A young enslaved woman named Phillis Wheatley has published a small collection of poetry. There are 39 poems in all, including a number of elegies, or laments for the dead. Many were written when she was just a teenager. Poems of note are “On Being Brought from Africa to America” —a re ection on how Wheatley’s kidnapping and enslavement led her to Christianity— and “On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George White eld.”
Wheatley is the rst African American woman to publish a book of poems and only the third American woman generally.
JAN. 19, 1770
BLOODSHED AS BRITISH TROOPS OPEN FIRE
MARCH 6, 1770, MASSACHUSETTS
TENSIONS BETWEEN
unhappy colonists and British soldiers have reached a boiling point, sources say. Soldiers have occupied Boston for the last two years. They have been trying to prevent colonists and British o cials from fighting over taxes and representation. But they are not always successful.
Yesterday, Private Hugh White of His Majesty’s army became the target of angry colonists. They surrounded him while he was on patrol on King Street. Captain Thomas
Preston and a group of soldiers responded to White’s call for back-up, but the angry crowd grew larger.
The protestors started to throw ice, snowballs, and insults at the soldiers. Eyewitnesses say it was then that the soldiers opened re. The violence escalated rapidly. Crispus Attucks, a man of African and Indigenous descent, was one of the first men killed by the soldiers. Attucks was a free man, working as a sailor. Other victims of the massacre include Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, and James Caldwell.
At the Battle of Golden Hill, New York, British soldiers clash with the Sons of Liberty. It is later recognized as one of the early events of the Revolutionary War.
APR. 1770
Most of the Townshend Acts are repealed, leaving only the tax on tea.
In protest against taxes, colonists dressed as Indigenous people destroy tea on a ship in Boston Harbor.
BOSTON THROWS A TEA PARTY!
BOSTONIANS REBEL AGAINST BRITISH RULE BY DUMPING THOUSANDS OF POUNDS OF TEA IN THEIR HARBOR
DEC. 26, 1770
Bernardino de Jesus Fages, a fiveyear-old Indigenous boy, is the first of many people to be baptized in what is now California.
MAY 1772
Settlers in what is now Tennessee create the Watauga Association, an early attempt at independent government.
DECEMBER 16, 1773, MASSACHUSETTS
BOSTONIANS made a grand statement of de ance against Britain today to show their displeasure with the Tea Act.
Tension has been growing between the British Parliament and the American colonies for years, but the Tea Act passed in May seems to have brought things to a head. It made the East India Company (EIC) the only company that
92,616 lbs of tea dumped in Boston Harbor
WHICH EQUALS... the weight of more than 7
could export tea to the colonies. It also said the EIC did not have to pay taxes on that tea. Furthermore, the tea had to arrive on EIC ships and could only be sold by the EIC.
All of these measures cut colonial shippers and merchants out of the tea business. It has led conservative merchants to join forces with Samuel Adams’s more radical group, the Sons of Liberty. That group is ghting against unfair taxation by Britain.
JUNE 10, 1772
Rhode Islanders set fire to the Gaspee, a British customs ship, to defy British authority.
South Meeting House. The EIC tea merchants told the colonists that they had no authority to refuse the tea. Instead, they were ordered to store it until a solution could be found. The Royal Governor of Massachusetts then declared that the colonists’ group gatherings were against the law and that they must stop immediately.
COOKERY CORNER
Today’s incident follows a series of developments over the last few weeks. First, on November 28, the EIC ship Dartmouth arrived in Boston Harbor carrying 114 chests of tea. The next evening, a group of concerned Bostonians gathered at the Old South Meeting House. They did not want to pay import tax on the tea and decided to send it back to England.
On November 30, a second meeting happened at the Old
1773
NOV. 1772
Boston forms the first Committee of Correspondence, an emergency government intended to combat British authority. Such Committees soon spread throughout the colonies.
