Known as Georgia's 'First Mountain
City', Pickens County was formed from portions of Cherokee and
Gilmer Counties on December 5, 1853 and named after Andrew Pickens,
an American Revolutionary War Hero.
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On March 14, 1794, Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin. This device made the job of separating cotton from its seeds much easier. The ease of separating the cotton fiber from the seed meant that more raw cotton would be needed to keep up with increased demand. Many say that the cotton gin caused the continuation and extension of slavery by creating a simpler way to separate cotton and sell it as a raw good.
It would be fascinating to travel back to March 10, 1804 when the formal transfer of the Louisiana Purchase was completed to much fanfare in St. Louis, Missouri. This is seen as one of Thomas Jefferson's greatest achievements while he was President of the United States.
More about Thomas Jefferson and his time as president:
March is Women's History Month. The celebration of women in our society dates back to March 8, 1911 when Europe celebrated International Women's Day. Since then, the celebration has evolved over time to a the month of March instead of one particular day.
March 5, 1770, British troops opened fire into a crowd killing five colonists in Boston, Massachusetts. This action later became known as the "Boston Massacre." The crowd had gathered in disagreement over the Stamp Act which taxed all legal or printed documents. There are questions even today over exactly what caused the British soldiers to fire into the crowd.
On February 27, 1991, the first Gulf War came to an end when the Iraqi government announced acceptance of the UN resolution. Later that day, US president George H. W. Bush announced that the war was officially over. Approximately twelve years later, President George W. Bushsent troops into Iraq starting the second Gulf War which resulted in the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein, elections held throughout Iraq, and much controversy at home.
On February 24, 1868, Andrew Johnson became the first president to be impeached. This happened because Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton thereby violating the recently passed Tenure of Office Act. This act forbade the president from removing an official that had been confirmed by the Senate from office before they had approved a successor. Similar to President Clinton, Johnson was not removed from office. President Nixon, while not impeached, was the only President to leave office early due to resignation.
February 22nd marks the birthday of the first President of the United States. George Washington was actually born on February 11, 1732. However, in 1752 Great Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar to fix astronomical discrepancies of the previously used Julian Calendar. When this occurred, eleven days were removed from the calendar. Therefore, in 1753 when Washington turned 21, the 11th was actually the 22nd. Despite this, Washington continued to celebrate his birthday on the 11th for the rest of his life. Washington was the Commander of the Continental Army and an important American Statesman along with being our first Commander in Chief. But did he really cut down that cherry tree?
How many hundreds of heroes go unheralded from the days of the Underground Railroad? While we celebrate such important figures as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, numerous others were needed to make the operation of the "railroad" a success. The railroad was an amazing phenomenon that helps reveal the public sentiment in many areas against slavery and the willingness of people to risk everything to help their fellow man.
On February 18, 1967, Robert Oppenheimer died. He is best known for his work with the Manhattan Project that resulted in the atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II. He later became an outspoken critic of the use of atomic bombs in war and lobbied for international cooperation and control of nuclear weapons.
It would be fascinating to travel back to March 10, 1804 when the formal transfer of the 