On This Day: December 1st - Rosa Parks Refused to Give Up Her Seat

On this date in the year 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her actions sparked a struggle to desegregate public transportation in the South. The desegregation within public transportation was a civil right's obstacle that helped lead to the larger Civil Rights movement in America. Much of America was segregated at the time of Rosa Parks. In Montgomery, Alabama, Jim Crow Laws regulated interstate commerce. On city buses, the first four rows of seats were reserved for white people. Blacks usually sat in the rear of the bus. Ironically, most of the people who rode the city buses were black. Blacks had to adjust to the white sections, sometimes forced to leave the bus if there was no more room for white passengers.

It was apparent that something had to be done in order to stop the unfair treatment of blacks on city buses. On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks got on a Montgomery city bus and would change history. She went to a seat in the back reserved for blacks and sat down. She sat behind the seats that were reserved for whites. Soon, the seats reserved for whites became full. As the bus arrived at a stop in front of the Empire Theater, the bus driver asked Rosa Parks and three other black passengers to move in order to allow whites to sit in their seats. Three of them moved but Rosa Parks politely refused to move. The bus driver called the police who arrived and arrested her. Rosa Parks is a significant person in the history of the Civil Rights movement. Her polite form of activism caught the attention of the nation and helped progress action towards desegregation.

On This Day: December 16th - The Boston Tea Party

On this date in the year 1773, the Boston Tea Party occurred. It came about from rising tensions between the American Colonies and Britain. As the colonies became more independent, Britain struggled to maintain power as the "mother" country to America. They attempted to retain power through taxation and by giving the colonies little power and representation. Colonial farmers and merchants became increasingly frustrated with the taxes. Britain controlled the colonies through "Acts of Trade" which limited trade within the colonies. Trade became more independent in the colonies as people realized oversight was minimal. Britain was all the way across the ocean.

As the colonies created more export items, Britain continued excepting them which angered many colonists. In 1764, Britain created the Sugar Act which taxed sugar products and acted as a form of income to Britain. In 1765, the Stamp Act was created and required a tax on stamped items. James Otis stated "Taxation without representation is tyranny". Citizens of Boston revolted by burning stamps and the Stamp Act was repealed. Trying to cling to control through taxation, Britain created another tax on glass, paper, paints and tea. This tax failed as merchants refused to accept it. Britain only retained the tax on tea after that. In 1773, three ships arrived at Boston Harbor carrying tea. Colonists did not allow the tea to be unloaded. If the shipments were not unloaded within 20 days, customs officers had the right to unload them according to Britain rule. The 19th day arrived and several rebel patriots began dumping the tea into Boston Harbor. They had a "Tea Party" as many put it. This act was important in American History and was an event that helped lead to the Revolutionary War.

On This Day: January 11th - Cigarettes Are Found To Be A Health Hazard

On this date in the year 1964, a federal government panel reported that cigarettes were a major health hazard and called for corrective action against cigarette usage. The panel reported that smoking cigarettes is a major cause of disease, especially lung cancer. Overall, they reported that cigarettes have the potential to cause an earlier death. It was a widespread belief that cigarette filters could reduce these health risks but the panel also reported that this was not the case. The panel consisted of 10 scientists who worked on the study for over 14 months. Soon after the Public Health Service investigated the report and jumped on board with the findings. Because the report found so many links between smoking cigarettes and diseases/health problems, drastic changes would later occur in the cigarette industry. Up to this point, many people thought that the habit of smoking was not seriously detrimental to their health. After this report came out a significant drop occurred in the number of smokers.

Changes in the medical field also happened. Doctors began warning their patients of the dangers caused by smoking cigarettes. Surprisingly a year before this report came out, the Agricultural Department found a record number of people smoked cigarettes in 1963. The number was somewhere around 522 billion cigarettes were smoked by Americans. Large tobacco producing companies were allowed to react to the report's findings on television. Several of the tobacco companies argued that there was no medical proof that could prove smoking as a health hazard. According to the tobacco Institute, cigarette consumption was rising quickly each year. In the year 1955, cigarette consumption in America was slightly below 400 billion while in 1965, it was somewhere around 522.9 billion. Needless to say, the findings would affect billions of people around the world. Luther Leonidas Terry was the Surgeon general who would report the warning that tobacco is a health hazard.

