ANDREA RUNNELS
February is one jam-packed month of historical happenings! This post will explore those events of February 16th-22nd. I am also taking these ideas and sharing them on TikTok in a “Today in History” series! At the end of the week I will compile them into one video and add it to the post! I’m hoping that some tweens and teens will accidentally watch my videos and become curious about Social Studies or that I will just educate the general public! You can find me on TikTok @andrearunnels. Believe it or not, there are a lot of other grown adults using it now!
I think of my “Historical Happenings” posts as TOP HITS of the week. As a person who is obsessed with acrostics you know TOP HITS stands for something! TOP HITS are thought-provoking historical events that occurred this week so that you can plan ahead. I’ll feature helpful ideas for integrating literacy, technology, and supporting all learners! These fun facts can be your saving grace in those transition moments, great lesson hooks, or the makings of morning work. I’ll be including significant events from across the spectrum including born on this day, battles, inventions, sports, scientific achievements, music, arts, pop culture and more! Lots of times they are stories that might not be as well-known of part of the causes that lead to really big effects! I have certain topics in history I geek out over so you may see stuff that I just personally thought was interesting.
Find out the interests of your students and use these tidbits as a way to build community and foster relationships with your new learners this year and spark further interest in history at the same time! Your token history nerd will appreciate them! You’re bound to at least have one! Many of my links are to history.com. I love this site. Mostly. What I don’t love is that the videos auto-play. My teenage son showed me a super helpful hack for this. Right click on the browser tab and opt to “mute site.” So I’m going to be referencing Flocabulary.com in this post. Don’t have a subscription? What are you doing with your life? Sign up for a free trial. You will fall in love!
You might be asking yourself how to find certain historical events I talked about when they happened chronologically to teach about them when they fall into your curriculum timeline! Well. I decided to create a whole separate page on my website just for that purpose! I organized my posts by month. Here is a link to it: https://www.thesocialstudieswhisperer.com/historical-happenings/. I will be adding each new week’s post to the correct month! Let’s get going with this week in history! I created bullet points this week with the events! Tell me how you like the format!
February 16th
1923: Got perseverance? Howard Carter did. After 30ish years of excavating and exploring in Egypt, the archaeologist finally discovered the entrance to King Tut’s tomb and opened it. It took him from November 1922 until February 1923 just to get it open! Carter and his benefactor Lord Carnarvon discovered King Tut’s body fully preserved and his riches untouched. Many other tombs in Egypt had been robbed over the years since people knew the pharaohs were buried with their treasures. Flocabulary users check this link out: https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/ancient-egypt/
1959: On this day Fidel Castro was sworn in as prime minister of Cuba. Castro remained in control of the country until he stepped down in February 2008. The dictator’s relationship with the U.S. was very heated, even more so when he adopted the philosophies of Karl Marx and communism. I highly recommend the book Refugee by Alan Gratz as a window into the effects of Castro’s leadership on the people of Cuba.
1963: Uncle Tom’s Cabin shined a spotlight on the realities of slavery during the ante-bellum era. Many Americans were oblivious to the horrors the enslaved people were actually facing. A book can be revolutionary, right? Well just like Harriet Beecher Stowe, Betty Friedan shook up America with her book The Feminine Mystique. It examined the oppression women at large were facing during the era. It wasn’t received well by all readers and Friedan received lots of criticism for her polarizing point of view. She didn’t let the opposing viewpoints deter her from being a pioneer in advocating for women’s rights.
1968: Have you ever placed a call to 911? Unfortunately, I have and I bet it’s likely you may have, too. I’m grateful for this day in history! Today in 1968 the first 911 call was placed by a Speaker of the Alabama State House of Representatives. The system took years to be fully utilized nation-wide. By 1987 only 50% of the U.S. had access! Now 98% of the country does! Other English speaking countries have even adopted similar systems.
February 17th
1801: On this day our nation’s third president Thomas Jefferson was elected. The Monticello website is a great resource. There’s lot of info about Jefferson and a cool virtual tour of his home. Find it here: https://www.monticello.org/ and the Flocabulary about Jefferson vs Hamilton here: https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/jefferson-vs-hamilton/.
1820: Tensions were high during the ante-bellum era. The debate over slavery was obviously a volatile one. The government tried to find ways to keep the peace for years before the country engaged in The Civil War. One attempt was the Missouri Compromise, which the Senate passed on this day. As new states were admitted to the Union, it became increasingly harder to keep the amount of free and slave states. This legislation allowed Missouri to be admitted as a slave state and Maine as a free one. Are you on Pinterest? I have a whole board devoted just to the Civil War! Find it here: https://www.pinterest.com/runitrunnels/civil-war/
February 18th
1885: On this day Mark Twain published “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” This was a book that was more than meets the eye. It was quite controversial and still ends up on the banned books list today!
1929: Believe it or not it’s been almost 100 years since the first Academy Awards were announced. On this day, they were published on the back of a newsletter. So not at all the fancy pants event we have come to know and enjoy.
