November 12, 1942 - The Start of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

The Guadalcanal Campaign began on August 7, 1942, when Americans landed on the Guadalcanal

Above is the Guadalcanal Island layout. As you can
see, Iron Bottom Sound is to the right of
Henderson Field.

with the objective of denying the Japanese use of the island for their bases to threaten supple routes between the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand (1). Four months later the first Battle of Guadalcanal started on November 12th. During that day the Japanese had came to realize that: “one, that the Americans had far more troops on Guadalcanal than earlier estimates had indicated, and two, Henderson Field had to be neutralized in order for the Japanese to control the seas around the island” (2). Henderson Field is an air landing strip that the Japanese built in order to demolish the Marine’s radio station, food stock and construction equipment. The night of November 12, fights broke out

Above is Kinugawa, a Japanese cargo ship,
beached and sunk on the shores of Guadalcanal.
The Japanese were unable to receive supplies.

between the Japanese and Americans, sinking six Japanese ships and ten American ships (3). At about 1:00 AM on the 13th, a bombardment force entered Iron Bottom Sound, the body of water located at the Southern end of the slot between Guadalcanal, Savo Island, and Florida Island (4). Waiting for them was an American force of cruisers and destroyers (5). The two main Japanese ships, Hiei and Kirishima, whose job was to bombard Henderson Field into impotence, were sunk (6).

Guadalcanal’s importance meant that fighting continued because, “neither side was willing to give up the struggle to maintain control over the Sound, and thereby denying supply to the other side's land forces” (7). The stage was set, yet again, for another brutal battle two nights later, which began the second naval battle of Guadalcanal. Americans lost three destroyers and a battle ship that evening. The Japanese had lost one additional destroyer that played an important part in taking over Henderson Field. Because of this they have finally given up the war effect to take over Henderson Field. The Campaign of Guadalcanal finally ended on February 9, 1943; the Japanese had lost 31,400 troops, whereas the U.S. had only lost 2,000 soldiers when about 60,000 were deployed (8), both sides lost a lot of ships. But by far the most significant loss for the Japanese was the decimation of their elite group of naval aviators (9). Japan, after Guadalcanal, no longer had a realistic hope of beating the all-powerful United States (10).

-Jenna S. & Jack R.



(1) "Guadalcanal Campaign," Princeton University, Accessed November 7, 2013, http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Guadalcanal_Campaign.htm.
(2) Nihon Kaigun, "Guadalcanal Campaign - Nihon Kaigun," Accessed November 7, 2013, http://www.combinedfleet.com/battles/Guadalcanal_Campaign#First_Guadalcanal.
(3) “Guadalcanal Campaign – Nihon Kaigun”
(4) “Guadalcanal Campaign – Nihon Kaigun”
(5) “Guadalcanal Campaign – Nihon Kaigun”
(6) “Guadalcanal Campaign – Nihon Kaigun”
(7) “Guadalcanal Campaign – Nihon Kaigun”
(8) "Battle of Guadalcanal,” — History.com, Accessed November 7, 2013, http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-guadalcanal.
(9) “Battle of Guadalcanal”
(10) “Battle of Guadalcanal”
(11) Naval History and Heritage Command, "Guadalcanal Campaign,” Accessed November 7, 2013. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/guadlcnl/guadlcnl.htm.

November 11, 1918 - Armistice Day

November 11, 1918 will forever be remembered as the date the First World War reached a ceasefire on the Western Front, eventually leading to the conclusion of the Great War. At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, an official order was passed through the ranks declaring all nations on the western front to cease firing. While June 28, 1919 is the certified date the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, President Woodrow Wilson made an effort for the date of armistice of World War I to be recognized and celebrated.

An Armistice Day celebration in Raleigh, N.C. in 1920

November 11 of that year included many parades and celebrations, including a “brief suspension of business activities.”[1] A congressional act passed in 1938 officially made November 11th a national holiday.[2] The Great War caused horrendous injuries and deaths to all those involved. Speaking on the Allied Powers specifically, they mobilized an estimated 42,000,000 soldiers, and of those, an estimated 22,000,000 were wounded or killed in action. [3]

America was involved in WWII on a far larger scale than in the First World War. During World War I, the U.S. mobilized a little under 4,400,000 troops. While involved in World War II, the U.S. set over 12,000,000 to battle. [4] By 1954, due to the massive number of new veterans and pressure from major veteran’s support groups, President Dwight Eisenhower moved to change the name of Armistice Day to Veterans’ Day.[5] In 1971, Congress decided to alter Veterans’ day even more by shifting it to always fall on the fourth Monday of October.[6] However, not every state decided to follow suit with the federal government. With confusion setting in due to Veterans’ Day being celebrated on the fourth Monday in October in Alabama, and on November 11 in, initially only Mississippi and South Dakota, changing the date of Veterans’ Day yet again was imminent. Slowly from 1971-1975, as many as half

Veterans' Day celebrated in Columbus, OH in 2012

of the states in the union switched Veterans’ Day back to the original date of World War I’s armistice, November 11th. In 1975, President Gerald Ford finally caved to popular support and passed legislation to shift Veterans’ Day to the date we observe today, however, the process to become official still took another three years until 1978. [7]

- Zach P. and Hunter O.

