USS Indianapolis - World War II

USS Indianapolis - World War II USS Indianapolis - Overview: Nation: United States Type: Portland-class heavy cruiser Shipyard: New York Shipbuilding Co. Laid Down: March 31, 1930 Launched: November 7, 1931 Commissioned: November 15, 1932 Fate: Sunk July 30, 1945 by I-58 Specifications: Displacement: 33,410 tons Length: 639 ft., 5 in. Beam: 90 ft. 6 in. Draft:: 30 ft. 6 in. Propulsion: 8 White-Foster boilers, single reduction geared turbines Speed: 32.7 knots Complement: 1,269 (wartime) Armament: Guns 8 x 8-inch (3 turrets with 3 guns each)8 x 5-inch guns Aircraft 2 x OS2U Kingfishers USS Indianapolis - Construction: Laid down on March 31, 1930, USS Indianapolis (CA-35) was the second of two Portland-class built by the US Navy. An improved version of the earlier Northampton-class, the Portlands were slightly heavier and mounted a larger number of 5-inch guns. Built at the New York Shipbuilding Company in Camden, NJ, Indianapolis was launched on November 7, 1931. Commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard the following November, Indianapolis departed for its shakedown cruise in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Returning in February 1932, the cruiser underwent a minor refit before sailing to Maine. USS Indianapolis - Prewar Operations: Embarking President Franklin Roosevelt at Campobello Island, Indianapolis steamed to Annapolis, MD where the ship entertained members of the cabinet. That September Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson came aboard and used the cruiser for an inspection tour of installations in the Pacific. After participating in a number of fleet problems and training exercises, Indianapolis again embarked the President for a Good Neighbor Tour of South America in November 1936. Arriving home, the cruiser was dispatched to the West Coast for service with the US Pacific Fleet. USS Indianapolis - World War II: On December 7, 1941, as the Japanese were attacking Pearl Harbor, Indianapolis was conducting fire training off Johnston Island. Racing back to Hawaii, the cruiser immediately joined Task Force 11 to search for the enemy. In early 1942, Indianapolis sailed with the carrier USS Lexington and conducted raids in Southwest Pacific against Japanese bases on New Guinea. Ordered to Mare Island, CA for an overhaul, the cruiser returned to action that summer and joined US forces operating in the Aleutians. On August 7, 1942, Indianapolis joined in the bombardment of Japanese positions on Kiska. Remaining in northern waters, the cruiser sank the Japanese cargo ship Akagane Maru on February 19, 1943. That May, Indianapolis supported US troops as they recaptured Attu. It fulfilled a similar mission in August during the landings on Kiska. Following another refit at Mare Island, Indianapolis arrived at Pearl Harbor and was made flagship of Vice Admiral Raymond Spruances 5th Fleet. In this role, it sailed as part of Operation Galvanic on November 10, 1943. Nine days later, it provided fire support as US Marines prepared to land on Tarawa. Following the US advance across the central Pacific, Indianapolis saw action off Kwajalein and supported US air strikes across the western Carolines. In June 1944, the 5th Fleet provided support for the invasion of the Marianas. On June 13, the cruiser opened fire on Saipan before being dispatched to attack Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima. Returning, the cruiser took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea on June 19, before resuming operations around Saipan. As the battle in the Marianas wound down, Indianapolis was sent to aid in the invasion of Peleliu that September. After brief refit at Mare Island, the cruiser joined Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitschers fast carrier task force on February 14, 1945, shortly before it attacked Tokyo. Steaming south, they aided in the landings on Iwo Jima while continuing to attack the Japanese home islands. On March 24, 1945, Indianapolis took part in the preinvasion bombardment of Okinawa. A week later, the cruiser was hit by kamikaze while off the island. Hitting Indianapolis stern, the kamikazes bomb penetrated through the ship and exploded in the water underneath. After making temporary repairs, the cruiser limped home to Mare Island. Entering the yard, the cruiser underwent extensive repair to the damage. Emerging in July 1945, the ship was tasked with the secret mission of carrying the parts for the atomic bomb to Tinian in the Marianas. Departing on July 16, and steaming at high speed, Indianapolis made record time covering 5,000 miles in ten days. Unloading the components, the ship received orders to proceed to Leyte in the Philippine and then on to Okinawa. Leaving Guam on July 28, and sailing unescorted on a direct course, Indianapolis crossed paths with the Japanese submarine I-58 two days later. Opening fire around 12:15 AM on July 30, I-58 hit Indianapolis with two torpedoes on its starboard side. Critically damaged, the cruiser sank in twelve minutes forcing around 880 survivors into the water. Due to the rapidity of the ships sinking, few life rafts were able to be launched and most of the men had only lifejackets. As the ship was operating on a secret mission, no notification had been sent to Leyte alerting them that Indianapolis was en route. As a result, it was not reported as overdue. Though three SOS messages were sent before the ship sank, they were not acted on for various reasons. For the next four days, Indianapolis surviving crew endured dehydration, starvation, exposure, and terrifying shark attacks. Around 10:25 AM on August 2, the survivors were spotted by a US aircraft conducting a routine patrol. Dropping a radio and life raft, the aircraft reported its position and all possible units were dispatched to the scene. Of the approximately 880 men who went into the water, only 321 were rescued with four of those later dying from their wounds. Among the survivors was Indianapolis commanding officer, Captain Charles Butler McVay III. After the rescue, McVay was court-martialed and convicted for failing to follow an evasive, zig-zag course. Due to evidence that the Navy had put the ship in danger and the testimony of Commander Mochitsura Hashimoto, I-58s captain, which stated that an evasive course would not have mattered, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz remitted McVays conviction and restored him to active duty. Despite this, many of the crewmembers families blamed him for the sinking and he later committed suicide in 1968.

