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Did You Know? - September 5: The Day America Turned: Texas, Labor Day, Munich, Mother Teresa & More · Voices Of Life

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Welcome to the Did You Know series of the Voices
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of Life podcast, a ministry of the Church for
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Life, a place where faith speaks, where history
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breathes, and where hope finds its voice again.
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Each episode is crafted to inspire, to strengthen,
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and to guide you on your walk with God. And now,
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to lead us through today's journey, here is your
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host. Pastor David. Welcome to Voices of Life,
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a ministry of the Church for Life. I'm Pastor
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David. Today we're walking through September
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5th, a date that quietly anchors turning points
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in war, labor, diplomacy, terrorism, and faith.
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From the Battle of Chesapeake to Mother Teresa's
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final day. September 5th shows how decisions
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on a single date can reshape nations, movements,
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and lives. On September 5th, 1781, French and
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British fleets clashed off the Virginia Capes
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in the Battle of Chesapeake, also called the
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Battle of the Capes. The French fleet under Admiral
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de Gracie faced the British under Admiral Graves,
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24 French ships, and the line against 19 British.
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The battle was not a crushing tactical victory,
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but it was a strategic earthquake. The damaged
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British fleet withdrew toward New York. The French
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held the entrance to Chesapeake, blocking the
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Royal Navy from rescuing or evacuating Cornwallis
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at Yorktown. Because the sea was closed, the
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land campaign could succeed. On October 19, 1781,
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Cornwallis surrendered, and the road to American
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independence opened. It should be noted that
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Cornwallis himself did not surrender. surrender
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to the colonists. On September 5, 1836, Texans
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went to the polls to elect the first regularly
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chosen president of their new country, the Republic
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of Texas. Sam Houston, hero of San Jaquitos,
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entered the race just 11 days before the vote.
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Even so, he won overwhelmingly 5 ,119 votes to
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743 for Henry Smith and 587 for Stephen F. Austin.
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For nearly a decade, Texas was a sovereign nation.
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It had its own president, congress, army, navy,
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currency, and foreign policy. Houston's supporters
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believed he could stabilize the republic, secure
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recognition abroad, manage relations with Mexico,
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and eventually pursue annexation. to the United
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States. Houston didn't take office that day.
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His term began on October 22nd, 1836, but September
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5th marks the moment Texans chose their first
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national leader. For a season in history, Texas
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stood among the nations, not as a state, but
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as a country, born of revolution and resolve.
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Up to now, Texas became the only country that
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became a state. or part of the United States,
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that had a president, Congress, and was a sovereign
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nation. The only one so far. Of course, I don't
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know if President Trump has his way. Maybe we'll
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see some others. On September 5th, 1847, Jesse
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Woodson, James, was born in Missouri. He would
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become the most mythologized outlaws in American
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history. A figure where fact, folklore, Confederate
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memory, and frontier legend all blur together
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as a teenager jesse joined the confederate guerrillas
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during the civil war after the war he and his
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brother frank led a gang that robbed banks trains
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stagecoaches and stores across multiple states
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to some he was a folk hero to others a violent
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criminal he eluded even the pinkerton national
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detective agency for years until he was finally
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killed by robert ford in 1882 And the killing
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of him was done under very suspicious circumstances,
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and that's a whole story to tell on one podcast
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alone. But Jesse James became a symbol of the
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unsettled post -war frontier, a reminder that
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when a nation's wounds are not healed, lawlessness
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can become legend. The capture of Atlanta itself
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happened on September 2, 1864, when Confederate
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General John Bell Hood evacuated the city and
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Sherman's forces entered. By September 5, the
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Union was consolidating control of this vital
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railroad industrial hub. Secretary of State William
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Seward reported, Atlanta has succumbed, emphasizing
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its importance for arms, manufacturing, and supplies.
