Maya Angelou once said, “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” This quote is very accurate. On the same date in different years of history, these important events happened over time. Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, 1863. Steamboat Willie premiered, 1928. The Great Depression starts to worsen, 1930. Nixon admits that he is “not a crook”, 1973. John Lennon released his Double Fantasy album, 1980. Lastly, the Beltway Sniper Attacks occurred, 2002. These events are very important and some have even made huge impacts on history. This is why November 17th is an important day in history.
The first important event on November 17th was President Abraham Lincoln’s delivery of one of the most memorable speeches in the history of America, the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln moved the distraught public in less than 275 words with why the Union had to win the war. Lincoln’s Address only lasted 2 or 3 minutes. Lincoln explained that the war was not just a fight but an attempt for equality. His last statement in the address was, “That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” At the ceremony, a well-known orator by the name of Edward Everett gave a long speech. The speech was around 5,500 words. Lincoln’s address basically stated the same thing as Everett. The only difference is that Everett took two hours and Lincoln took two minutes.
Four months before the speech was given, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War took place, the Battle of Gettysburg. More than 45,000 men were captured, injured, or killed. This battle was part of the last Confederate invasion and was marked by General Robert E. Lee’s defeat. The war was over in a period of three days. The first day of the battle was much larger than it is portrayed. The first day on its own is ranked the 12th bloodiest battle of the war, with 15,500 casualties. That’s more than the battle of Franklin and Bull Run combined. Although the first day was bad, the second was worse. It was the largest of all three days. There were around 100,000 soldiers and 20,000 were killed or injured. The second day ranks the 10th bloodiest battle. An attorney from Pennsylvania by the name of David Wills bought 17 acres of pasture to turn into a cemetery for those who fell in battle.
Next, on November 18, 1928, Steamboat Willie premiered. The film’s first run lasted two weeks. The first cartoon was released in New York at the Colony Theatre. Disney was given what was thought to be a large amount at the time, $500 per week. The song that is heard at the beginning of the cartoon is from a song that was released earlier in the year with the title of “Steamboat Bill” from 1910. The cartoon was based on a silent movie by the name of Steamboat Bill Jr. In the movie, Willie’s dad is trying to teach him to be a good captain, but all Willie wants is to be with the Kitty King. The producers were Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney. Walt Disney wanted the images and music to correspond. The completed animation in the studio required three sound effects professionals and a seventeen-piece orchestra.
Steamboat Willie has come a long way throughout the years. The mouse is also known as Mickey Mouse. His premiere was in 1928, and by 1930 he was already promoted in comic strips and short cartoons. In 1932 Walt Disney received an Oscar Award for creating Mickey. 1955 was a good year for Mickey. Disneyland opened in California. He and his “Mouseketeers” were shown on television in October. Mickey’s 50th birthday was in 1978 and he now has a 90 minute special about the celebration. By 2001 Mickey starred in Mickey’s Magical Christmas along with 50 other Disney stars. The early short films also include Mickey’s girlfriend Minnie. November 18th is known as Mickey’s birthday.
On November 17th during the Great Depression, the stocks hit an ultimate low. The Great Depression occurred from 1929 to 1938. The troubles of the Depression were followed very closely by the start of World War ll.The United States entered World War ll in 1941. The unemployment rate from the Depression hovered above ten percent until 1941. During the Depression, the stock market crashed in October and dropped to the ground in November. The market went sideways which means that the prices were very tight for any period. Six hundred and fifty banks failed in December of 1929. In 1930, the fourth largest bank in the world, The Bank of the United States, failed miserably. In 1940, Hitler conquered France. The United States sent arms to Britain. In November of 1954, the stock market performance or the “dow” surpassed 381.7 for the first time.
During the great depression, the dust bowl occurred. The dust bowl was a major drought in the southern plains region of the United States. The drought caused severe dust storms in the 1930s. The dust traveled from Texas to Nebraska. People and animals were killed and plants couldn’t live. Many circumstances go into what caused the dust bowl. Some of the factors include weather change, land conditions, and farm economics. The dust bowl lasted about a decade but its impacts lasted much longer. During this period, the severe storms were known as “black blizzards”. The dust that was drifting was very thick. People shoveled it as if it was snow. People also developed “dust pneumonia” or had a very hard time breathing. Hundreds of people died from these conditions.
