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Show vti n : u -' ' ; I ME WOZLlljyUJrBSJArFOJZVEMOCJZACY- "APRIL f'OMT SU-1TEK, APZIL 8&! ' fy -X It was these same international polities which rfAT JZUDE BRDGF "4AKL,T75' " led eventually to another April war episode. When It was these same international politics which led eventually to another April war episode. When Woodrow Wilson became President the war-torn republic of Mexico was under the rule of Vic-toriano Vic-toriano Iluerta, whom the American President refused re-fused to recognize as the rightful Mexican president. pres-ident. Although many Americans believed it was "time to go in and clean up Mexico," the President Presi-dent decided that a policy of "watchful waiting" was the best policy. A crisis came in April, 1914, when some sailors from an American battleship landed at the wrong place in Tampico to buy some gasoline and were arrested by the Mexican authorities. They were soon released but the American admiral demanded that the Mexicans apologize by saluting our flag. Huerta refused this demand and by command of President Vil-son Vil-son our naval forces seized the city of Vera Cruz after a fight in which both Mexicans and Americans Ameri-cans were killed. Although this was an act of war, President Wilson decided that it was not war and through the mediation of the "A. B. C. Powers" Argentina, Brazil and Chile a settlement settle-ment of the difficulty was effected. Soon afterwards after-wards Huerta fled the country and Carranza became be-came president. President Wilson immediately recognized Carranza Car-ranza and this recognition infuriated another Mexican leader, Pancho Villa, who retaliated by raids across the border, culminating in the famous raid on Columbus, N. M., on March 9, 1910. This resulted in the punitive expedition, .led by Gen. John J. Pershing. So April, 1910, seventy years after General Taylor entered Mexico, American troops were again on Mexican soil with hostile intent. Although Pershing penetrated some 400 miles Into Mexico he never succeeded in catching up with the elusive Pancho, who slipped around his flank and made another quick dash across the border. By January, 1917, Tershing's force had withdrawn from Mexico. But by this time there was a greater crisis at hand. Unrestricted submarine warfare had brought the United States and Germany to the verge of a break. Ambassador Gerard' had been recalled from Germany and the German ambassador, ambassa-dor, Count von Bernstorff, was handed his passports. pass-ports. Suspension of intercourse between the two nations made war all but inevitable. Finally on April 2, 1917, the next great April episode in American history took place. President Wilson appeared before congress and read a message urging it to recognize the fact that a state of war with Germany already existed. "We fight," he said, "for the rights of nations great and small and the privilege of men everywhere every-where to choose their way of life and of obedience. obedi-ence. The world must be made safe for democracy. democ-racy. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire de-sire no conquest, no dominion. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We hall . be satisfied when those rights have been made as 6ecure as the fi'ith and freedom of nations can make them. ... To such a task we can dedicate dedi-cate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured." And so on another April day America embarked upon the greatest war in which she had ever fought. On April 0, 1917, congress by a Joint resolution declared that the issue of war forced on the country by Germany was accepted. And to the successful conduct of that war, all the resources re-sources of the United States of America were pledged. ( by Western Newspaper Union.) 4 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON " HAT has been the most important Vi H I monib in American history? Febru- J J ary because the two greatest Amer-leans, Amer-leans, Washington and Lincoln, were " " born in that month? July because fJuly 4 gave us the Declaration of Independence? October because it brought to the shores of America a sailor named Christopher Columbus? November because the World war came to an end on November 11? All of these months and the events which took place in them are Important, of course, but if one were to single out any one month when the greatest number of momentous events in American history took place, that month would have to be April. For one thing, five of the six major wars In which we have fought began in April and one of them ended In April. Four of our Presidents, Jefferson, Monroe, Buchanan and Grant, and one of our greatest statesmen who just missed the Presidency, Henry Clay, were born in April. Two of our Presidents, William Henry Harrison and Abraham Lincoln, died in April. George Washington, Washing-ton, our first President, was inaugurated in April, 17S9, and the United States flag, as finally adopted, was first raised in April, 1818. But the fact that every one of our Important wars, except the War of 1S12, began In April would be enough, If there were nothing else, to justify calling this "the most momentous month in American history. The first of these was to come in 1775. Just before daybreak on the morning morn-ing of April 19 a British expedition, sent by General Gen-eral Gage to seize the cannon and military stores collected at Concord by the Massachusetts patriots, pa-triots, nppeared in Lexington and there found a party of sixty or seventy Minute Men