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President Lincoln ordered a national celebration
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for the victories of Atlanta and Mobile. for
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September 5th, a political and military boost
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just weeks before 1864 election. Probably more
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political than anything else. Behind the headlines,
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Sherman ordered civilians removed and turned
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Atlanta into a major Union base, setting the
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stage for his march to the sea. It should be
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noted that none of the Confederate states voted
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for Lincoln. And while you have controversies
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whether succession was legal, If it was, then
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that makes sense. But then you have everyone
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saying no, and the Supreme Court saying no, secession
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wasn't legal, that means that these states didn't
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get to vote, and if that was the case, was Lincoln's
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election to office legal? As is the same that
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goes with the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
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that was done after the Civil War, where it was
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noted that Congress would not allow the southern
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state senators and congress people to leave without
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voting on it they basically coerced them and
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forced them to vote for it because without their
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votes it would never have passed something to
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think about again if that happened today what
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would be said so just noting some true law because
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we always cut through the nonsense and just tell
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you the way it is whether it sounds good or not
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All right, moving on to 1882, the first Labor
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Day celebration. So on Tuesday, September 5th,
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1882, about 10 ,000 workers marched through New
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York City and was widely regarded as the first
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major Labor Day celebration in the United States.
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Organized by the Central Labor Union, they walked
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from City Hall to Union Square. They gathered
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for picnics, concerts, and speeches. It was a
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day to honor workers. demand shorter hours safer
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conditions and fair wages and you have to remember
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during that time there was no osha there was
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no safety concerns there was no minimum wage
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nothing like that and you know that was a time
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that you know unions did some really good in
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our country i i think today unfortunately unions
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really do more bad than they do good they say
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they're protecting their members but if you look
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at a lot of unions you find the leadership lines
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their pockets and that's not what it's about
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it's supposed to be about the people that are
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working and i think people could do a lot better
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if they just speak out themselves there is power
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in numbers but leaders like mike j mcguire a
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carpenter and labor organizer helped shape this
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movement which grew from local marches into a
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national tradition by 1894 23 states had adopted
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labor day observances that year president grover
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cleveland signed legislation making the first
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monday in september a federal holiday What began
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on September 5th, 1882 as a single parade became
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a yearly reminder that people who build, carry,
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and create deserve recognition and rest. Moving
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on to 1887. So in 1887 on this date, Oregon became
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the first state to officially designate Labor
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Day as a state holiday, just five years after
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the first New York celebration. Other states
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followed in the path from local marches to state
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recognition to federal law, shows how grassroots
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movements can reshape calendar of a nation. So
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understand, just because you have a federal holiday,
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if the state or locals don't adopt it, that doesn't
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mean the workers get it off, unless the state
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and locals adopt it as well. So just how those
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things work. Okay, 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth.
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On September 5, 1905, representatives of Russia
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and Japan signed the Treaty of Portsmouth, ending
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the Russo -Japanese War. The war had begun with
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Japan's attack on Port Arthur in 1904 and included
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major Japanese victories like the Battle of Tsushima,
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where much of Russia's Baltic fleet was destroyed.
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The negotiations in Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
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dealt with control of Korea, influence in Manchuria,
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Port Arthur, the South Manchurian Railway, the
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Sakhalin Island, and the question of war indemnities.
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Japan wanted reparations. Russia refused. Why
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is this important to us? Well, who was the mediator
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who helped broker this? President Theodore Roosevelt.
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He helped broker a compromise. Japan received
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the southern half of Sakhalin, and Russia avoided
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paying indemnity. The treaty date is recorded
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as August 23rd, September 5th, reflecting the
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difference between the Russian and Western calendars.
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Roosevelt's role earned him the 1906 Nobel Peace
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Prize, the first for an American. It was a moment
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when American diplomacy stepped onto the world
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stage and helped end a major international war.
