Rick’s Place —World War II military code for the city of Casablanca The film Casablanca opened in New York City on November 26, 1942, as Allied Expeditionary Forces (AEF) secured their hold on North Africa during World War II. Casablanca, Morocco’s chief port city, was the setting of the film. In the film, the hero […]
Thanksgiving Day A Proclamation For a Publick Thanksgiving, By the Honourable Gurdon Saltonstall, Esq; Governour of His Majesty’s Colony of Connecticut in New-England 1721. An American Time Capsule On the fourth Thursday in November, Americans express gratitude for their good fortune. The American Thanksgiving tradition, celebrated on November 25, 2004, originated with the Pilgrims. As […]
North Carolina On November 21, 1789, North Carolina ratified the Constitution to become the twelfth state in the Union. The vote came approximately two hundred years after the first white settlers arrived on the fertile Atlantic coastal plain. Originally inhabited by a number of native tribes, including the Cherokee, Catawba, Tuscarora, and Coratans, North Carolina […]
Howard University On November 20, 1866, ten members of the First Congregational Society of Washington, D.C., gathered in the home of Deacon Henry Brewster for a missionary meeting. While there, they resolved to establish a seminary for the training of African-American clergymen. By early 1867, the founders had broadened their mission to encompass colleges of […]
Aaron Copland American composer Aaron Copland was born on November 14, 1900, in Brooklyn, New York. The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Copland had decided by age fifteen to become a composer. After graduating from high school, he did not go to college: instead, he played the piano at venues in New York’s Catskill Mountains, among […]
The Capture of Montreal General Richard Montgomery led American troops in the capture of Montreal on November 13, 1775. The American presence in Canada proved short-lived. Just weeks later, British victory at Quebec forced a hasty retreat to New York. After joining Benedict Arnold, who had led American troops through the Maine wilderness to Canada, […]
Elijah Lovejoy On November 7, 1837, Elijah Parish Lovejoy was killed by a pro-slavery mob while defending the site of his anti-slavery newspaper The Saint Louis Observer. His death both deeply affected many individuals who opposed slavery and greatly strengthened the cause of abolition. Lovejoy, who was born on November 9, 1802, in Albion, Maine, […]
Jefferson Davis Elected On November 6, 1861, Jefferson Davis, who had been elected president of the Provisional Government on February 9, 1861—as a compromise between moderates and radicals—was confirmed by the voters for a full six-year term. By the time of his inauguration as full president on February 22, 1862, the confederate capital, which had […]