That was two weeks ago. Since that time, the Bostonians had been waiting to nd a way to send the tea back to England and avoid paying the taxes. And in the meantime two more ships, the Beaver and the Eleanor, arrived with more tea! By this morning, tensions had grown so high that a huge crowd of 5,000 Bostonians assembled at the Old South Meeting House. That is more than a third of the city’s entire population. And then the news came: Governor Hutchinson had demanded that the tea be unloaded and the taxes be paid.
This was the last straw for the Bostonians. The Governor’s refusal to hear their concerns forced them to take decisive action. A mob of about 150 men stormed through the streets toward the ships. They wore headdresses to disguise themselves. They dumped all 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. The city now sits in silence as it awaits the consequences of this protest.
Colonists have boycotted English tea now, but that does not mean they have abandoned their teatime rituals. Here is an alternative recipe to satisfy those cravings for tea.
• 3 tsp. dried mint leaves
• 3 Tbsp. dried apple, nely chopped
• 6 cups water • Honey (optional)
Pour the water into a tea kettle and bring to a boil. Place the mint leaves and dried apple in a teapot. Pour the boiling water water into the teapot and allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes. To serve, place a tea strainer over the cup and pour in the tea. If you like your tea sweet, stir a spoonful of honey into the tea while it is still hot.
DEC. 3, 1773
Citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, meet to discuss rejecting a shipment of British tea in their harbor. They want to avoid paying the required taxes on imported tea. They have no idea a similar situation is soon to unfold in Boston!
DEC. 13, 1773
Citizens of Lexington, Massachusetts, burn the town’s tea to protest the tax.
RECORD-BREAKING GLOBAL JOURNEY
NELLIE BLY’S GROUNDBREAKING ROUND-THE-WORLD TOUR
JANUARY 25, 1890, NEW YORK
INTREPID JOURNALIST
Nellie Bly has arrived back in New York City after circling the globe by train and steamship in a record-breaking 72 days.
A reporter for the New York World newspaper, Miss Bly says she was inspired to undertake the epic journey after reading the best-selling novel Around the World in Eighty Days by the popular French science-fiction writer Jules Verne.
Hoping to break the record set by fictitious traveler
Phileas Fogg in the book,
Miss Bly left on November 14 of last year on board the German steamship SS Augusta Victoria. After landing in Europe, she was invited to meet her hero Jules Verne at his home in Amiens, France. She continued by train to the bottom of Italy, where she boarded the first of the ships that would carry her through the Suez Canal and across the Indian Ocean to Singapore. There she bought a
LOUI s IANA MANDATE s RACIAL s EGREGATION
JULY 10, 1890, LOUI s IANA
IN A HUGE setback for race relations, the Louisiana state legislature has passed a controversial law that requires separate seating areas on trains for Black and white passengers. The Louisiana Separate Car Act of 1890 says all railway companies operating within the
First-ever basketball game takes place in Springfield, MA, using peach baskets as hoops.
pet monkey named McGinty as a travel companion. Sailing via Hong Kong and Japan, Miss Bly crossed the Pacific to San Francisco. With the northern route closed by snow, World publisher Joseph Pulitzer hired a private train to whisk his star reporter around the closure. Cheering crowds met her at each station. Her final time was 72 days, six hours and 11 minutes.
Note from the Future This 1890 board game was based on Bly’s 25,000-mi. (40,200-km) trip.
A Black man being forced to move by a conductor.
state must “provide equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.” It mandates fines of $25 or imprisonment of up to 20 days for anyone who breaks the law by taking a seat in a coach not assigned to their race. These new regulations reverse several post–Civil
War acts that forbid racial segregation on trains, as well as on steamboats, streetcars, and other transportation in Louisiana. Some worry that there is more to come and that other similar laws will be passed to force Black people to use separate facilities including restrooms and waiting rooms.
The world’s first electric streetcars begin operating in San Francisco.
The World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago World’s Fair) opens. J ULY 9,
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs openheart surgery in Chicago.
