Fox Nation Patriot's Almanac

'John Ford has fought for freedom, and for that reason it is appropriate that tonight, on behalf of all of the American people, he receives the Medal of Freedom,' President Nixon said on March 31, 1973.

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan became the only president to survive being shot while in office, and in the process taught the nation something about meeting a crisis with grit, grace,and humor.

On March 29th, 1943, The U.S. government began requiring Americans to ration fat, meat and cheese as part of a massive national program to help win World War II. It was just one in a long seriesof sacrifices made on the home front.

On March 28th, 1800, the frigate USS Essex became the first American warship to round Africa's Cape of Good Hope as it sailed on a mission to escort merchant ships returning from the Dutch East Indies.

On March 27th, 1939, an eight-team basketball competition marked the commencement of what is now considered one of the great traditions in American sports: The NCAA men's basketball tournament.

On March 26th, 1953, a doctor announced that he successfully tested a vaccine against polio.The word 'polio' terrified Americans during the first half of the 20th century. The disease often struck children, killing its victims or leaving them crippled.

On March 25th, 1911, 146 garment workers were killed in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City.

Andrew Carnegie emigrated from Scotland to America with his family in 1848 at only 12-years-old. He found a job in a Pittsburgh cotton mill, working twelve-hour days for $1.20 a week. He spent his spare time educating himself and from there, he evolved.

On March 23, 1775, with hostilities between Americans and British troops breaking out in New England, Patrick Henry stood in a packed St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia, and made a fiery argument to the Second Virginia Convention.

On this day in 1946, the firstU.S. rocket to leave the earth's atmosphere, launched from one of America's most famous National Parks--White Sands--in New Mexico. It was the first U.S. Army rocket built and launched.

On March 21, 1980, President Jimmy Carter made a decision to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia--the first and only time the United States has ever boycotted the Olympic Games.

On March 20th, 2003, the first phase of the U.S.-Iraq War began. With the help of U.K. coalition forces, the U.S. was on a mission to topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and liberate the Iraqi people from his government.

On March 19th, 1952, the one-millionth Jeep was manufactured in Toledo, Ohio. The Jeep was originally produced for the U.S. Army but over time, it became a vehicle for all to drive and enjoy.

No taxation without representation!'Thatwas the angry cry of American colonists when the British Parliament passed laws requiring them to pay new taxes.

Saint Patrick, a fifth-century missionary born in Roman Britain, became the patron saint of Ireland by spreading Christianity throughout the Emerald Isle. For centuries the Irish have set aside a day to remember him.

On March 16th, 1995, astronaut Norman Thagard became the first American to visit the 9-year-old Russian Space station Mir.

Longly after the end of World War I, Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. suggested an organization in which veterans could stay in touch and work together after the fighting was over in order to improve troop morale.

On March 14th, 1950, the Federal Bureauof Investigation created the 'Ten Most Wanted Fugitives' list as a push to publicize dangerous fugitives around the nation.

On March 13th, 1930, astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh discovered the ninth planet, Pluto, at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

On March 12th, 1912, Juliette 'Daisy' Gordon Low held the first Girl Guides troopmeeting in Savannah, Georgia. The organization would come to be known as the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

On March 11th, 2002, two beams of light soared a mile into the night sky over New York City, illuminating the space about a block away from where the Twin Towers once stood.The beams known as the 'Tribute in Light.'

Alexander Graham Bell had two great passions: helping the deaf and inventing. He was born in 1847 in Scotland, where his father taught the art of public speaking and helped deaf people learn to speak.

On March 9, 1862, the age of modern naval warfare began with the first battle between two ironclad vessels, the Union's Monitor and the Confederacy's Virginia.

On March 8, 1983, in what was supposed to be a simple speech about domestic policy and social issues, President Ronald Reagan gave one of the most forceful addresses of his presidency, by referring to the Soviet Union as an "Evil Empire."