Today in US history on March 12: Coca-Cola bottled, Truman doctrine roots, Alaska oil

This day in US history has witnessed several significant moments that shaped US political, economic, and cultural history. From a historic impeachment vote in Congress and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first reassuring “fireside chat” during the Great Depression to the first bottled sale of Coca-Cola and the discovery of a major oil field in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, March 12 marks a series of events that influenced the nation’s trajectory across different eras.

Coca-cola first sold in bottles

In 1894, Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time at a candy store in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The move marked a major step in the drink’s commercialization and helped expand its reach beyond soda fountains.

House votes to impeach Supreme Court justice

In 1804, the US House of Representatives voted to impeach Samuel Chase, making him the only Supreme Court justice ever impeached by the House. He was accused of having “behaved in an arbitrary, oppressive and unjust way,” as history.com notes. The Senate later acquitted him.

Also Read: March 11 in world history: From Japan’s tsunami, COVID-19 pandemic declaration to other global events

Roosevelt’s first ‘fireside chat’

On March 12, 1933, just eight days after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his first national radio address, later known as a “fireside chat.” The broadcast came at the height of the Great Depression, when as many as a third of the American workforce were unemployed. Roosevelt used the radio address to reassure the nation and restore confidence in his leadership, eventually delivering 30 more such broadcasts through 1944.

Red River campaign begins

In 1864, one of the biggest military setbacks for the Union during the American Civil War began when Union forces launched the Red River Campaign in Louisiana. The operation aimed to secure territory along the Red River, move into Texas, and seize cotton-producing regions, but the poorly managed campaign ultimately failed to achieve its objectives.

Germany annexes Austria

On March 12, 1938, troops under Nazi leader Adolf Hitler marched into Austria, annexing the country into Nazi Germany in an event known as the Anschluss.

Truman doctrine announced

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman addressed Congress and asked for U.S. assistance to Greece and Turkey to prevent communist expansion. The policy, later called the Truman Doctrine, is often considered the beginning of the Cold War.

German submarine sinks US ship

In 1917, a German submarine sank the unarmed U.S. merchant ship Algonquin during World War I. On the same day, President Woodrow Wilson ordered U.S. merchant ships to be armed.

Oil discovered in Alaska

In 1968, oil was discovered at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, one of the largest oil fields in North America. The discovery dramatically reshaped Alaska’s economy and energy industry in the decades that followed.