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And that just goes to show you that when America
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has concerns, well, they call it democracy, and
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elsewhere in the world that's what it is we have
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a republic but uh for freedom that's that's the
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bottom line when we have we have concerns for
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freedom and faith um we take action and our security
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and our ally security are important to us and
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you know sometimes people say well you know the
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united states has too much of moral comp compass
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and gets too much involved in other people's
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affairs it's not about that it's about safety
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and security globally Because what affects somebody
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3 ,000 miles away can affect us too. It may take
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a little bit longer, but it will. So our interventions
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are great. This was an awesome move by President
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Theodore Roosevelt and great history there. On
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September 5th, 1939, just days after Germany
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invaded Poland, Britain and France declared war.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation
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of U .S. neutrality. This was very strategic.
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A lot of people didn't understand it at the time.
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Of course, Americans at the time really didn't
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want any part of the war. But he formally acknowledged
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that the state of war existed between Germany,
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Poland, Britain, and France, and other Commonwealth
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nations, while declaring the United States would
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remain neutral for now. But this neutrality was
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not the same. detached stance America had taken
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at the start of World War I. Roosevelt's administration
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increasingly supported the Allies through arms
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sales and other forms of assistance as the conflict
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deepened. like lend -lease things like that we
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were helping our allies in some cases the allies
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ran um out of money and that's where that lend
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-lease came into play and it worked out very
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well now did america ever recover all of the
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uh expenditures were done i doubt it but we were
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drawn into the war later so things had to happen
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and what it was and just bought time for us to
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ramp up Our war machines. So there was definitely
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a strategic value to this. The proclamation reflected
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strong public resistance to entering another
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European war. Yet it also marked the beginning
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of a careful, deliberate shift toward engagement.
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America would remain formally neutral until the
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attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. But
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September 5, 1939 is a legal starting point of
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the neutrality. nearly two years plus before
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we entered the war, and a quiet beginning of
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a path toward an arsenal of our republic. And
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the other thing that should be noted about this
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is not only when Japan attacked America on December
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7, 1941, it was interesting to note Japan did
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not declare war on Russia. You know, on the other
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side of the world, Germany had declared war on
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Russia. And for whatever reason, and they had
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that pact of steel between Japan, Italy, and
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Germany, but for some reason, Japan did not open
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that other front that would have helped Germany
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defeat Russia. They were within 100 miles of
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Moscow. And had Japan opened another front, that
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would be the end. I mean, Russia would have ceased
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to exist at the time. But it didn't happen, so
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just kind of an interesting point. So on September
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5th, 1945, Ava Tokiyori de Aquino, the American
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-born woman in Japan, was arrested in Yokohama.
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So why are we arresting an American person? Well,
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there was a good reason why. American servicemen
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had gotten used to the nickname Tokyo Rose from
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multiple English -speaking Japanese radio propagandists.
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But the FBI later emphasized that Tokyo Rose
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was not a single person. uh toguri born in los
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angeles had been stranded in japan when the war
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began and worked on the radio program the zero
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hour under the name orphan ann initially u .s
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investigators concluded there wasn't enough evidence
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to prosecute her and she was released in 1946.
