Madison Presidential
Looking Back Through History
As 2008 draws to a close, it is certain that this has been a history making year. Obviously the United States Presidential Election will go down in history. With Hilary Clinton almost becoming the first woman to front a major political party in a Presidential race (nearly winning the primary) and the election of the first African American as President and the mind boggling political primary season, nobody will forget where they were in 2008. Because so many important things happened in 2008, we thought it might be good to take a look at what was happening a hundred years ago—just after the turn of the twentieth century, less than fifty years after the Civil War and not long before the First World War began.
In 1908:
The New Year’s Ball was dropped for the first time in Times Square
The Grand Canyon was designated as a national monument
New York City tried to pass a law making it illegal for women to smoke in public (the mayor overturned it)
The Boy Scouts was founded
Harvard voted to establish the Harvard Business School
Frederick Cook reached the North Pole
The first Mother’s Day is observed
Oil is discovered in the Middle East and the rights to it are claimed by the United Kingdom
The Young Turks revolt in the Ottoman Empire which ultimately leads to the restoration of the Ottoman constitution
The Federal Bureau of Investigation gets staffed (originally was named the Office of the Chief Examiner)
General Motors is founded
The Model T is made for the first time by Henry Ford
Bulgaria declares its independence
Bosnian Crisis starts
The Church of the Nazarene is founded
William Howard Taft is elected President of the United States
It is rumored Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are killed in Bolivia and left in unmarked gravesites
England elects its first female mayor: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
The first Credit Union opens its doors
A two year old ascends the Chinese Throne
The campaign for British women’s suffrage begins
Vitmo is invented
Converse Rubber Shoe Company is founded
The Black Patch Tobacco Wars start
As you can tell 1908 was another year in which many historical events happened! The ’08 year seems to be a centennial milestone. Consider the following events from 1808:
Slave importation is banned in the United States
Coal is burned for the first time which leads to its development as a fuel source
Napoleon I and Alexander I start the Congress of Erfurt
James Madison is elected President of the United States
Beethoven performs is Fourth Piano Concerto and Fifth and Sixth Symphonies for the first time
Russia declares war on Finland and makes it part of Russia
Because 2008 is starting its closing draw, we thought it would be interesting to see just how far the world has come in a couple of centuries!
For more information on U.S. History, visit http://www.usamicroblog.net and http://www.historymicroblog.com.
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