GHO sT DANCE REACHE s GREAT PLAIN s
ITALIAN s FIND HOME IN AMERICA’s CITIE s
APRIL 30, 1890, OKLAHOMA
THE GHOST DANCE
spiritual movement is inspiring a cultural revival among the Indigenous nations of the Great Plains and creating friction with the US Army. Led by shamans, or spiritual leaders, the belief system, which is based on Native American traditions with aspects of several Christian sects, promises to end disease and warfare, bring ancestors back from the dead, and protect against violence from white settlers. Started by a Paiute prophet in 1869, the movement has spread east, crossing the Rocky Mountains onto the American prairie. Dancers are said to experience a dreamlike state where they
receive messages from the dead and miraculous cures. It’s believed that the Great Spirit will return the dead only if believers stick to a strict moral code that includes nonviolence. But the US government views the Ghost Dance as a threat and has sent in troops to suppress it.
JANUARY 29, 1891, HAWAI’I
FOLLOWING THE death of King Kalākaua last week, his sister Liliʻuokalani takes the throne of the Hawai’ian Islands. Well known both in the islands and overseas as a musician, the new queen has composed many songs, including the popular tune “Aloha ‘Oe.”
It’s thought that one of Liliʻuokalani’s first acts will be to reject the controversial “Bayonet Constitution,” which limits the power of the Hawai’ian monarchy.
Queen
Lili‘uokalani of Hawai’i
from the Future
US troops sent to suppress the movement slaughtered hundreds of Lakota at Wounded Knee, SD, on December 29, 1890.
A group composed mostly of white plantation owners forced her brother to sign it so they could transfer power to themselves. But the new queen may try to shift power back to both the monarchy and her subjects.
APR. 6, 1896
Competing at the Summer Games in Athens, triple jumper James Connolly becomes the first American to earn an Olympic gold medal.
MAR. 4, 1897
William McKinley inaugurated as the 25th president of the United States.
find
J UNE 15, 1897
The immigration center on Ellis Island burns to the ground. It will take three years to reopen.
J ULY 7, 1898
Congress passes the Newlands Resolution to annex the Hawai’ian Islands.
APRIL 11, 1896, NEW YORK
FEDERAL AUTHORITIES
recently reported a major shift in the origin of people arriving on American soil from abroad. For the first time ever, more Italians have been arriving at the Ellis Island immigration station in New York Harbor than Irish or Germans migrants. Those two nationalities had previously topped the chart.
The huge immigration processing station, which opened on January 1, 1892, is the first of its kind in the US. It is designed to handle the large numbers of immigrants heading in to the country.
Hoping to land jobs in the nation’s booming eastern cities, most of the Italian arrivals are settling in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, northern New Jersey, and other major urban areas.
Many of these immigrants are farmers or manual workers from Sicily and southern Italy, regions plagued by poverty, disease, natural disasters, and gang violence. And these new arrivals won’t forget their families back in Italy! Many plan to send some of their wages to the folks back home.
sEP. 18, 1899
Texas-born composer Scott Joplin registers the copyright for “Maple Leaf Rag,” his popular ragtime tune. Ragtime is a new style of jazzy, syncopated piano music developed by Black musicians.
Painting of a Southern Arapaho Ghost Dance ceremony.
Note
VISITOr S f LOCK TO SKY-HIGH MOUND
1200 b C e , LOUISIANA
PEOPLE FROM THE Lower Mississippi Valley region and beyond are flocking to Poverty Point. The draw? Earthworks built over the last 500 years by a society of fishers and hunter-gatherers.
Among them are several pyramid-like ceremonial
mounds. They include the 72-foot-high (22 m) Bird Mound, currently the largest structure in North America.
Poverty Point is also a busy trading center. People meet here to exchange goods from far and wide. Among the items offered in the marketplace are pottery, arrowheads, and human figurines.
Prized for their colorful feathers, macaws are brought to Chaco Canyon from rainforests 1,000 mi. (1,600 km) away.
C rOSS-CONTIN e NTAL T r ADe b OOMS
shells imported from Mexico and California.
LAND AHOY!
