Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Homestead Act of May 20, 1862

In an effort to populate the Western part of the United States,  President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862.

There had been several earlier attempts to pass this Act.  The Southern Democrats were slave owners and feared that the settlement of the West by small farmers would create an agricultural alternative to the Southern slave system.  The Northern Republicans brought the Act up for vote in 1858 where it was defeated by one vote.  In 1859 the bill passed but was vetoed by President James Buchanan.  The passage was very important to President Lincoln, and with the secession of the Southern States, causing the loss of Southern Democrats in Congress,  the bill was finally passed and signed into law.

The Homestead Act gave a male applicant who was over the age of 21 and head of a household ownership at no cost to farm land, typically 160 acres, west of the Mississippi.  The law required three steps:  file an application, improve the land, and file for a deed of title.  In order to own the land outright you had to build a 12'x14' dwelling and improve the land for five years.  Only about 40 percent of the applicants who started the process were able to complete it because of blizzards, drought, grasshoppers, disease, and loneliness on the open prairies.

The first applicant was a physician and veteran of the Civil War by the name of Daniel Freeman.  He attended a New Year's Eve party where he met some local land office officials and convinced a clerk to open the office shortly after midnight on January 1, 1863, in order to file a land claim by telling him he was leaving early that morning for St. Louis on military duty and would not be able to file his claim otherwise. There is speculation that the St. Louis story was untrue, and that Freeman just wanted to be the first to file.  He was successful in his farming endeavor.  Daniel Freeman was also the first to sign a "Proof Required Under Homestead Acts May 20, 1862..." at the end of the first 5 year requirement.  His witnesses were his neighbors, Joseph Graff and Samuel Kilpatrick.

In 1936 the Department of The Interior recognized Daniel Freeman as the first claimant and established The Homestead National Monument on his homestead near Beatrice, Nebraska.  Today, the monument is administered by the National Park Service, and the site commemorates the changes to the land and the nation brought about by the Homestead Act of 1862.

The Homestead Act was discontinued in 1976, except in Alaska, where it continued until 1986. 

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Mother's Day

On May 9, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson issued a Presidential Proclamation that officially established the first national Mother's Day holiday to celebrate America's mothers.

Two women have been largely credited with the creation of Mother's Day,  Ann Jarvis in 1868 and Julia Ward Howe in 1872.

In New York City, Julia Ward Howe led a "Mother's Day anti-war observance" on June 1, 1872 which was accompanied by a Mother's Day Proclamation.  The observance continued in Boston for 10 years under Ms. Howe's personal sponsorship, then faded out.

In 1868 Ann Jarvis created a committee to establish a "Mother's Friendship Day" whose purpose was "to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War," and she wanted to expand it into an annual memorial for mothers, but she died in 1905 before the celebration became popular.  Her daughter, Anna Jarvis, continued the campaign to make her mother's dream a reality.

Anna Jarvis continued her push to make Mother's Day a U.S. national holiday.  In 1910 the State of West Virginia declared the second Sunday of May to be the official day to celebrate mothers.  On May 8, 1914, the U.S. Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as "Mother's Day" and requested a proclamation.  On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the first national Mother's Day as "a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war."  Over time this holiday evolved into the celebration of all mothers.

In 2002, President George W. Bush echoed Wilson's sentiments by acknowledging mothers in his official statement on Mother's Day.  He commended foster mothers as well as his own "fabulous mother" for their "love and sacrifice."  He also mentioned past presidents' expressions of appreciation for their mothers.  He quoted John Quincy Adams as having said,  "All that I am my mother made me", and Abraham Lincoln's expression of love to his mother saying, "All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother's prayers that have clung to me all my life."

We at National Write Your Congressman wish all mothers a very blessed Mother's Day!

Friday, May 4, 2012

V-E Day "Victory in Europe"

On May 8, 1945, V-E Day (Victory in Europe), the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.  On April 30th Hitler committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin, and his replacement, President of Germany Karl Donitz, authorized the surrender.  The act of military surrender was signed on May 7, 1945 in Reims, France, and ratified on May 8th in Berlin, Germany.

World War II started on September 1, 1939.  These six years of war are known as the most widespread ever fought.  With over 100 million serving in military units, this period is called the deadliest conflict in human history.

When Nazi Germany was defeated celebrations erupted throughout the Western world.  From Moscow to New York, people were in the streets cheering.  In the United Kingdom, more than one million people celebrated in the streets.  In London, crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square and up and down The Mall of Buckingham Palace, where King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, appeared on the balcony of the palace before the cheering crowds.  Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen of England, and her sister, Princess Margaret,  were allowed to wander anonymously among the crowds and take part in the celebration.

In the United States, President Harry Truman dedicated the victory to the memory of Franklin D. Roosevelt who had died of a cerebral hemorrhage less than a month before.  Huge celebrations also took place in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and especially in New York City's Time Square.

The Soviet Union was east of Germany, so they celebrated the surrender on May 9.

The war with Germany ended with the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world. The United Nations was established "to foster international cooperation and prevent future conflicts." The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers started to decline, while the decolonisation of Asia and Africa began. Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to stabilize postwar relations.

**The picture to the right is an aspirin box that was made to commemorate V-E Day in 1945.  It was a light cardboard box and read on the back, "Because Steel is Needed for Tanks, Guns, Planes, Ships We Have Adopted This New Victory Package to Help Conserve Metals Needed For The War Effort".  In 1975, this Author, was visiting her great aunt.  I told her I had a headache.  She went to the bathroom and returned with this box of aspirins for me to take!  I declined the offer, but did ask her if I could have the box.  God bless Aunt Eva.