President Nixon said to a group of editors in Florida on November 17th, 1973 that he is “not a crook”. This happened in the middle of Nixon’s scandal that went on from 1972 to 1974. This is the scandal that then proceeded to the end of Nixon’s presidency. The press editors said that Nixon seemed tense during the interview. They asked him about the Watergate burglary scandal and about his re-election team funding the break-in. His response was “well I’m not a crook, I’ve earned everything I’ve got.” When another question was asked, he gave an odd response to a question that wasn’t related. The question was about him not flying back up with Air Force One. He responded saying that by taking one plane he saved energy and money.
This all happened during what was called the Watergate scandal. The Watergate scandal happened during Nixon’s presidency and later caused his resignation. In the history of the United States, this scandal is one of the worst. The word Watergate comes from a group of buildings known as a complex in Washington D.C. The scandal started when multiple men who were associated with Nixon broke into the Democratic Party offices. Nixon denied having knowledge of any of this. Nixon was then later found guilty in the cover-up. He gave the burglars money to not say anything. Tapes were released that then showed Nixon was guilty. This was the end of his presidency.
On November 17, 1980, John Lennon’s Double Fantasy project was released. John’s awful death in December later that year changed the way the album was looked at. When he released this album he was a former member of the Beatles. John Lennon was the founder of the Beatles. The Beatles was a band that impacted music and music history. The Beatles started when John Lennon met Paul McCartney in 1957. He asked Paul to join a music group and the group assembled and became very successful. When Mccartney and Lennon met, they were very young, 15 and 16 years old in fact. McCartney was asked to join on guitar, and later George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe on bass guitar. After the Beatles had a few small concerts, their manager found them a house to live in. In 1961 Sutcliffe left the band and was replaced on bass by McCartney. In 1961 when the band went to the UK after putting on shows where they lived, the Beatles were at their peak.
In 1969 Lennon left the Beatles and decided to make music with his wife, Yoko Ono. Yoko Ono is an artist known for marrying Lennon and breaking up the Beatles. Yoko was born in Japan in 1933. She and her family moved to New York in 1940. She met Lennon in 1966.
Lastly, The Beltway Attacks occurred in Washington D.C. in 2002. The shooting spree killed 10 people and injured 3. The shooters were John Muhammed and Lee Boyd Malvo. The attack began in Maryland. A bullet went through the window of a store and barely missed the cashier. An hour later a man walking in a parking lot in a different town in Maryland was shot and killed. At first the shootings didn’t seem like they were connected, but more linked shootings occured over the next 23 days. The day after the Maryland shooting, five victims were shot and killed in Washington. Investigators said that bullets from 7 of the shootings were fired from the same weapon. A few days after the Washington shooting, a 13 year old boy in Maryland was shot in front of his school. The shooters left a tarot card with a note on it for the law enforcement. More than 30 agencies decided to work together to catch the people responsible.
Jon Alled Muhammed was convicted on November 17th. He was convicted for illegal use of a firearm, capital murder, homicide, and conspiracy to murder. He was recommended to the death sentence by the jury. In 2004 he was sentenced to death and was executed in 2009. He declined last words or a last meal. Lee Boyd Malvo had a trial in May of 2006. He confessed more of the pair’s plans than Muhammed. After Malvo went through counseling he admitted that he wasn’t the trigger man for every shooting and he admitted that he only said that to protect Muhammed from the death sentence. Malvo admitted that they had planned to kill more victims and admitted other deaths that they were responsible for. Malvo is in jail to this day.
I learned a lot about my birth date and that it holds a lot of significant events. My favorite is probably about the great depression because it has lots of interesting facts and I liked learning about it. What I find exciting is that Steamboat Willie premiered, because I love Disney. November 17th was truly a big day in history.