Democratic-Republican Party - Members and History

Democratic-Republican Party - Members and History The Democratic-Republican Party is the earliest political party in the United States, dating to 1792. The Democratic-Republican Party was founded by  James Madison and  Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence and champion of the Bill of Rights. It eventually ceased to exist by that name following the 1824 presidential election and became known as the Democratic Party, though it shares little in common with the modern political organization with the same name. Founding of the Democratic-Republican Party Jefferson  and Madison founded the party in opposition to  the Federalist Party, which was led by  John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and John Marshall, who fought for a strong federal government and supporting policies that favored the wealthy. The primary  difference between the Democratic-Republican Party and the Federalists was Jeffersons belief in the authority of local and state governments.   Jeffersons party stood for rural agricultural interests urban commercial interests represented by Hamilton and the Federalists, wrote Dinesh DSouza in  Hillarys America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party. The Democratic-Republican Party was initially just a loosely aligned group that shared their opposition to the programs introduced in the 1790s, wrote University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato. Many of these programs, proposed by Alexander Hamilton, favored merchants, speculators, and the rich. Federalists including Hamilton favored the creation of a national bank and the power to impose taxes. Farmers in the western United States strongly opposed taxation because they worried about not being able to pay and having their land being bought up by eastern interests, Sabato wrote. Jefferson and Hamilton also clashed over the creation of a national bank; Jefferson did not believe the Constitution permitted such a move, while Hamilton believed the document was open to interpretation on the matter. Jefferson initially founded the party without the prefix; its members were initially known as Republicans. But the party eventually became known as the  Democratic-Republican Party. Jefferson initially considering calling his party the anti-Federalists but instead preferred to described its opponents as anti-Republicans, according to the late  New York Times  political columnist William Safire. Prominent Members of the Democratic-Republican Party    Four members of the Democratic-Republican Party were elected president. They are: Thomas Jefferson, who served from 1801 until 1809.James Madison, who served from 1809 until 1817.James Monroe, who served from 1817 until 1825.John Quincy Adams, who served from 1825 until 1829. Other prominent members of the Democratic-Republican Party were Speaker of the House and famed orator  Henry Clay;  Aaron Burr, a U.S. senator; George Clinton, a vice president, William H. Crawford,  a senator and Treasury secretary under Madison. End of the Democratic-Republican Party In the early 1800s, during the administration of Democratic-Republican President James Monroe, there was so  little political conflict that it became essentially a one-party commonly referred to as the Era of Good Feeling.  In the presidential election of 1824, however, that changed as several factions opened up in the Democratic-Republican Party. Four candidates ran for the White House on the Democratic-Republican ticket that year: Adams, Clay, Crawford and Jackson. The party was in clear disarray. No one secured enough electoral votes to win the presidency to the race was determine by the U.S. House of Representatives, which chose Adams in an outcome that was called the corrupt bargain. Wrote Library of Congress historian  John J. McDonough: Clay received the smallest number of votes cast and was eliminated from the race. Since none of the other candidates had received a majority of the electoral college votes, the outcome was decided by the House of Representatives. Clay used his influence to help deliver the vote of Kentuckys congressional delegation to Adams, in spite of a resolution by the Kentucky state legislature that instructed the delegation to vote for Jackson.When Clay was subsequently appointed to the first place in Adamss cabinet - secretary of state - the Jackson camp raised the cry of corrupt bargain, a charge that was to follow Clay thereafter and thwart his future presidential ambitions. In 1828, Jackson ran against Adams and won - as a member of the Democratic Party. And that was the end of the Democratic-Republicans.