FIRST LADY ARRIVES IN INDIA
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy arrived today in New Delhi, India on the 1st day of her goodwill tour.
The 1st Lady is accompanied by her younger sister, Lee Radziwill and John Kenneth Galbraith, US ambassador to India.
Mrs. Kennedy was welcomed by Prime Minister Nehru & his daughter, Indira Gandhi.*
*In India, Mrs. Kennedy is hailed as "Amriki Rani" or Queen of America.
Mrs. Kennedy at Taj Mahal, Agra, India 3/15/1962
Photo by Cecil Stoughton
JFK Library, Boston
March 12, 1968
EUGENE McCARTHY SHOCKS LBJ & THE NATION
Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota won 42% of the vote today in the Democratic Presidential Primary in New Hampshire.
While McCarthy finished in 2nd place behind President Johnson, who won 48% of the vote, the result is a shocker because an incumbent President running for re-election should normally win his party's primaries with ease.
McCarthy entered the race back in January hoping to tap in to the large numbers of American youth who oppose the administration's policies in Vietnam.
Many of McCarthy's volunteers who had long hair & beards were encouraged to "GET CLEAN FOR GENE".*
*McCarthy started with only $400 but by March 31, 1968, LBJ announced he would not run for another term &then Robert Kennedy soon entered the race.
Senator Eugene McCarthy
March 12, 1972
AUSSIES LEAVE SOUTH VIETNAM
The last soldiers of Australia left South Vietnam today.
The 1st Australian Task Force 1st arrived in Vietnam in 1964 & by 1969 there were 6600 troops serving there.
Australian PM John Gorton in Nui Dat, South Vietnam
June 1968
National Archives of Australia
March 12, 1947
TRUMAN ASKS CONGRESS FOR AID AGAINST COMMUNISTS
President Harry S Truman spoke to a joint session of the congress today to ask for United States aid to Greece & Turkey which are under the threat of communist control.*
*Truman's speech is considered to be the official declaration of the "Cold War" & his policy, The Truman Doctrine, will set the guidelines for US-Soviet relations for the next 40 years.
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States
March 12, 1933
FDR GIVES HIS FIRST FIRESIDE CHAT
President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke into a radio microphone at the White House this evening at 10 p.m. Eastern time to begin his 1st "Fireside Chat".
NBC Microphone Used for the Fireside Chats
National Museum of American History
Washington, D.C.
The topic of this evening's broadcast was "On the Bank Crisis".
FDR, in a clear confident voice, told the nation about why so many banks had failed & what he is doing to fix the problems.
In his 13 minute & 42 second talk, FDR said:
"I hope you can see, my friends, from this essential recital of what your government is doing that there is nothing complex, nothing radical in the process."*
*By 1933, 9000 U.S. banks had closed down permanently. FDR's 31 radio talks between 1933 & 1944 did much to give Americans confidence in their President & the federal government.
You can listen to the audio recordings of the Fireside Chats at the Museum of Broadcast Communication (www.museum.tv/).
FDR Delivers a Fireside Chat
March 12, 1922
"BEAT" NOVELIST JACK KEROUAC BORN
On this date in Lowell, Massachusetts, Jack Kerouac was born.
Kerouac wrote his 1st novel, The Town & The City, in the 1940s, but his most famous work, On the Road, was published in 1957.
He became a figure of the "Beat Generation" & would write 5 more books before his death at the age of 47 in 1967.
Jack Kerouac
Photo by Tom Palumho
New York City (1956)
"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live.....the ones who...burn...like....Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars & in the middle, you see the blue center - light pop & everybody goes ahh....."
On The Road (1957)
Quote from "On The Road"
Jack Kerouac Alley
San Francisco's Chinatown
