April Highlights @ Awesome Stories

The first of April, some do say,
Is set apart for All Fools' Day.
But why the people call it so,
Nor I, nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.

Poor Robin's Almanack(1760)

The origins of April Fool's Day - by 1760 - were already lost to history. Some scholars think the day has ancient, or medieval, roots. Maybe it stems from the Hilaria celebration in Rome, the Holi in India or the Festus Fatuorum (the Feast of Fools) where people (mostly in France) parodied Catholic-Church rituals. Caring little about its actual history, Mark Twain observed:
The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.

But ... April is not all tricks and foolishness. It is also a time to remember significant world events. Take a look at some of the stories that AwesomeStories.com is featuring this month.

WHAT'S NEW

To help users more quickly locate stories, we have created a new site map.

Each story included in the list also has (or will soon have) a new summary. In addition to a quick overview of the subject, the summaries include specifics about featured links. For example: Charlotte's Web provides a direct path to E.B. White reading from his much-loved book. The Black Death includes pictures of the bacteria which causes bubonic plague and the fleas which transmit it. Dead Sea Scrolls uncovers artifacts which ancient people used in their daily lives. Plessy v Ferguson reveals pictures of those involved in the "separate but equal" discrimination case of 1896 Victory in Europe provides a path to Russian-archive photos of the liberation of Berlin during April, 1945.

QUICK GUIDE to HOT TOPICS
We have also created a new "Hot Topics" section which lists stories by category:
Biographies
Disasters
History
Law and Government
Movies
Religion

FOCUSED TOPICS at AWESOME STORIES
Because the site has hundreds of stories which incorporate thousands of topics, it isn't always easy to do a "one-stop shop" on a particular subject. So ... we are creating a series of focused topics which provide our members, and site users, with detailed information - and direct access - to those sources.
This month we feature:
Civil Rights
Revolutionary War (American)
Triumph Over Tragedy
World War I

STREAMING AUDIO at AWESOME STORIES
We have completed many audio recordings. You do not have to load a player - just click on the green arrow, at the top of each recorded chapter, and off you go! (Soon the audio versions will also be available as podcasts.)

LEARNING TOOLS
AwesomeStories has hundreds of links to explanatory animations, audio/video clips, online games and virtual field trips. Linked throughout the entire site, they are not always easy to spot. We thought a separate section, where you can quickly locate these learning tools, would be helpful. The first version is now online.

