JFK'S PEACE CORPS IS HERE TO STAY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy signed legislation today which gives the Peace Corps permanent status.
JFK's signature also authorizes $40 million for the agency's 1st year of operation.
Of the 1st Peace Corps volunteers, JFK said:
"They will be farmers, teachers, craftsmen, nurses, doctors & technicians of all kinds. They will be a cross-section of the finest men & women that this nation has to offer."
September 22, 1961
ICC ORDERS END TO SEGREGATION IN INTERSTATE TRAVEL
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The Interstate Commerce Commission today ordered an end to segregation in interstate bus travel.
Greyhound Bus Terminal
Jackson, Tennessee (2011)
Photo by John White
The ICC order says that beginning on November 1, 1961, segregation on interstate buses & at interstate bus terminals will be prohibited.
The order follows the decision of the United States Supreme Court on December 5, 1960 in Boynton v. Virginia that segregation at bus terminal waiting rooms & restaurants is unconstitutional.
On July 19, 1961, JFK said:
"In my judgment, there's no question of the legal rights of the...Freedom Riders*, to move in interstate commerce."
*Freedom Riders were civil rights activists,black & white, male & female, who came from the North to the South to test the Supreme Court ruling.
Greyhound Bus Station
Waiting Room
Jackson, Tennessee (2011)
Photo by John White
September 22, 1962
GROMYKO SAYS US INTERVENTION IN CUBA WILL CAUSE A NUCLEAR WAR
New York City (JFK+50) Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko of the Soviet Union warned the United Nations General Assembly today that American intervention in Cuba will cause a nuclear war.*
*There is no doubt that Soviet placement of nuclear weapons systems just 90 miles from Key West, Florida did, in fact, almost cause a nuclear war.
Come back to JFK+50 in October for the account of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Soviet Minister Andrei Gromyko
USSR Postage Stamp
September 22, 1975
PRESIDENT FORD ESCAPES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT....AGAIN
San Francisco, California (JFK+50) After having avoided an assassination attempt in Sacramento just 17 days ago, President Gerald R. Ford avoided another one today here in San Francisco.
As the President was leaving the St. Francis Hotel & about to enter his car, a woman identified as Sarah Jane Moore fired a shot at him.
Fortunately, Oliver Sipple, standing near her, grabbed her arm as she fired & the shot missed.
Secret Service agents reacted quickly & spirited the President into his car & out of harm's way.
Attempted Assassination
of President Ford
San Francisco, California
Gerald R. Ford Library Photo
September 22, 1980
IRAQ INVADES IRAN
Baghdad, Iraq (JFK+50) Military forces of Iraq by command of President Saddam Hussein launched an invasion today of Iran's oil producing province of Khuzestan.*
*In 1982, Iraq withdrew from Iran & sought peace. In 1988, Iran agreed to a cease fire.
Saddam Hussein of Iraq
September 22, 1862
LINCOLN ISSUES PRELIMINARY EMANCIPATION
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President Abraham Lincoln today issued an executive order which declares "that all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward, shall be free."
The 'Emancipation" applies only to states that have seceeded from the Union as well as parts of the Confederacy that has come under the control of the Union army.
The proclamation is to take effect as of January 1, 1863.
Former slave Frederick Douglass described the moment when the words of the Emancipation came over the telegraph wires:
"The scene was wild & grand. Joy & gladness exhausted all forms of expression, from shouts of praise to joy & tears."*
*The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation provided that if the South did not end the war & rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863, all slaves in the Confederacy would be free. The 2nd Executive Order specified the states to which the order applied.
President Obama Displays a Copy
of the Emancipation Proclamation*
in the Oval Office
January 18, 2010
Photo by Pete Souza
*The copy was on loan from the Smithsonian Institution.
September 22, 1776
PATRIOT NATHAN HALE MAKES ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
New York City (JFK+50) 21 year old Nathan Hale, a school teacher by day & a spy for General George Washington at night, was executed here today after being captured by the British military.
Hale, a graduate of Yale University, was charged with espionage but was not given the benefit of a trial.
He was asked, however, before his execution if he had any final words:
Nathan Hale said:
"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.*
*In 1985, Nathan Hale was officially designated as the "State Hero" of Connecticut.
Nathan Hale Statue
Fort Nathan Hale
New Haven, Connecticut
Photo by 2112guy (2007)