SEAFARING FAMILIES COLONIZE HAWAI’I— VOLCANIC ISLAND CHAIN WITH RICH SOIL
1000 C e , HAWAI’I
IN LATE-BREAKING NEWS, Polynesian seafarers have discovered a new group of islands while traveling in the North Pacific Ocean.
No one knew of the islands’ existence before now, and there is not a human being in sight! The newcomers have named the island group Hawai’i. This is a Polynesian term for “homeland.” It is also a reference to the mythical fisherman and navigator Hawai‘i Loa.
On clear nights, the travelers used the stars to guide them on their way. By day, they followed the migration patterns of birds. They also relied on their expert knowledge of ocean currents to get where they wanted to go.
SHOP ’TIL YOU DROP at Chaco Canyon, a trading hub on the Colorado Plateau.
Working in pueblo-style workshops, Chaco’s residents offer spearheads for hunting, everyday household items, and jewelry made from local turquoise or copper, or from
Yet these pale in comparison to the live macaws. The tropical parrots are shipped overland from the Mayan Empire in Central America. Those who can afford the exotic birds consider them living symbols of their wealth and power.
After leaving their homeland, the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific, the brave seafarers crossed 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of open ocean. These people have a long tradition of boat-building. To make the trip, they built waʻa canoes, which are very large and sturdy, and have two hulls and one or two sails.
450
This is not the first time Polynesians have set out to explore new territory. Many generations of this culture have traveled the South Pacific. They colonized numerous islands, including Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa. Yet it seems this is the farthest north that the explorers have ever traveled.
As with earlier expeditions, this latest includes entire family groups ready to settle on whatever inhabitable islands they find. Now that they have arrived safely in the Hawai’ian Islands, the group plans to stay and make a new life here.
If these first reports are anything to go by, the travelers certainly came prepared! From sweet potato ( ʻuala ), bananas ( maiʻa ), and coconut ( niu ) saplings to sugar cane (kō), pigs (puaʻa), and chickens (moa), the colonists packed everything they thought they might need to survive in whatever place
1200 bCe
Ancestral
Puebloans settle the Four Corners area where New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado meet.
500–200
It
300 bCe
Quarter-mile
Great Serpent Mound (left) constructed by the Adena people in Ohio.
450 Ce
Canal-building Hohokam people arrive in southern Arizona from Mexico. They develop extensive irrigation systems and produce distinctive pottery styles.
Having two hulls makes Polynesian canoes more stable on rough seas.
N eW WOODHeNGe IN CAHOKIA
1100 C e , ILLINOIS
THE PEOPLE of Cahokia— the biggest city in the Americas north of Mexico’s central valley—have built another woodhenge, this time using 72 posts, each 20 feet (6 m) tall and sunk 4 feet (1.3 m) into the ground. This is the fifth wood circle in Cahokia and the largest.
The circles work as calendars. By watching where the shadows fall, Cahokians can
This Cahokian pipe was made to look like a frog.
tell what date it is. This helps them to plan when to plant and harvest crops, as well as when to stage important worship ceremonies.
Along with the woodhenges, the city’s high-rise skyline features more than 120 earthen mounds. These are used as ceremonial sites, residential areas, and burial grounds. The city’s growth has much to do with its ideal location. It sits right at the point where the Mississippi and Missouri rivers meet. Both waterways are important routes for trade.
P eAC e AT LAST
1190 C e , N e W YOr K
noes continue to erupt, but that doesn’t seem to bother these intrepid settlers.)
YEARS OF BITTER rivalry between five Indigenous nations is about to end.
To their delight, they have found the land on these islands to be very fertile. Like many other Pacific islands, the Hawai’ian Islands are
made of volcanoes that have built up from the ocean floor over millenia. As the volcanoes erupt, cooling lava builds up in mounds that have eventually reached the surface. That means the soil is largely made of lava and ash and is full of minerals that help plants grow. (It also means that the volcatheir voyage of exploration took them.
After establishing a community on the largest island, the Polynesians plan to occupy a smaller island in the group, which they have called Maui. It is named for the son of the legendary Hawai‘i Loa.
The Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Mohawk, and Cayuga have agreed to form an alliance they are calling the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. They think this is the best path to their future.
600 Ce Mesa Verde residents begin building houses in cliff caves.
After several centuries of migration across the Caribbean, the Taíno culture dominates Puerto Rico.
800–1600
The nations agree to follow the Gayanashagowa or Great Binding Law, a constitution that says how the confederacy will be governed. They have also adopted the traditional longhouse as a symbol that they now reside beneath one roof. A bundle of five arrows has been chosen as a symbol to show that they are always connected.
The Mississippian Culture, with Cahokia its largest city, spreads across the Southeast and Lower Mississippi Valley. Cahokia and other Mississipian mound sites can still be visited today, centuries later!
WIT cH T r IA ls END
GOVERNOR PHIPS PARDONS REMAINING PEOPLE ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT IN SALEM TOWN
MAY 10, 1693, MA ss Ac H us ETT s
IN THE VILLAGE of Salem, Massachusetts, Sir William Phips has pardoned all of the people who were still in prison after being charged with witchcraft over the past year. The Royal Governor’s decision ends a series of trials and hangings that has rocked the village since last spring. One of the final people to be tried in court was Tituba, the enslaved woman who was the first to be accused.
Sir William Phips,
Royal Governor of Massachusetts
Tituba was accused in January of last year. Betty (age 9), the daughter of Tituba’s enslaver, and Betty’s cousin Abigail Williams (age 11) fell ill. The doctor blamed witchcraft. Someone told Tituba that if she made a “witch cake” and fed it to a dog she could break the spell and the children would get better. Because Tituba made the witch cake, she herself was accused of witchcraft.
A month later, Tituba was suspected of sending spirits
jAN., 1692
A major flood in eastern Texas destroys a Mission built by the Spanish to convert Indigenous people to Christianity.
FEB., 1692 Warrants are issued for the arrests of Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborn for bewitching young girls.
10, 1692
First execution of the Salem witch trials as Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill.
j ulY 19, 1692
Sarah Good is hanged, along with others. She tells one minister: ”I am no more a witch than you are a wizard.”
sEP. 22, 1692
Last execution of the Salem trials: eight people are hanged at Gallows Hill.
A young woman is examined for “the Devil’s mark” on her skin, thought to be a sign that she is a witch. Such marks could include moles, warts, or birthmarks.
OcT. 29, 1692
Governor Phips ends the special court and releases many of the accused witches from prison.
. 24, 1695
The HMS Winchester is shipwrecked in the Florida Keys after most of the 350 men on board develop scurvy, a dangerous vitamin deficiency that can cause bleeding gums, fatigue, a rash, and even death. Only eight of the crew survive and are rescued.
to harm Elizabeth Hubbard (aged 17) and Ann Putnam Jr. (aged 12). Two other women, Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good, were also accused. They said they were innocent. But Tituba admitted she was a witch— and said that Osborne, Good, and others were, too.
Tituba also confessed that she had flown on a stick and carried out evil deeds to obey the devil.
Panic gripped the town of Salem. More people claimed they were being tormented by spirits and many were arrested.
As many as 200 people were accused of witchcraft in Salem.
19 accused witches were hanged on Gallows Hill, of which 14 were women 5 were men.
By May, Governor Phips had created a special court in which to carry out the trials. But they depended on stories of victims seeing spirits that nobody else could see. Some people said they should not be used as evidence.
Governor Phips closed the court in October 1692, after even his own wife, Lady Mary Phips, was named as a witch.
A higher court replaced it, but Phips has now closed that one, too, and Salem’s nightmare is over. It is too late for those who have already been found guilty and hanged.
DEc. 1698
French missionaries who want to convert Indigenous people to Catholicism found Cahokia village in present-day Illinois, not far from the prehistoric Cahokia Mounds. It later becomes an important trade center.