On This Day: January 6th - United States President Theodore Roosevelt Died

On this date in the year 1919, ex-president of the United States of America Theodore Roosevelt died in Oyster Bay, New York. His wife, Mrs. Roosevelt told his secretary that he had passed away inside their home around 4:00 in the morning on January 6th. Is believed that Roosevelt died from May condition called Pulmonar Imbolium which involves enlarging of the lungs caused by a blood clot. Doctors diagnosed Roosevelt's condition prior as a form of sciatica rheumatism and later diagnosed his condition as inflammatory rheumatism. Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th president the United States and took office after President McKinley was assassinated. He was very young to become president at the age of 42.

He was born on October 27, 1858 and was raised in New York to a very wealthy family. As president, he accomplished many things and even one of the Noble peace Prize in the year 1906. He was a Republican who was a staunch supporter of Abraham Lincoln and the Union during the American Civil War. He was known for his passion to travel. He frequented in countries such as Africa and Europe. Later in his life he went on a famous safari in Africa. He was known by his friends and family as someone who had a deep knowledge of the world and a passion for being outdoors. It is said that Roosevelt portrayed himself as a masculine cowboy type figure. The " teddy bear" was named after Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt.

On This Day: January 5th - Baseball Legend Jackie Robinson Retires

On this date in the year 1957, baseball legend Jackie Robinson retires from the sport. He found immense stardom and popularity during his career while playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was the first African-American to play for a major league ball club in America. He was 38 years old when he retired from the sport he loved. He felt that he was getting too old to play baseball and that he would no longer be helpful to any major league ball club.

At 38 years old, one major obstacle he had was staying in shape to keep up with the younger guys in the league like Willie Mays. He believed that he needed to lose at least 20 lbs before he would be back in shape to be of good use to a baseball team. When Robinson retired, he left a large imprint on America's pastime. Playing as the first African American in major-league baseball, he helped end 60 years of racial segregation in the sport. He won the World Series with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955 propaganda for beating the New York Yankees. After he won the World Series with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was traded to the New York Giants in the year 1956. Soon after he retired in 1957 with plans to become an executive of a company called Chock full o'Nuts. He played his final game on October 10th, 1956. He was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia and he passed away on October 24th of 1972.

On This Date: January 3rd - Jack Ruby Dies of Cancer

On this date in the year 1967, Jack Ruby died of cancer. Jack Ruby was the murder of Harvey Lee Oswald, the man who was accused of assassinating U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Jack Ruby died in the parkland Hospital located in Dallas Texas. While being jailed, Ruby complained about being sick and he was treated for cold symptoms. Soon his condition became worse and he was transported to the hospital. After first being diagnosed with severe pneumonia, doctors found cancer in his lymph glands. It is believed that ruby's motive for killing the Lee Harvey Oswald was anger towards him for killing the president of America and smiling while walking out of jail.

Rumors about a connection between Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby have surfaced but Ruby denied knowing him personally. Ruby was a hot tempered man who owned a strip club named the "Carousel Club" in Dallas Texas. He was known by his friends and family as a very patriotic and passionate man which most likely lead him to murder Lee Harvey Oswald. As Oswald was being transported from the jail in which he was staying as the accused assassin, Ruby fired at him, killing him with a fatal shot on November 24th, 1963. Owswald was rushed to the hospital where he was died in a short time. Ruby died of cancer three years after killing Oswald. Both John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald died in the same hospital that Ruby would also die in.

On This Day: December 2nd - Richard Nixon Signed a Bill Requiring a 55 m.p.h. Speed Limit

On this day in the year 1972, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon signed a bill that required every U.S. state to reduce the speed limit maximum to 55 m.p.h in their jurisdiction. The bill came about from the federal government needing to spend the federal highway money or risk the chance of losing it. The country was also going through an energy crisis in which there were potential risks for fuel shortages. Richard Nixon encourage a the American people that a reduction in the speed limit would reduce the amount of fuel needed to run motor vehicles.

The bill required that all states create a maximum speed limit of 55 m.p.h. or they would not receive funds from the federal government for their highways. Each state had 60 days to lower the speed limit before it would lose their money. The bill indicated that the speed limit requirement would only remain effective until June 30th, 1975. The president had the option of moving the state to an earlier time contingent upon fuel shortages in the United States. With this bill, Richard Nixon also signed a railroad bill that allowed the merging of several prominent railroads. This action was meant to revamp the railroad freight System in the United States and to save money on fuel. Speed limit signs all over the country had to be changed from 60, 65, 70, and 75 m.p.h. to 55.