October26: Legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson was born on this date in New Orleans, Louisiana. The actual year of her birth is debated, varying between either 1911 or 1912.
Known as the "World's Greatest Gospel Singer," Jackson rose up from humble beginnings to achieve international fame. She was born to a Baptist preacher father and a mother who worked as a maid, and was the granddaughter of Louisiana slaves. Her mother died when she was only five years old, leaving Jackson to be raised by her large extended family. Many members of this family were entertainers, most musicians of some sort. Their musical influence, along with the growing blues and jazz movement of New Orleans, pushed Mahalia towards a career as a singer where her strong voice, powerful delivery and deep religious faith made her an international star of gospel music.
Jackson sang with church choirs all of her life, and even after she
had become a successful singer she refused to sing more popular, and much
more lucrative, secular music. This refusal to leave behind her religious
roots helped bring gospel music back into the cultural mainstream, making
it a viable career option for future singers. Her concerts were legendary,
drawing both black and white audiences, and she during her career she performed
for royalty, heads of state and several American presidents, including
John F. Kennedy and Harry Truman. In the early 1960's Jackson lent her
name and support to Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights protests. She
died in Chicago on January 27, 1972, of heart failure. Submitted by:
Steven Byrd,
student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
October 27: On this day in 1787, the first of The Federalist Papers appeared in newspapers within New York City. Originally attributed to an author known only as "Publius," the Papers are a collection of political essays written to raise public support for ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America as the official model of the American government, after the first attempt, the Articles of Confederation, failed to unite the colonies.
The Federalist Papers were named for the Federalist Party, a
political movement that favored the strong, centralized government that
the new Constitution offered. This party included such famous American
patriots as George Washington and the three men who would come to be identified
as the authors of The Federalist Papers, James Madison, a
future president and major contributor to the U.S. Constitution, John Jay,
first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Alexander Hamilton, the first
Secretary of the Treasury. Eventually these men went on to publish over
eighty essays in the Federalist Papers series, seventy five of which
were collected in the book The Federalist. The historical importance
of these essays is often overlooked but cannot be denied, as these works
helped turn a then unpopular political opinion into reality, shaping the
government that we have today, thereby affecting every aspect of American
life. Submitted by: Steven
Byrd, student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
October 28: The Statue of Liberty was officially unveiled to the American public on this date in 1886. The ceremony took place on Liberty Island (then known as Bedloe's Island) in New York Harbor, and ended with the monument's dedication by President Grover Cleveland.
The Statue, whose official name is Liberty Enlightening the World, was the work of French artist Frederic August Bartholdi, who based the face of the Statue on his own mother's features. Costing approximately 1 million francs to build, it arrived in the United States in 1885 as a gift from the French people, honoring the two nations' devotion to liberty. It was delivered in 214 separate sections and later reconstructed by a team of American engineers.
As the Statue has stood within sight of Ellis Island, for many years
the main arrival point for European immigrants coming into the United States,
it has taken on significance as both a classic piece of Americana and a
symbol of freedom, hope and opportunity for people from all around the
world. Submitted by: Steven
Byrd, student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
October 29: On this date in 1929, the United States stock market crashed, signaling the start of the worst economic depression in American history. The economic collapse that followed, known as the Great Depression, affected Americans of all walks of life, causing an estimated loss of $50 billion dollars worth of stock over the next two years alone. The economic devastation was so severe that the date of the crash, Tuesday, October 29th, would come to be popularly referred to as "Black Tuesday."
The most surprising thing about this collapse was that it occured right
on the heels of unheralded finacial prosperity in America. The economy
of the 1920's had been strengthened by the first World War, but the early
1930's would be marked by rampant unemployment, poverty and hardship. Ironically,
many cite this booming war economy, and the rapid increase in inflation,
speculation and reckless stock trading that accompanied it, as the key
causes of the market collapse. Submitted by: Steven
Byrd, student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
October 30: On this date in 1885, noted American poet Ezra Pound was born in Hailey, Idaho. Considered by some to be the father of the Modernist movement of poetry, Pound was one of dominant literary voices of the early 20th century. Publishing such noted works as his Cantos books, Pound helped to forge a new style and aesthetic for American poetry that would become standard for the next twenty years.
However great an influence Pound had as a writer, his efforts as an editor, publisher and mentor to younger writers earned him his greatest fame. He was one of the first established writers to notice the talents of a young James Joyce and campaigned to get his work more widely recognized. In the literary journal Poetry, he published the first poems of T.S. Eliot. He and Eliot would later develop a strong working relationship that lasted many years, with Eliot helping Pound refine his theories on poetry, and Pound editing much of Eliot's best known work, including "The Waste Land," which Eliot dedicated to Pound.
Although criticized at times, particularly for his support of Mussolini
in the years prior to World War II, Pound was seen as the respected elder
statesmen of poetry toward the end of his life. Pound died on November
1st, 1972 in Venice, Italy, having served as American poetry's unofficial
champion, organizer and editor for over half a century. Submitted by:
Steven Byrd,
student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke