Americanism

---

Americanism April 2020

 We all are aware of the dates of those national holidays that are mandated by the federal government. Generally speaking, they are celebrations of positive things that happened in the Unites States of America. Interestingly, none of them occur in the month of April. However, there are several events that occurred in April which are significant in American history: 

On April 30, 1789, the first Presidential Inauguration occurred, when George Washington became the very first President of The United States, setting a precedent for the Inauguration of every President since.

 On April 9, 1865,General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate Army to General Grant at Appomattox Court House, ending our bloody Civil War, in which more Americans died than in any other war. 

Only six days later, on April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the President who is generally credited with saving the Union, was assassinated at Ford’s Theater, effectively canceling his philosophy of “With malice toward none,” and replacing it with harsh overbearing controls that caused resentment in the South which lasted for many decades. 

On April 6, 1917, The United States of America entered what was known then as the “Great War,” or “The War to End All Wars.” Of course, we know now that it wasn’t the last or the costliest war for us. 

On April 26, 2009, the Swine Flu epidemic was identified, which became the most deadly for Americans since the Spanish Flu in 1918. It remains to be seen how it will compare to the the current world wide pandemic becoming a major concern in April of 2020. While these are not all events to be celebrated, they have had very significant effects on Americans, and changed our history, for better or worse.