ARTHUR GRIFFITH

January 10, 1922

Arthur Griffith, one of the architects of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921) is elected President of the newly established Irish Free State.

Born & educated in Dublin, Griffith said: 

"We have brought back the flag, we have brought back the evacuation of Ireland after 700 years of British troops...."

Griffith died just as civil war broke out over the "partition" of the south (The Republic of Ireland) from the north (Northern Ireland) which remained in the UK. 

 Banner from JFK's Visit to Ireland in June 1963

"Cead Mile Failte" is Gaelic for "One hundred thousand welcomes"

January 10, 1920

The Covenant of the League of Nations, ratified by 42 nations in 1919, goes into effect.  President Woodrow Wilson had presented the Treaty of Versailles, which included the League, to the US Senate but it would not be ratified. 

The League held its 1st meeting in Geneva on November 15, 1920.  The League of Nations was dissolved with the formation of the United Nations in 1946.

January 10, 1944

FDR introduces his Lend-Lease program to Congress.  He proposes to provide economic aid to Britain & other nations under threat from Nazi Germany.

The Lend-Lease program will provide $50 billion to 39 countries by the end of WWII.   FDR compared the program  to a neighbor whose house is on fire.  You lend him your hose so he can put the fire out.

January 10, 1946

The 1st meeting of the United Nations is held at Westminster Central Hall in London.  51 nations are represented in an organization created to have much more power to keep the peace than the League of Nations. 

The UN charter had been drafted in  April 1945 in San Francisco.  JFK attended the event as a newsman.

January 10, 1967

LBJ asks Congress for more money to fund the Vietnam War.  By that time, 14,000 Americans had been killed and hundreds of US planes had been shot down.  LBJ requests a 6% surcharge on income taxes to pay for the proposed increase in military spending.