November 8
U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt announces plans for the Civil Works Administration to create four million additional jobs for the Great Depression-era unemployed. The workers ultimately built or made substantial improvements to 255,000 miles of roads, 40,000 schools, 3,700 playgrounds, and nearly 1,000 airports. – 1933.
November 9
The biggest power failure in U.S. history occurs when all of New York state, portions of seven neighboring states, and parts of eastern Canada go dark. – 1965.
East German officials open the Berlin Wall which allowed travel from East Berlin to West Berlin. The following day, Germans began to tear the wall down. – 1989.
November 10
During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress passes a resolution stating that “two Battalions of Marines be raised” for service as landing forces for the recently-formed Continental Navy. It is observed as the birth date of the United States Marine Corps. – 1775.
November 11
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m., Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. The First World War left nine Million soldiers dead and 21 Million wounded. In addition, at least five Million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure. – 1918.
November 12
Ellis Island in New York City closes after providing the gateway for 12 Million immigrants from 1892 to 1924. From 1924 to 1954 it was mostly used as a detention and deportation center for undocumented immigrants. – 1954.
November 13
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. after a march to its site by thousands of veterans of the conflict. The long-awaited memorial was a simple V-shaped black-granite wall inscribed with the names of the 57,939 then-known Americans who died in the conflict. – 1982.
November 14
The Depression-era Public Works Administration agrees with New York City to begin a huge slum clearance project covering 20 acres in Brooklyn, where low cost housing for 2,500 families will be completed. – 1934.
Sources: History.com, Toil and Trouble, by Thomas R. Brooks; American Labor Struggles, by Samuel Yellen; IWW calendar, Solidarity Forever; Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor, edited by Robert E. Weir and James P. Hanlan; Southwest Labor History Archives/George Meany Center; Geov Parrish’s Radical History; workday Minnesota; Andy Richards and Adam Wright, AFL-CIO Washington DC Metro Council.