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public pressure later revived the case and she
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was tried for treason in 1949 convicted on one
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count and sentenced to 10 years in 1977 president
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gerald ford pardoned her The FBI's historical
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account shows how myth and media can distort
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reality, turning a complex story into a symbol
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that doesn't match the evidence. Her case remains
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one of the most controversial treason prosecutions
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of World War II era. But think about this. Whoever
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was Tokyo Rose, and if she took part or if there
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was multiple women involved, they tried to break
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the morale of our soldiers in the Pacific. They
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spread gossip. They spread misnomers. They told
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lies about leadership and our abilities. The
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music was good. I understand listening to various
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radio news shows that the soldiers just took
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it as whatever she said as a joke and just enjoyed
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the music. So they didn't block it and that's
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how that kind of went. But it definitely was
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aimed at demoralizing our troops. So treason
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prosecution, if... If this lady participated,
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it was absolutely correct. If she didn't, well,
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then that was a miscarriage of justice, and maybe
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Gerald Ford saw something in that, and that's
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why he pardoned her. We'll not know. All right,
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moving up to 1972. A very tragic day. In the
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early morning of September 5, 1972, members of
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the Palestine group Black September entered the
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Olympic Village in Munich and attacked the Israeli
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delegation. two israelis were killed in the initial
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assault nine others were taken hostage the attackers
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demanded the release of palestine prisoners in
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israel and two german terrorists remember we
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did a podcast on this there is no palestine it
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does not exist as a country a piece of land anything
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this is all made up stuff from people calling
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themselves something because they want to believe
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something that that doesn't exist but nonetheless
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that's what they call themselves just like later
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on um yasa arafat and the palestinian liberation
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organization trying to get land trying to get
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territory that they never had so just want to
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be clear that this is the name of a group it
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does not represent any country land or anything
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like that a rescue attempt At the Fürstenfeldbach
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air base ended in catastrophe. All nine remaining
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Israeli hostages were killed, along with five
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terrorists and one West German police officer,
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17 dead in total. The games were suspended for
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a memorial ceremony. The International Olympic
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Committee later described the attack as one of
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the darkest episodes in Olympic history. The
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Munich massacre changed how the world thought
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about terrorism, security, and vulnerability
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of global events. The Olympics would never be
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the same. The security around Olympics is incredible.
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I had the opportunity 20 years ago to work one
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of the, actually 30 years ago, in Atlanta, 1996,
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as a law enforcement officer and what we could
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do interstate. It was a real thing, but security
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is taken very seriously. And the Israelis took
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that to heart and worked out terrorist training
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for all their soldiers. And that's why later
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on in 1977, their raid on Entebbe in Uganda,
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Africa, was so successful because they took this
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moment and they said, what can we learn from
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it? How can we prevent it in the future? When
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there is a tragedy, that's what has to happen.
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How do we prevent it in the future? We're up
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to 1997 and on September 5th, 1997, Mother Teresa
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Calcutta died at age 87. forgive my enunciation
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of this but poor nanji's gansi bachahi she became
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known worldwide for her work among the poor sick
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and dying founding the missionaries of charity
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by the time of her death the order had about
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4 000 sisters and 610 mission houses across 123
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countries amazing she received the noble peace
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prize in 1979 and was remembered by pope john
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paul ii as one who served the poorest of the
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poor given a state funeral by india later given
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a state funeral in india later beatified in 2003
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canonized in 2016 mother teresa became a global
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symbol of sacrificial service as we close let's
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take a look at what happened on september 5th
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naval power making yorktown possible a young
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republican texas choosing its first president
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an outlaw born into a fractured frontier a union
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victory solidifying the fate of the civil war
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workers marching into a new tradition of labor
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rights diplomats ending a brutal war in asia
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A national declaration of neutrality while quietly
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preparing for conflict. A controversial reckoning
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with the propaganda and treason. Terror striking
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the Olympic movement. A saint of the poor finishing
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her earthly race. And that brings us to the close
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of today's journey through history. September
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5th reminds us that the story of humanity is
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never written in one place, one era, or one people.
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It's written across oceans, battlefields. ballots,
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parades, and across diplomacy tables. It even
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is done through radio waves, Olympic arenas,
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and the quiet rooms where saints take their final
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breath. Every moment we explore today, from Chesapeake
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to Texas, from Jesse James to Labor Day, from
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Portsmouth to Munich, carries a lesson for us
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right now. That courage matters, that truth matters,
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that compassion matters. and that the choices
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we make today will echo long after we are gone.
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Thank you for spending time with me. I'm Pastor
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David, and this has been Voices of Life. Did
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you know? Thank you for joining us today on the
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Voices of Life podcast, a ministry of the Church
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for Life. As we close, may the stories we share
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strengthen your faith, steady your heart, and
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remind you that God is present in every chapter
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of your journey. If this episode encouraged you,
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share it with someone who needs hope. And until
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we meet again, walk in truth, stand in courage,
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and keep listening for the voice that leads you
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forward. This has been Voices of Life. Peace
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be with you. Until next time, keep learning,
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keep seeking, and keep walking in the light.