representatives from each country signed the treaty but for the U.S to accept the conditions it had to be ratified by Congress. Henry Cabot Lodge was the majority leader in the Senate and he opposed the treaty (1).

Lodge specifically opposed the section about the League of Nations because he thought the U.S would be giving up too much power. Lodge made Fourteen Reservations to go along with Wilsons Fourteen Points which reduced the control that the League of Nations would have over the U.S. William Borah, another leader of the Senate, also opposed the treaty (2).

Once again there was more conflict on the Treaty of Versailles. The Senate considered the treaty and voted on a version that included the Fourteen Reservations. Wilson did not want this so he ordered all his supporters to vote against that version. Borah and “the Irreconcilables”, which he was the leader of, didn’t support the treaty either way so they also voted against it. This treaty fell short of what it needed by a 55-39 vote. Another version without the reservations also fell short with a 53-38 vote (3).

The Treaty of Versailles never passed. In place of the treaty, Congress passed the Knox-Porter Resolution in 1921 (4). This was a resolution of Congress signed by Warren Harding officially ending U.S involvement in World War I. The Knox-Porter Resolution did not form a League of Nations like the Treaty of Versailles did.

- Alex S.




(1) "On This Day: Senate Rejects Treaty of Versailles," FindingDulcinea, 19 Nov. 2011, http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/November/Senate-Rejects-Treaty-of-Versailles.html
(2) FindingDulcinea, "On This Day: Senate Rejects Treaty of Versailles,"
(3) FindingDulcinea, "On This Day: Senate Rejects Treaty of Versailles,"
(4) FindingDulcinea, "On This Day: Senate Rejects Treaty of Versailles,"

November 17, 1979 - Thirteen U.S. Hostages Released from Iran

The U.S. hostages were blindfolded and paraded in front
of the Iranian public.

Imagine going to the U.S. Embassy in another country for safety, to quickly find that people from that country have taken charge and are holding U.S. citizens hostage. On November 4, 1979 attack of the United States Embassy in Iran was led by a group of angry students, who quickly captured the building, due to government leader Ruhollah Khomeini . Ruhollah Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician and eventually became the supreme leader of Iran after the Iranian revolution which forced the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. Khomeini was anti-American and wanted to protest against the United States. The protest against the United States arose, when Carter allowed the former ruler Shah of Iran to enter the United States for medical treatment. (1) Iran demanded the U.S. government send the Shah back to stand trial. (2) In November 1979, Iranian militants, protesting against the U.S.’s refusal to send the Shah back to Iran, captured the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took more than fifty Americans hostage.

During the crisis many hostages were treated poorly. Most hostages were blind-folded and paraded in front of the Iranian public. The parade was not only seen by the Iranian public, but it was also broadcasted for Americans to see. The hostages went for months without being able to contact their families in America to tell them they were okay. On November 17, 1979 Khomeini orders the release of thirteen female and African-American hostages from the embassy. Thirteen hostages were released to alleviate the crisis, because the Shah was on his way to the Panama. After the release of the thirteen hostages in November, only one more hostage was released in July 1980, due to illness.

Many attempts to rescue the American hostages are made by the CIA, but they are not successful. The first mission set out to rescue the hostages by Carter was a complete failure. (5) Three helicopters were sent over to Iran, but neither of the three made it successfully. Upon take off, all the helicopters now functioned and crashed killing their passengers. Finally, on the day of Ronald Regan’s inauguration, all the hostages were freed and safety back in America, to be welcomed home.

The return of the hostages safely back to the U.S, January 1981.

Upon the release of all the hostages, Carter had to unfreeze all the assets of Iran.

The significance of this event is that it ruined Carter’s presidency and caused more problems between the United States and Iran. This event made Carter look like an inefficient leader of our country. (6) Due to the hostage crisis many other problems also began to occur between the two countries. For example, the relationship between the two countries deteriorated further.


- Amanda D and Brandon C


[1] “THE 1979 IRANIAN US EMBASSY SIEGE AND HOSTAGE CRISIS. WAS IT A COVERT CIA OPERATION?” Global Research, accessed 6 November, 2013,
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-1979-iranian-us-embassy-siege-and-hostage-crisis-was-it-a-covert-cia-operation
[2] “Iran-U.S. Hostage Crisis” History Guy, accessed 6 November, 2013,
http://www.historyguy.com/iran-us_hostage_crisis.html#.UoFtQOKRJag
[3] “Iran Hostage Crisis” Sheppard Software accessed 6 November, 2013,
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Middleeastweb/factfile/Unique-facts-MiddleEast9.htm
[4] “Iran Hostage Crisis” EVResourcesSite accessed 11 November, 2013,
http://evresourcesite.wikispaces.com/Iran+Hostage+Crisis