Today is the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the first Battle of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, which marked (indicated) the beginning of the American Civil War. From 1861 to 1865, approximately 612,000 men, women, and children died as a result of the bloody war between the North and the South (the northern U.S. states and the southern ones).
The Civil War helped end slavery (the use of human beings as property) in the U.S. and preserved (saved; kept) the country intact (as one unit; together). The cost of the war was high, and its consequences (results) run deep (affect in a serious, profound way) in the history of the United States, even to the present day (today).
It is a sad fact that civil war often produces the worst kind of violence and bloodshed (killing), as many of you in other countries can attest (can give truthful evidence of) in your own histories. Today, we honor (remember with respect) those who died so that, as President Abraham Lincoln famously said, “government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish (disappear) from the earth.”
~Jeff
Photo Credit: 1861 photograph of Fort Sumter, Wikipedia Public Domain
The Indian independence movement has also cost a lot of human lives. The wounds are still fresh even after 63 years of independence. But that has held Indian together united.
Democracy shall never perish and I’m proud to come under the biggest democracy in the world. 🙂
Also yesterday, April 12th, was World Cosmonautics day, the 50th anniversary of first space flight, made by Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Congratulations!
Hi Jeff!
Thanks u for informing us about the sesquicentennial of the first Battle of Fort Sumter, South Carolina. God bless their soul.
As every one knows most countries have experienced this kind of war. Recently we hear and see on TV/ radios or papers about Libya Egypt, Bahrain, and …
When will people have a safe world?
When will people receive their rights?
When will people be real friends?
When will we get up in the morning without hearing war news?
When will …
What do u think about world future?
Are u optimistic or pessimist?
Best regards,
Ziba
History repeat itself: Next July the 18th will be the dodranscentennial or semisesquicentennial (75th anniversary) of Franco uprising in Spain which also marked the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. From 1936 to 1939, approximately 550.000 men, women, and children died as a result of the bloody war between the democratically elected government within a legally voted Republican Constitution and the terrorist fascist miltary conspirators who betrayed their juried honor and acted as a transmission belt in Spain for the German Nazism. It is a sad fact that civil war often produces the worst kind of violence and bloodsshed, as many of us in our country can attest in our own histories. Today, we honor those brave Americans and Canadians among others, who came here, fighted and many of them died. They probably thought that General Lincoln would have done the same thing.
The perpetrators of all kind of robberies and crimes were far beyong their most low instincts, and even worst they kept executing its criminal commitment after the end of the war against the defeated and undefended population. There was far more than 200.000 civilian people assassinated, from which around 50.000 out of them remain still uncatalogued and missing buried.
The Civil war helped end progressivism in Spain and preserved oligarchy intact. The cost of the war was high, and its consequences run deep in the history of Spain even to the present day.
I am a english student.
Thanks Jeff and Lucy!
Your hard-work makes the podcast so attractable and knowledgeable!
Keep on!
May be humans are the worst predator living on the surface of earth as we kill and destroy nearly everything.
As long as memories could reach men have been fighting ones against others and there is always some
reasons to do that, at least it is what the nations, fighters, kings or politicians think.
Also common people use think they have the reason on their side to fight, and yes some time that´s true
but what a pity it seems impossible to talk or to reach an agreement with our opponents.
We ignore History and its lessons so we are doomed to repeat once and again the same reprehensible actions.
Among wars the civil war is the worst but I think there is not a country free of such confrontation.
Remembering with respect to all the people who died fighting or were killed by their believes or ideas it is our
obligation and just a lesson to have always present inside our minds or to moderate our attitudes and actions.
As Hilario said in the last civil war of Spain the worst actions were committed and more than five hundred thousand
of persons were killed before the war, in the war and after the war as a revenge.
There was not any forgiveness to the defeated by the contrary as thousands of poor helpless
people were killed by the dictator only by their ideas or only by the suspect of having them.
This wound subsist even now among people who did not live on that time and as a natural reason they have now
lots of prejudices or ideas against which ever thing that could be similar or smell to conservative.
It´s possible that Spaniards need, as Americans, more time to wheal the wounds and the memories of such big
blood barbarity.
Thank you Jeff.
emiliano