Martin's American History Blog

The Declaration of Independence was created more than 200 years ago yet still has relevance in today's world. It has profoundly affected not only the history of the United States ... Read More

On April 27, 1937, after four years of construction, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was opened for travel between Marin County and San Francisco. The bridge featured ... Read More

The HBO miniseries on John Adams based on the book John Adams by David McCullough has met with critical acclaim. Adams truly was a fascinating character and in many ways ... Read More

On April 21, 1790, Benjamin Franklin was buried in what was considered one of the most splendid funerals ever seen in Philadelphia. One of America's founding fathers, Franklin's role ... Read More

On April 18, 1906, at 5:13 a.m., San Francisco was the target of the most violent earthquake ever recorded in its history. Recently in the news has been talk ... Read More

April 14, 1865, while watching a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater with his wife, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated from a gunshot wound to the back of ... Read More

Thomas Jefferson served first as Vice President under John Adams even though they were of different parties and disagreed over many issues. When Jefferson won the presidency in 1800, the ... Read More

There have been 55 presidential elections in the history of the United States. Most of these elections seemed at the time to be very important but their real impact is ... Read More

April 9, 1865 marks the end of the Civil War. On that day, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. Ironically, the site of this last ... Read More

In 1803, the Supreme Court made a historic decision with the court case Marbury v. Madison. The case involved many of the key players in the early republic including John ... Read More

On April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution that officially entered the United States into World War I. This decision was made due to Germany's intensification of ... Read More

On April 4, 1968 civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King was shot dead at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1963, he became world famous for his "I ... Read More

On April 1, 1945, 50,000 troops landed in Okinawa. The military had lost 116 planes. Further, 3 aircraft carriers were damaged. This event marked the beginning of the end ... Read More