The Gadsden Purchase, also known as the Treaty of La Mesilla, was a significant event in the mid-19th century that involved the acquisition of a portion of present-day Arizona and New Mexico by the United States from Mexico. The purchase was named after James…
Read MoreThe United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 may be one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation ever passed by the United States Congress. Recognizing the ecological importance, economic value, and intrinsic worth of wildlife and plants, the ESA was signed…
Read MoreWashington Crossing the Delaware is an iconic moment in American history that took place during the American Revolutionary War on the night of December 25-26, 1776. Leading the Continental Army, General George Washington orchestrated a daring and strategic crossing of the ice-filled Delaware River…
Read MoreOne day near the end of the Revolutionary War, the King of England and his royal painter, Benjamin West, born in Pennsylvania, were discussing what was happening in America. The King asked West what George Washington would do were America to be declared independent.…
Read MoreIn the winter of 1970, an American legend was born that shaped the future of air combat forever. The prototype of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat soared into the skies on December 21, 1970. This inaugural flight marked the genesis of a game-changing chapter in…
Read MoreOn December 20, 1860, a secession convention in South Carolina voted unanimously to secede from the Union. Fearing that Republican Abraham Lincoln’s administration would appoint antislavery officials who would undermine slavery, slaveholders chose to abandon the Constitution and form their own nation. To justify…
Read MoreDecember 18, 1865, Secretary of State William Seward officially proclaimed the Thirteenth Amendment ratified, officially ending slavery in the United States. Seward’s announcement was especially fulfilling to the New Yorker, who had spent much of his adult life fighting for the end of slavery.…
Read MoreThe most famous ‘tea party’ ever took place on the evening of December 16, 1773, in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, writes The History Channel, rallied “against British Parliament and protested the Griffin’s Wharf arrival of Dartmouth, a British East…
Read More“Gone with the Wind,” one of the most iconic films in cinematic history, premiered on December 15, 1939, at Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. The event was a grand spectacle, attended by numerous celebrities, dignitaries, and the film’s cast and crew. The premiere…
Read MoreOn December 14, 1903, at the windswept dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first attempt at history. The brothers had dedicated years of meticulous research and experimentation to achieve controlled, sustained flight, and this moment marked the culmination…
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