This Day in History: April 12

Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, April 12.

In 1861, Confederate forces bomb Fort Sumter in South Carolina over the next day and a half, forcing the fort’s general to surrender. This was the culmination of years worth of infighting between the northern and southern states; the Confederacy had seceded a couple of months prior in February. The bombing of Fort Sumter was the last straw, and now a house – once thought strongly built – is now divided. The American Civil War would last for four years.

In 1945, 32nd U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt passes away at the age of 63 in Georgia. The New Deal president had served an unprecedented 4 terms in office. This was during the final weeks of World War II as Nazi Germany is sent onto the retreat. By this time however, FDR had pushed the nation through an economic collapse and an entire World War over the course of a decade. Exhaustion compiled with his tendency to chain smoke is what’s believed to have caused his sudden death just before his speech to the United Nations. He didn’t live to see Germany formally surrender, which wouldn’t happen until May 7 of this year. FDR’s vice president Harry Truman becomes the 33rd U.S. President at 7:00 p.m. on this day.