As the聽United States聽marks its 250th anniversary, 海角精品黑料 presents 鈥�250聽Years of America,鈥� a multipart series examining the innovations, breakthroughs and pivotal moments that have shaped the nation since 1776.
聽is proud to partner with 海角精品黑料 to bring you this series.
When a disaster strikes, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or extreme heat, the federal government will step in to help. But that was not how our nation was set up by our founders 250 years ago.
President Jimmy Carter created the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 47 years ago, which merged 100 different programs and five different agencies into one office to handle emergency management.
Now FEMA is under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security, but its roots date back to the first federal lifeline, the .
It started at 4 a.m. 鈥� the day after Christmas on a Sunday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A single wooden house on Court Street near Market Square went up in flames and the winter winds spread through the seaport city.
By the time the fire was extinguished, the fire had destroyed an estimated 114 buildings, including homes, businesses and the St. John Church (formerly Queen鈥檚 Chapel).
As first reported by a newspaper in Portsmouth and later reprinted in a Lancaster, Pennsylvania newspaper, the townspeople came together to fight the fire.
鈥淟et it be recorded,鈥� the paper read. 鈥淭o the honor of a great number of Females,鈥� that after being burned out of their own homes, they did not flee in despair. Instead, the accounts said, they joined the bucket brigades alongside men, handing water until they were 鈥渁t the point of fainting-dying.鈥�
, which, for context, is $6,172,205 in today鈥檚 dollars.
That may not sound like the kind of eye-popping number often attached to modern disaster relief. Keep in mind, just one year later, in 1803, the United States completed the Louisiana Purchase, shelling out $15 million to acquire 828,000 square miles of territory, land that would eventually double the size of the nation.
The incredible loss was not fully realized by leaders in Washington, D.C. until John Langdon, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate, alerted federal officials.
Langdon, leading a part of a five-person local relief committee, knew a plea for sympathy wouldn’t be enough. He took a harder line with Congress, arguing they needed to help the port city because it was a direct threat to the nation鈥檚 commerce.
That led President Thomas Jefferson to make history by signing the Congressional Act of 1803, the first legislative act of federal disaster relief in U.S. history.
Unlike today, the relief was not in the form of money. It suspended bond payments for several months.
The town鈥檚 merchants owed money to the federal government in the form of customs bonds.
These were guarantees tied to import duties, essentially, promises that merchants would pay taxes on goods coming through the port.
It may seem surprising that delaying payments rather than providing cash was a lifeline. This extra time prevented bankruptcies and legal penalties, giving business owners the breathing room they needed to rebuild.
Not only did leaders in Washington, D.C. help, but so did average Americans.
In almost a GoFundMe of its day, donations poured in from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Trenton, New Jersey, and more than 1,000 miles away in Savannah, Georgia, totaling $45,000, which is $1,315,007 in today鈥檚 dollars.
Sadly, Portsmouth would have a total of three horrific fires around Christmas over 11 years.
Today, relief efforts for a fire like Portsmouth鈥檚 would be different than they did in 1803. Instead of just pausing tax bills, we have a system built for speed.
FEMA would coordinate the federal response, sending in teams to assess damage, support first responders and provide aid after a presidential disaster declaration.
Survivors could receive help with housing, repairs and essential needs, while communities get funding to rebuild and recover.
Now, 250 years after our country鈥檚 founding, help arrives after a disaster quickly and continues long after the emergency ends, just as the bucket brigade wouldn鈥檛 let Portsmouth go dark in 1802.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
漏 2026 海角精品黑料. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
