On July 22

On this day in ...
... 1956, leaders from across the Americas concluded a multilateral conference by signing the Declaration of the Presidents of the American Republics. The declaration's hemispheric vision:

An America united, strong and benevolent will not only promote the well-being of the Continent but contribute toward achieving for the whole world the benefits of a peace based on justice and freedom, in which all peoples, without distinction as to race or creed, can work with dignity and with confidence in the future.

The conference "helped lay the groundwork for the creation of the Inter-American Development Bank and elements for the Alliance for Progress." (credit for photo of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signing documents at the 1956 conference) It was held in Panama City in commemoration of the "first collective manifestation of Pan Americanism," an Assembly of Plenipotentiaries of the American States there, "convoked by the Liberator Simón Bolívar" in 1826. The 1956 effort has evolved into the Summit of the Americas process, which features meetings of governmental leaders that conclude with similar declarations. Most recent was the 5th summit, held in 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago; the 6th is set for 2012 in Colombia.

(Prior July 22 posts are here, here, and here.)

On August 12

On this day in ...
… 1833, Lillie Devereux Blake (left) was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1857, she began writing short stories for Harper's Weekly and the Knickerbocker. After her husband’s death, she supported herself and her 2 children with her writing, working as a war correspondent during the Civil War as well as writing novels and short articles. In 1869 she joined IntLawGrrls' foremothers Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to fight for women’s suffrage. She was president of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association from 1879 to 1890 and of the New York City Woman Suffrage League from 1886 to 1900. Blake died in 1913. (image credit)
… 1825, Simón Bolívar (below right), known as "The Liberator," became the 1st president of the Republic of Bolivia. (image credit) A descendant of rich Spanish aristocrats, Bolívar was one of the major architects of South American independence from Spain. He consolidated the independence of several South American countries through multiple military campaigns over the course of the early 1820s. In 1821, Gran Colombia (a federation covering much of modern Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador) was created, and Bolívar became its president. Then followed the presidenc of Bolivia on this day.

(Prior August 12 posts are here and here.)