APRIL HIGHLIGHTS
RUINS OF POMPEII - DISCOVERED
In early April, 1748, a team of excavators rediscovered Pompeii. Once a thriving town, it was completely destroyed by Vesuvius, a nearby volcano, in the summer of 79 A.D. Discoveries at the site, which is like a living museum, continue to this day.
AMERICA JOINS WORLD WAR ONE
European countries had been at war nearly three years before President Woodrow Wilson asked the U.S. Congress to enter the conflict on April 2, 1917. Germany's formidable weapon - its rigid airships (see Chapter 9) - had been creating fear and inflicting damage in London while its use of chemical weapons - the first ever - compounded the misery of soldiers fighting in the trenches of France. More than two million Americans were ultimately drafted while government-created posters - like Uncle Sam declaring "I WANT YOU" - helped to change the attitude of isolationist Americans who had long resisted involvement in the conflict. During the war, Congress passed censorship laws which greatly limited the people's right to freely speak their mind. Americans - and citizens living in war-torn countries - grew "tired of the war and everything belonging to it." The various stories profiled in this segment include video recreations and eyewitness accounts, explanatory animations and virtual field trips.
JESSE JAMES - ASSASSINATED
It was hot in Missouri on the 3rd of April, 1882. After feeding his horses that morning, Jesse James returned to his rented home. Then he did something he almost never did - he took off his gun belt. Soon thereafter, he was fatally shot by one of his own men, Robert Ford. Learn the story of Jesse James within the context of the American Civil War. And ... learn what happened to his assassin, ten years later.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr. - ASSASSINATION
Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on the 4th of April, 1968. The night before his death he gave a powerful, extemporaneous speech - known today as "The Mountaintop Speech" - which seemed to foreshadow his untimely end. We provide links to a video of the entire speech, its written transcript, the assassination scene and the federal government's investigation into Dr. King's death.
APOLLO 13 - SAVED
Before Apollo 13 launched, some folks wondered whether its mission number should be changed. It was that thing about suspicion...about the number 13. Keeping the sequential numbers in place, however, NASA launched the intended moon shot on the 11th of April, 1970. Two days later - on April 13 - the astronauts radioed Houston control with the now-famous words: "Houston, we have a problem." With links to official documents, video and radio transmissions, learn about the "problem" and how the astronauts were saved.
PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ASSASSINATION
On the 14th of April, 1865, Abraham Lincoln attended a play - Our American Cousin - at Ford's Theater. It was just a week after General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, ending the American Civil War. John Wilkes Booth, an actor who often performed at Ford's Theater, knew the place well. He also knew the President would be there. Wielding a knife and a derringer, Booth had no trouble entering the President's box since no bodyguards were there to resist him. Lincoln died from a single shot to the head. Three others were attending the play with the President. Each faced serious personal challenges as a direct result of what they had witnessed.
Thanks to the Library of Congress and National Archives, you can see Booth's derringer, the contents of the President's pockets when he was shot, the theater as it appeared at the time, the only known photograph of Lincoln in his coffin and much more. Also learn "the rest of the story" regarding several others whose lives were impacted by the first assassination of an American president.
DIARY of JOHN WILKES BOOTH
Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, kept a diary about the shooting. Many pages of that diary are missing, causing an ongoing debate about what they might have said.
THE TITANIC
Crossing the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage, the Titanic - then the world's largest ship - received several warnings about ice in the area. Some of the messages were not marked for the captain to see. Late in the evening of April 14, 1912 - a moonless, windless night - the Titanic struck an iceberg. Within five to ten minutes, the ship had a starboard list of five degrees. She was already sinking, without enough lifeboats to save everyone. Although it was not the most deadly sinking of all time, Titanic remains the most sensational. Learn how icebergs are formed and how they reach "Iceberg Alley." See a picture of the iceberg believed to be the one which Titanic struck. Examine photographs of the ship - before and after its sinking. Review the testimony of witnesses and discover how Titanic communicated with other ships Learn how her new wireless system operated, and meet rescuers and heroes who risked their own lives to help others.
MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE
It was the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, in 1775. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow later penned:
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
The poem, of course, commemorates the famous ride of Paul Revere, sent to alert Massachusetts colonists that British troops were on their way. But three men, not just Revere, attempted to warn the colonists. And only one - Dr. Samuel Prescott - made it to Concord. Revere and his other companion, William Dawes, were captured. Perhaps Longfellow changed the facts because his poem would have lacked good rhyme and rhythm had he used Prescott's name!
SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE
While the people of San Francisco slept, the ground below them was moving. At first, during the early hours of April 18, 1906, no one knew that something was awry. But then the rolling motions came, causing streets to rise, and fall, and rise again. It seemed, to one observer, as though the earth itself was breathing. What happened next devastated one of America's most popular cities and traumatized her citizens. Learn the story from eyewitnesses and archived photographs.
AMERICAN REVOLUTION - THE FIRST SHOTS
By the time an advance guard of British soldiers arrived at the town of Lexington - on April 19, 1775 - most of the minutemen under Captain John Parker's command had gone home. He had earlier admonished them: "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." It did - hours later.
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
It is believed that on the 20th of April, 1853, Harriet Tubman began the "underground railroad." What was it - and - how did it work?
CAPTURE of BATAAN
We provide this story to mark an important event, but be advised it is neither for children nor for anyone who does not want to see pictures of war.
On the 9th of April, 1942, Filipinos and Americans could no longer defend Bataan during World War II. The following day, the "Bataan Death March" began. Thousands of Filipinos and Americans died before the last survivors were rescued.

SEARCHING AwesomeStories
To find general topics, see the new site map. To find story summaries, examine the new Quick Guide to Hot Topics. To find details of specific subjects, check out the subject index.

Enjoy an interactive learning experience as you see thousands of hand-selected and relevant links to pictures, artifacts, manuscripts, documents and other primary sources, IN CONTEXT, within each story. The first eight chapters of every story are available to all.

For free INDIVIDUAL ACCESS - including students - CLICK HERE.

Site Members ... if you cannot remember your password, click here. If you have changed (or plan to change) your email address, click here.

CQ Press - Online Trial

CQ Press, a Division of Congressional Quarterly Inc. is offering free access to their online products through April 30th. You will be able to access all CQ products, including CQ Researcher, CQ Researcher Plus Archive, CQ Global Researcher, CQ Almanac, CQ Weekly, CQ Collection Databases, and CQ Online Editions.

http://library.cqpress.com/login.php?mode=trials
You may obtain the username and password from the Reference Desk.
TIP: be sure to have your web browser set to accept pop-ups; each topic/chapter opens within a pop-up window.

Currently there are several new topics covered in CQ Press Online. And be sure to view topics covered in "New Releases" such as an in-depth explaination of the American political campaign process. Much more is awaiting you when you visit this great online resource!

March Highlights from AwesomeStories.com

Use AwesomeStories.com to retrieve information you need for school papers and projects, or just read for your own enjoyment. Access this site at www.AwesomeStories.com. If you are not already a member, follow the link to select a free individual password.