Others, including Sarah Osborne, died in prison without even having a trial. Tituba spent 13 months in prison. Her case was dismissed for lack of evidence yesterday. She confessed that she had been forced to tell the stories about witchcraft and the devil by her enslaver, the Reverend Samuel Parris. Parris had beaten her and told her things to say during numerous court appearances. Because Parris has not yet paid Tituba’s jail fees, it seems likely that the town will sell her into a new household in order to pay for them. Although the other accused will eventually receive restitution for their jail time and what they have suffered due to false accusations, Tituba will not receive compensation for her ordeal because she is enslaved.
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APr. 1699
Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville directs the building of Fort Maurepas, later known as Old Biloxi, one of the first European towns in French Louisiana. It temporarily serves as the capital of New France.
tr I a L
ver
DIct!
JULy 21, 1925, tennessee
THE SMALL TOWN of Dayton, Tennessee, became the center of national attention today as the high-profile trial of teacher John T. Scopes ended. He was found guilty of teaching evolution and fined $100.
The nickname “Scopes Monkey Trial” refers to biologist Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, which says that humans, apes, and monkeys are all descended from one common ancestor.
The case has gripped the nation since the trial started on July 10. Radio broadcasts aired it live—a first—bringing the debate over science, religion, and education to millions of listeners across the country.
The fierce exchanges of top lawyers Clarence Darrow, representing Scopes, and William Jennings Bryan, arguing against him, made headlines in the national newspapers.
Dayton itself took full advantage of all the publicity. Those attending events there were greeted with people on the courthouse lawn selling Bibles, toy monkeys, and other souvenirs.
Jan. 1925
pILO t crOsses at L ant Ic
LINDBERGH COMPLETES FIRST NONSTOP SOLO CROSSING, LANDS SAFELY IN PARIS AIRFIELD
M ay 21, 1927, F rance
A HUGE CROWD of 150,000 people waited at an airstrip outside Paris, France, today, to see US pilot Charles Lindbergh complete the first-ever nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
Lindbergh, a 25-year-old aviator and military officer, flew 3,500 miles (5,600 km) in his monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis. He took off from New York and reached Le Bourget airfield in Paris 33 hours and 30 minutes later.
Nellie Tayloe Ross becomes governor of Wyoming,the first-ever female US governor.
Mar. 16, 1926
Launching the first liquid-fueled rocket, Robert H. Goddard kicks off the era of space exploration.
His specially designed plane was fitted with fuel tanks in its nose for the ultralong flight. These tanks were so big that Lindbergh could not stretch his legs and had no forward vision. He used a periscope—a device that enables a person to look over walls or around corners—to see what was in front of him. To save on fuel, he left heavy objects behind, including a radio and even his parachute!
Lindbergh followed railroad tracks to find his way as he flew over land. Above the sea, he used a compass and other instruments as there were no maps or landmarks. As news spread in France that his plane had been spotted over England, under two hours away, hundreds gathered at Le Bourget airfield and mobbed his plane after it touched down. Including the time it took to prepare for the flight,
May 1, 1926 Ford Motor Co. launches a fiveday work week, giving workers more time to spend on leisure activities.
Lindbergh went a total of 55 hours without sleep. When asked about this, he admitted that tiredness had made him see things that weren’t there. He said he saw “vaguely outlined forms, transparent,
moving, riding weightless with me,” who offered him wise advice.
nOv. 11, 1926 Route 66, a 2,400-mile (3,860 km) highway runs from Chicago, IL, to Santa Monica, CA.
Jan. 7, 1927
Black basketball team the Harlem Globetrotters play their first game in Hinckley, IL. They play as an exhibition team, because only white men can play professionally at this time. The ban on Black players will not be lifted until 1950.
Crowds gather around Charles Lindbergh’s plane at Le Bourget airfield, Paris.
Lindbergh stands proudly in front of his aircraft.
Lindbergh can now claim the $25,000 Orteig Prize, offered to the first aviator to cross the Atlantic all alone and without stopping. Six people have died trying to complete the flight.
p Op! a ne W KI n D OF GUM
JU ne 18, 1928, pennsyLvan Ia
CHILDREN ARE loving a new treat—a gum that you chew and then blow into bubbles!