commanded by Capt. John Parker. Then followed Major Pit-calm's Pit-calm's historic "Disperse, ye rebels!," the refusal of the Minute Men, "too few to resist, too brave to fly," to obey, the fatal order of "Fire !" from Pit-cairn's Pit-cairn's lips and the fall of seven patriots. Then on to Concord the British went and at "that rude bridge which arched the flood" was "fired the shot heard 'round the world." The American Revolution Rev-olution had begun on an April morning. The next April episode in history came In a war which was an American war and yet was not ail American war. In 1S3G American settlers in Texas were fighting to throw olT the yoke of Mexico Mex-ico just as their fathers had fought to throw off the yoke of England. In March, a little less than 70 years after a similar document had been proclaimed pro-claimed in Philadelphia, the Texans issued their own Declaration of Independence. And the Washington Wash-ington who was called to make that declaration good by fighting for it was another Virginian, Gen. Sara Houston. On April 21, 1S30, he made it good by defeating the Mexican army under Santa Anna at the battle of Jacinto. So the Republic of Texas came into existence, to have a troubled career for the next eight years and then to be nnnexed by the United States in 1S45 and to enter the Union as a state in December of that year, When Texas came into the Union she brought trouble with her not only another element in the slavery problem which was already beginning to divide the nation, but also trouble in the form of a boundary dispute with Mexico, a dispute which the United States immediately inherited. Texas said that her western boundary was the Rio Grande. Mexico said It was the left bank of the Nueces river. When James K. Tolk became Pres ident he ordered Gen. Zachary Taylor to cross the Neuces and take his post at Corpus Christi, within the disputed territory. In January, 1S46, Taylor was ordered to continue to the Rio Grande, which the general did, and on its banks built Fort Brown opposite Matamoras. Thereupon General Ampudia, the Mexican commander, com-mander, informed Taylor that he considered his advance an act of war and demanded that he retreat beyond the Nueces. Taylor refused to move. General Arista, Ampudia's successor, then crossed the river and on April 24, 1840, surprised and captured a small party of American troops, killing and wounding sixteen. Although the official offi-cial declaration of war did not come until May 11, that bloodshed on April 24 started the Mexican war which resulted in adding to American territory terri-tory the vast stretches of the great Southwest. But the acquisition of this territory also intensified in-tensified the dispute over slavery which led at last to the secession of eleven states and the formation for-mation of the Confederate States of America. The war clouds were gathering fast when Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated President but the storm did not break until April, 1801. At daybreak on the morning of April 12 the Confederate batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, S. C, and the first shell which went screaming across the water was the herald of the greatest civil war in history. It lasted four years. And again April, the April of 1805, was a momentous month in American history. Big events began happening the very first day. General Sheridan captured Five Forks and took nearly 6,000 prisoners. The capture of that town cut off the line of supply for General Lee, the Confederate commander in chief, at Petersburg. Peters-burg. He must give up Petersburg and to do that meant the fall of Richmond. On April 2 General Grant ordered a final assault on Petersburg. It was gallantly defended but the defense was hopeless. hope-less. The end came six days later at Appamattox Court House when Lee surrendered to Grant. On April 14, 1S05, a great tragedy befell the American Amer-ican people both North and South. Abraham Lincoln Lin-coln was shot down by John Wilkes Booth and died the following morning, April 15. Thirty-three years later the war drums were again sounding. Down in Cuba there was a rebellion re-bellion against Spanish rule which had been In progress for three years. The United States government gov-ernment had repeatedly protested to Spain against the cruelties with which its generals were trying to suppress the rebellion and against the losses to American investors in Cuba as a result of the insurrection. Then came the destruction of the battleship Maine in Havana harbor on the night of February 15, 1S98, to set public sentiment in the United States aflame. During the next month the war clamor grew louder and President lie-Kinley lie-Kinley was forced nearer and nearer to war. On April 11 JIcKinley sent a special message to congress in which he declared that "in the name of humanity, in the name of civilization, in behalf of endangered American interests, which give us the right and duty to speak and net, the war in Cuba must stop." On April 19 congress passed a Joint resolution which stated "that the people of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent." It demanded that Spain should at once withdraw from Cuba. Spain rejected this ultimatum and on April 25 congress formally declared war upon that European country. The result was our "100 days-war" with its brilliant naval victories which put the United States in the front rank of the naval powers of the world and the accession of territory in the Far East which brought us into international politics. |