BOSTON MASSACRE By 1770, many Americans wanted British soldiers to leave the colonies. On the 5th of March that year, a taunting mob threw hard-packed snowballs at British soldiers on duty near Boston's custom house. The soldiers fired at the crowd, killing five people. John Adams, a future U.S. president, successfully defended some of the soldiers who were tried for murder.
REMEMBER THE ALAMO The Republic of Texas declared its independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836. A few days later - on March 6 - the Alamo fell. The massacre led to the rally cry: "Remember the Alamo!" Thanks to the Texas State Archives, we have significant primary sources to study the events.
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER If it hadn't been for Doc Beanes, Francis Scott Key may never have found himself on a Royal Navy ship while the British attacked Ft. McHenry. Had he not been on the ship, Key may not have written his famous poem (which officially became America's national anthem on March 3, 1931). Learn the story and see the famous, now-restored flag which once flew above Ft. McHenry.
REVOLUTION in RUSSIA On the 8th of March, 1917, riots in St. Petersburg caused the Tsar, Nicholas II, to lose power. It was the beginning of the Russian Revolution which ultimately took the lives of the imperial family.
BATTLE of IWO JIMA and INCENDIARY BOMBING of TOKYO Japanese defenders and American invaders fought for more than thirty days on the island of Iwo Jima. The famous battle finally ended in March of 1945. Under American control, the island was used as an air base for B-29s whose crews dropped fire bombs over Tokyo.
GENERAL MacARTHUR in AUSTRALIA On the 12th of March, 1942, General Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines for Australia where he worked closely with John Curtin, the Australian prime minister. Famously declaring that he would return to his troops, the general had been ordered to leave. He had not been told, however, that the American government was temporarily abandoning soldiers, sailors and nurses serving their country in the Philippines.
ST. PATRICK'S DAY - The Wind that Shakes the Barley The Irish people have a long history of seeking independence from Great Britain. Our story behind The Wind that Shakes the Barley provides background on the struggle, including the partition of Ireland and the resulting civil war.
BRITAIN ABOLISHES the SLAVE TRADE On the 25th of March, 1807, the British Parliament formally abolished African slave-trading. This story provides background on the beginning of slave-trading, its impact on the lives of Africans and the extraordinary efforts required to end it.
BEETHOVEN and HIS HAIR The great composer, Ludwig von Beethoven, died in Vienna on March 26, 1827. In poor health, he left behind a never-sent letter which begged his brothers to find out why he'd been so ill. Hundreds of years later, a lock of his hair provides an answer: He had severe lead poisoning!
TENERIFE - DISASTROUS AIR CRASH On March 27, 1977, people vacationing in the Canary Islands were delayed due to a terrorist attack. What happened thereafter led to the world's deadliest aviation accident.
INVENTION of COCA COLA In March of 1886, Dr. John Pemberton created a secret formula for a drink he called Coca-Cola. A few years later, he sold his rights to the product for a mere $2,000. Until 1905, the popular drink contained the cocaine alkaloid.
VIRGINIA WOOLF The author, Virginia Woolf, loved London so much she once observed: "To walk alone in London is the greatest rest." Despite her fondness for the capital, Virginia's doctors believed the stress of city life in war-torn London contributed to her illnesses. On the 28th of March, 1941, Virginia left her East Sussex home and followed the footpath to the River Ouse. She put a heavy stone into her coat pocket and walked into the water. Her body was found three weeks later.
ALASKA PURCHASE On the 30th of March, 1867, America purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. William Seward, wounded in an assassination attempt the night President Lincoln was killed, had lived long enough to see one of his greatest dreams come true. Not everyone agreed that buying Alaska made sense. To some, the purchase was known as "Seward's Folly." See the original purchase documents, including the paid "warrant."

NEW FEATURES:
SITE MAP - To help users more quickly locate stories, they have created a new site map. Each story included in the list also has (or will soon have) a new summary. In addition to a quick overview of the subject, the summaries include specifics about featured links. For example: Beowulf provides a direct path to a modern scoop who tells the tale in Old English. Columbia includes a video of the astronauts soon before the shuttle exploded. Thomas Jefferson links the original Declaration of Independence (with handwritten changes by John Adams and Ben Franklin). Bagger Vance compares a modern allegory to an ancient epic. The Amistad Incident uncovers drawings of the actual captives. Mummies provides a virtual journey to see some of the world's most famous mummies.