Dubble Bubble is made by Fleer, the chewing gum company. A few decades ago, Fleer produced a bubble gum called Blibber-Blubber, but it was hard to chew and stuck to people’s faces when the bubbles burst.
The new gum was invented by Walter Diemer, a 23-yearold Fleer employee. He tested many recipes to develop a gum that he could blow into a bubble, pop, and easily remove from his face. Fleer is now recruiting “blowing teachers” to show children how to blow bubbles.
Oct. 6, 1927
The movie The Jazz Singer is the first full-length picture with synchronized sound, a major development.
sep. 17, 1928
The Okeechobee Hurricane, one of the deadliest in US history, hits West Palm Beach, FL. More than 2,000 people drown.
a M er Ica’s neW est star I s a MOUse!
nOveMBer 18, 1928, neW yOrK
A CUTE LITTLE cartoon character called Mickey Mouse debuted in a New York City theater today, winning the hearts of many.
In the film Steamboat Willie , Mickey steers a paddleboat up a river, fights with the captain, slips on soap, squabbles with a parrot, and helps load a tricky cargo of livestock. Mickey also picks up his girlfriend Minnie Mouse along the way, hoisting her aboard with a crane!
The film, which runs for 7 minutes and 47 seconds, is a breakthrough in the way it
plays sound to accompany all its hectic action. Its 26-yearold director, Walt Disney, performed all the voices mainly grunts and yelps—
himself. If today’s happy audience at the Colony Theater is anything to go by, his film looks set to be a resounding success.
st O c K M ar K et c OLL apses
OctOBer 30, 1929, neW yOr K
CROWDS OF anxious people gathered yesterday outside the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, where fortunes can be made—or lost—overnight. Many of them had lost everything.
The price of stocks—investments that allow ordinary people to own small pieces of big companies—has increased tremendously over
Mar. 4, 1929
Republican Herbert Hoover inaugurated as the 31st president of the United States.
To find out more, listen to an episode of “Presidential,” a podcast from The Washington Post
the past decade. That means those who bought stock years ago have seen the value of their holdings increase as much as sixfold. Some investors thought this boom would continue forever, and even borrowed more money to put into the market.
Things started to look shaky last Thursday, when the market dropped 11 percent at its opening bell. The day has come to be
May 16, 1929
Wings, an action film starring Clara Bow, wins the Oscar for Best Picture at the first-ever Academy Awards.
known as “Black Thursday.” By Monday it all came to an end, as prices further plummeted, a slide that continued yesterday and shows no sign of stopping.
The crash threatens to cause an economic depression, which could mean companies struggling and thousands of workers losing their jobs. With no money to spend, many people might become homeless.
TERROR STRIKES AMERICA
A CITY IN RUINS, A NATION IN SHOCK
SEPTEMBER
12, 2001, NEW YORK
THERE ARE some days you will remember forever. In the worst way possible, yesterday—9/11—was one of those days. A terrorist attack on the U.S. killed thousands of people.
In New York City, workers were at their desks in the World Trade Center, home of the city’s two tallest skyscrapers, when terrorists took over the controls of a passenger airplane and intentionally crashed it into one of the two towers. The impact and exploding jet fuel killed everyone on board and hundreds more in the building.
A New York police officers rush to help people.
A few minutes later, another group of hijackers flew a second plane into the World Trade Center’s other tower. Firefighters and police rushed into the buildings to try to help the office workers
escape, but both towers crashed to the ground, killing everyone inside. Meanwhile, another group hijacked a third passenger jet and crashed it into the Penta gon, the headquarters of
9.03am
Smoke and flames pour from both towers at the World Trade Center after they have been hit by the hijacked passenger airplanes.
JAN. 15, 2001
The online encyclopedia Wikipedia launches. By 2025 it contains more than 6.8 million articles.
JAN. 20, 2001
George W. Bush is inaugurated as America’s 43rd president.
To
FEB. 8, 2001
President Bush proposes tax cuts. All taxpayers will benefit, but the wealthiest will benefit most.