1930: I will never NOT consider a Pluto a real planet. That double negative sentence was warranted grammar police. Speaking of what’s now technically a dwarf planet, it was discovered on this day by astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh in Arizona. Google the book Poor Pluto. There are a few different versions. I’m pretty sure I have it somewhere in my storage unit abyss of books.
February 19th
1807: This fact is for all of you Hamilton obsessed folk. Aaron Burr was the Vice President under third president Thomas Jefferson. This was back when the runner up to the presidency became the default VP. Hard to imagine that scenario nowadays. The vote was tied and Alexander Hamilton was the tie-breaker. Can you say #badblood? Burr later challenged him to a duel and as you probably know ended up killing him. This didn’t bode well for Burr and he began to partake in quite the sketchy dealings. On this day, Aaron Burr was arrested for treason because he was part of a plan to swipe some territory and use it to form an independent republic. He was not found guilty in the court of law but the court of public opinion was brutal.
1847: Um, you may not want to share this story with your students because of the gruesome factor but it’s the day the Donner Party was rescued after being stranded in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. If you don’t know the details and Google it, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Insert barf emoji here.
1942: The attack on Pearl Harbor was a tragedy with a monumental impact. One unfortunate side effect was the mistreatment of Japanese-Americans afterwards. It was feared they could be spies for the Japanese government. The oppressive actions towards Japanese-Americans went to another level on this day in 1942. FDR passed much legislation during his time as president that helped get our country out of the Great Depression. Executive Order 9066 was not passed for this reason. It forced the internment of Japanese Americans. It makes for an interesting discussion to compare and contrast concentration camps from them. Learn more about this topic by visiting the FDR Presidential Library website: https://www.fdrlibrary.org/. The interactive timeline is my favorite tool on the site. One of the newest Flocabulary units is about this topic. It’s done in a very thoughtful way: https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/japanese-internment/. https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/japanese-internment/. I love the book Baseball Saved Us and I found this great blog post including the book and several others involving the treatment of Japanese-Americans during this era: https://www.colorincolorado.org/booklist/japanese-american-wwii.
1945: Another notable WWII event three years later was the Marines invading Iwo Jima. I mentioned my Civil War Pinterest board earlier in the post and I also have one for WWII. Find it here: https://www.pinterest.com/runitrunnels/world-war-ii/ and don’t miss the https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/world-war-ii/ unit!
February 20th
1792: Today in history our first president signs the Postal Service Act regulating postal service!
1962: Lt. Colonel John Glenn orbits earth in the Friendship 7. It wasn’t exactly a smooth flight either. Re-entry back to our atmosphere was quite the bumpy ride. Glenn, already a decorated combat veteran, soon became quite the national treasure. This prompted JFK to ground him Glenn from launching into space again. He thought it was too dangerous to risk the life of such a hero. You can learn all about the space program on the JFK Presidential Library website. https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/space-program
1998: On this day 15-year-old Tara Lipinski wins gold in Japan. This accomplishment set the record for the youngest figure skater to win gold.
February 21st
1848: The Cold War, The Korean War, and The Vietnam Conflict were all results of the theory of communism. It all started with the publication of The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx on this day.
1885: Spoiler- George Washington’s birthday was February 22, 1732. Plans to honor him with a memorial were started in 1783 but not even adopted until the 100-year anniversary of his birth in 1832. It took more than 50 years to actually have those plans carried out. One day shy of Washington’s birthday in 1885, the iconic Washington Monument was finally dedicated. Each important U.S. landmark has its own site with the National Park Service. Here is a link to the Washington Monument: https://www.nps.gov/wamo/index.htm. Also, check out the Flocabulary unit about Washington: https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/george-washington/.
1948: I guess since I live so close to Charlotte now, I felt obligated to share that NASCAR was founded on this day.
1965: Civil Right activist Malcom X was assassinated on this day. Learn more about the life of Malcom X here: https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/malcolm-x/
1972: By the early 1970s, it was growing increasingly clear that the Vietnam Conflict was becoming a lost cause. This was in part due to China’s support of the North Vietnamese mission to spread communism. On this day in history though, President Nixon traveled to China in a diplomatic effort to restore the bad relationship between the country and the U.S. You know I’m all about the Presidential Library websites so of course I’m including a link to the Nixon library: https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/.
February 22nd
1819: John Quincy Adams signs the Florida Treaty Act on this day which gives US control of Florida from Spain. It would later become a state in 1845.
1980: I referenced the Olympics previously in this post. Almost 20 years prior to Lipinski’s win the underdog U.S. hockey team defeated the Soviets (because it was still the U.S.S.R.) in what became known as the “Miracle on Ice.”
Don’t forget to be on the lookout on TikTok and probably Instagram for daily tidbits! I hope you can use at least one of these facts to incorporate a little more Social Studies into your daily routine! I’m @andrearunnels in both places! I’d love to have you join my Facebook group for Social Studies! It’s called Social Studies Salute. Find it quickly here: http://bit.ly/SocialStudiesSalute.