FOCUSED TOPICS at AWESOME STORIES - Because the site has hundreds of stories which incorporate thousands of topics, it isn't always easy to do a "one-stop shop" on a particular subject. So ... they are creating a series of focused topics which provide members, and site users, with detailed information - and direct access - to those sources.
This month they feature:
Medieval History
Space and Aviation
Civil War (American)
Victorian Age

STREAMING AUDIO at AWESOME STORIES - They have completed many audio recordings. You do not have to load a player - just click on the green arrow, at the top of each recorded chapter, and off you go! (Soon the audio versions will also be available as podcasts.)

To find general topics, see the new site map. To find specific subjects, check out the detailed subject index.

Inside Britannica: Get inside: Flags of the World

http://school.eb.com/ (please note that the links within the following text go to the public library edition of Britannica Online. As soon as possible we will be changing over to that edition. Meanwhile, use the link at the beginning of this post and look up individual items of interest.)
Flags are among the most identifiable and recognizable objects in the world. They have been used for thousands of years, first mainly as military banners, but now as symbols of countries, states and provinces, and organizations. They often evoke strong feelings and passions: pride, patriotism, anger, hate, nostalgia. Flags can be almost synonymous with a country (e.g., the United States flag), an organization (the Olympic flag), or with a historical period (the swastika flag of Nazi Germany). Everywhere there is great interest in flags, both as symbols and as design objects. Go Inside Britannica to learn more about the origins of famous flags.

Historical and National Flags :

Banners and standards : Heraldic banners and standards were precursors to national flags.

National flag of France The French Tricolor influenced many other national flag designs. (Also see: France article)

National flag of the United Kingdom The Union Jack is a design element on many national, state and provincial, and territorial flags. (Also see: United Kingdom article)

National flag of Ghana The first subsaharan African country to gain independence, its flag uses "pan-African" colours. (Also see: Ghana article)

National flag of Comoros This flag is representative of one influencd by Islamic precepts and imagery. (Also see: Comoros article)

National flag of the former U.S.S.R. This flag became synonymous with international communism and was the model for other communist flags.(Also see: U.S.S.R article)

The Nazi German flag The Nazi flag is probably the world's most widely recognized symbol of evil, intolerance, and persecution.

Flags of the United States, Canada, and Australia :

National flag of the United States of America Undoubtedly one of the world's best-known national flags. (Also see: United States article)

State flag of Vermont Representative of the common design style that incorporates the state seal or coat of arms on the flag. (Also see: Vermont article)

State flag of New Mexico The starkly simple New Mexico flag consists of a yellow field with a red Zia Indian sun as its central symbol. (Also see: New Mexico article)

National flag of Canada The last in a series of redesigns of the national flag, this flag known for its distinctive central red maple leaf. (Also see: Canada article)

Provincial flag of Quebec Representative of the strong connection to France in this largely French-speaking province with its use of fleur-de-lis emblems. (Also see: Quebec article)

Territorial flag of Nunavut The newest Canadian provincial flag, containing many symbols of this far northern territory. (Also see: Nunavut article)

National flag of Australia One of many flags worldwide to incorporate the British Union Jack into their design. (Also see: Australia article)

State flag of Queensland Representative of a flag using the British Blue Ensign that uses a local badge in the design. (Also see: Queensland article)

Flag of Australian Capital Territory Flag that combines the stylized Southern Cross of the national flag with Canberra's coat of arms. (Also see: Australian Capital Territory article)

Flags of International Organizations :

Flag of the Olympic movement Among the world's most recognized flags, it is flown at all Olympic Games. (Also see: Olympic Games article)

Flag of the United Nations Also among the world's most recognized flags, its emblem symbolizes global peace. (Also see: United Nations article)

Flag of the European Union Represents the organization that promotes common economic, social, and security policies among 27 European countries.

Flag of the Organization of American States Symbolizes economic, military, and cultural cooperation among its members.

This Month's Top Searches : primary election Barack Obama Mike Huckabee

Astronauts land on the moon and plant the U.S. flag on its surface. Acquired from Vast Video View Video

The Canadian national flag and anthem. Copyright © 2004 AIMS Multimedia (www.aimsmultimedia.com) View Video
Note: Videos and animations may require Quicktime, Windows Media, or Real Player.

Celebrate Black History with Britannica!Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Black History presents a vast array of articles, hundreds of images, and a wide assortment of multimedia clips.This guide traces two millennia of black history, and the browse features enable you to pinpoint the central people, places, topics, and events covered in Black History. This Spotlight has biographies on people such as Alvin Ailey, Matthew Henson, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Hank Aaron. In addition, there is a subject browse that allows the user to look up people, places, issues, and events based on topic.Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Black History represents an effort to trace the African American experience and achievements in the United States and elsewhere. See it now!

To access Britannica Online from home you will need the username and password. Please call the Library at 423-745-7782 to get more information.