APR. 11, 2001
Native Alaskan tribes sign the Millennium Agreement, a commitment of cooperation with the state.
MAY 18, 2001
The movie Shrek is released, introducing the lovable ogre to millions of Americans.
Aug.–SEPT., 2001
Human cases of West Nile Virus, a dangerous disease spread by mosquitoes, spike in the US.
10.03am
Passengers on UA flight 93 tried to overpower the hijackers, but the plane crashed outside Shanksville, PA.
9.37am
The third plane, American Airlines flight 77, crashes into the western side of the Pentagon.
10.28am
North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses 29 minutes after the South Tower.
America’s military, outside Washington, DC, killing hundreds more.
But the ordeal wasn’t over. Terrorists hijacked a fourth airplane and were flying it toward Washington when the passengers bravely tried to wrestle back control. In the struggle, this plane also crashed—but in an unpopulated area of Pennsylvania, likely saving the lives of many people in Washington. In total, it’s feared about 3,000 innocent people died.
Who would do such a terrible thing? Suspicion is falling on Al-Qaeda, a terrorist group led by Osama bid Laden. They believe it is their religious duty to attack those they believe are enemies of Islam, including the U.S.
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SEPT. 18, 2001
Congress authorizes the “War on Terror,” allowing the U.S. military to attack those behind 9/11.
OCT. 4, 2001
Spores of anthrax, a deadly bacteria, is mailed to a newspaper in Florida. By end November, such attacks kill five people and make 17 others sick.
OCT. 5, 2001
The Seattle Mariners win their 115th game of the season, a new record for American League baseball.
OCT. 7, 2001
U.S. bombs Al Qaeda targets in Afghanistan, the start of a bid to bring the 9/11 terrorists to justice.
BEYOND THE PAgE
Firefighters raised the US flag at the New York site, Sept. 16.
OCT. 13, 2001
Scientists at Advanced Cell Technology in MA produce the first ever cloned human embryo. They want to use this technique for medical purposes.
Pub date: 03/02/2026
Price: $25.00
Size: 10 x 11 in
Format: Hardcover
Extent: 192 pages
Age: 10–14 years
ISBN: 9781804661673
A unique family reference guide to American history, featuring a timeline and newspaper-style articles that make you feel as though you are watching history happen!
Experience the events that shaped the United States from earliest times to present day, as if it were all breaking news. Newspaper-style features bring history to life—from articles reporting events as they unfold to obituaries of key figures, recipes, inventions, and even the wonderous debut of Mickey Mouse. A running timeline and special context boxes support readers’ understanding of how episodes in America’s past have influenced its present day and its future.
Developed in collaboration with The Washington Post and with QR codes linking to Washington Post podcasts and exclusive oneminute interviews with Washington Post experts, this book is a powerful and compelling commemoration of the 250th birthday of the United States.
Selling points
• Published in collaboration with The Washington Post.
• Offers a “You are there” quality to learning about history, as readers follow key historical events through exciting newspaperstyle articles.
• Features a timeline that runs throughout.
• Includes multiple and diverse perspectives and highlights lesserknown stories alongside familiar touchstones.
• Highly visual pages are packed with photos, facts, and figures, along with illustrations, infographics, and maps.
• Coincides with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
What on Earth! is a small but mighty independent publisher of illustrated children’s nonfiction books and magazines. Everything we create is lovingly crafted, visually compelling, highly giftable, and a catalyst for children’s natural curiosity. Why nonfiction? Because we believe the real world is far more amazing than anything you can make up!
The Washington Post is an award-winning media company dedicated to publishing impactful and consequential news and riveting journalism. Its trustworthy reporting, in-depth analysis, and engaging opinions serve millions of readers, viewers, and listeners around the world.
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PR AND MARKETING Publisher Spotlight Tel: (615) 930-2110 • ellen@publisherspotlight.com WHAT ON EARTH! contactus@whatonearthbooks.com • whatonearthbooks.com @whatonearth.bsky.social