[1] “History of Veterans’ Day,” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, accessed November 3, 2013, http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

[2] “History of Veterans’ Day,” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, accessed November 3, 2013, http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

[3] “WWI Casualties and Death Tables” PBS website, accessed November 5, 2013, http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html

[4]”By the Numbers: U.S. Military” The National WWII Museum website, accessed November 5, 2013, http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/ww2-by-the-numbers/us-military.html

[5] “The History of Veterans’ Day,” The U.S. Army Center of Military History, accessed November 3, 2013, http://www.history.army.mil/html/reference/holidays/vetsday/vetshist.html

[6] “Veterans’ Day” The History Channel Website, accessed November 3, 2013, http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-veterans-day

[7] “Veterans’ Day November 11,” America’s Library, and the Library of Congress, accessed November 3, 2013, http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/modern/jb_modern_veteran_3.html

November 10, 1865 - Confederate Prison Camp Leader is Executed

A crowd gathered around the platform where Wirz was executed.

On November 10, 1865, Union soldiers surrounded an execution platform, all chanting, “Wirz, remember, Andersonville.” The executioner, Major Russell, said, “I deplore this duty,” to which Henry Wirz said, “I know what orders are, Major, and I am being hanged for obeying them.” Major Russell triggered the trapdoor; Wirz fell, but the fall didn’t snap his neck. It took a full two minutes for him to die, while all around him soldiers continued chanting. [1]

Andersonville, officially known as Camp Sumter, became the worst of the camps on either side. No barracks were ever built, forcing the prisoners to live in “shebangs” constructed of scrap wood. There was a stream, but it quickly became polluted and turned the land of the camp into a swamp.[2] The prisioners lacked fresh drinking water and disease quickly spread. The Confederacy built the camp to hold 10,000 soldiers, but that number quickly soared to somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000, with some estimates stretching as high as 45,000. Some 13,000 deaths are attributed to the camp.

Wirz was one of the few political executions of the American Civil War. After a year in Europe operating on behalf of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Wirz returned was given of the Andersonville POW camp, where he gained a reputation for being a “weak administrator …[with] a bad temper.” [3]

Historians debate about how at fault Wirz actually was. He had very little in terms of resources, and in 1864 the Union had stopped prisoner exchanges. When word got out about the atrocities of Andersonville, through photographs and witnesses, someone had to be held accountable. Wirz’s trial took 2 months, and throughout it all he refused to plead guilty to charges of “wanton cruelty.”

- Valarie S. and David P.





[1] John, Simkin. "Spartacus Educational." Accessed November 6, 2013. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USACWwirz.htm.
[2] "History.com." Accessed November 6, 2013. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/henry-wirz-hanged.
[3] Henry Wirz," The Biography Channel website,http://www.biography.com/people/henry-wirz-560234 (accessed Nov 06, 2013).

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”

November 2, 1962 - JFK Announces USSR would Dismantle Cuban Missile Sites

On November 2, 1962 President John F. Kennedy and Nikita S. Khrushchev, the Soviet leader came to an agreement which concluded the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a conflict between The United States and Cuba when President John F. Kennedy ordered a blockade of Cuba due to the discovery that Soviet Nuclear Missiles were being constructed on the island. This conflict could have played a huge role in today’s everyday life had the situation not been handled cautiously. Had there been conflicting views and no reached agreements by the two parties, nuclear war was destined to occur. [1]

President Kennedy was first informed of the construction of Soviet Missiles in Cuba on October 16,1962. Speaking on the topic of missiles being constructed in Cuba; Kennedy administration officials have said that the Soviet leader acted for “global strategic reasons” and Khrushchev himself claimed that he was “primarily motivated by the desire to defend the Cuban revolution, and his ally Fidel Castro, from aggression by the United States.” [2] Then finding out about the construction of missiles, Kennedy decided to take action and place a naval blockade around Cuba. The main purpose of this blockade was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies to Cuba. [3]

It had seemed that a satisfactory resolution for both Kennedy and Khrushchev in this crisis was becoming more and more farfetched. Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy demanding that the United States agree to remove its Jupiter missiles from Turkey in exchange for a Soviet removal of missiles from Cuba. Kennedy then made a bargain with Khrushchev, sending a letter assuring Khrushchev that the United States would speedily take out its missiles from Turkey, but only on the basis of a secret understanding, not as an open agreement that would appear to the public, and to NATO allies, as a concession to blackmail. [4] Many details involving the agreement to take the U.S. missiles out of Turkey remain in question to this day.

Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, met in his office at the Justice Department with Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to settle the discrepancy once and for all. The agreement between the two sides have raised many questions and confusion over the years. U.S. officials have mandated that neither John nor Robert Kennedy promised to withdraw the Jupiters in exchange for the removal of Soviet missiles in Cuba, but that Robert Kennedy informed Dobrynin that he had planned to remove the American missiles in any event. However, many scholars of the Cuban Missile Crisis throughout the years have strongly suspected that Robert F. Kennedy relayed a pledge from his brother to take out the Jupiters from Turkey in exchange for the Soviet removal of nuclear missiles from Cuba, so long as Moscow kept the swap secret. [4]

- Troy S. and Luke M.




[1] “JFK announces a blockade of Cuba,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jfk-announces-a-blockade-of-cuba (accessed Nov 1, 2013).
[2] Dobbs, Michael. "Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)." The New York Times, . http://www.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/cuban_missile_crisis/index.html (accessed November 1, 2013).
[3] For thirteen days in October 1962 the world waited—seemingly on the brink of nuclear war—and hoped for a peaceful resolution to the Cuban Missile Crisis.. working paper., John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Mueseum. http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Cuban-Missile-Crisis.aspx
[4] Hershberg, Jim. Anatomy of a Controversy . working paper., The George Washington University, 1995. The National Security Archive http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/moment.htm.