On August 4, 1790, under the leadership of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Congress authorized the construction of ten cutters to enforce federal tariff and trade laws and to prevent smuggling. Initially called the Revenue Marine, today we better know it as the…
Read More
On August 2, 1790, the United States of America took its first count of the population. The U.S. Constitution ratified in 1789, mandated that a census be conducted to enumerate the people to apportion seats in the House of Representatives and assess direct taxes…
Read More
On June 20, 1972, the most famous, or infamous, recording in White House history was created by President Richard Nixon and his chief of staff, H.R. Halderman in the Oval Office. At 2:30 in the morning a few days before,” The Washington Post recalls, “five men…
Read More
On June 4, 1919, the United States Congress approved the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, formally initiating the final phase of a political struggle that had spanned more than seven decades. With the stroke of a legislative pen, Congress did not merely advance a…
Read More
On May 16, 1866, the United States Congress authorized a new five-cent coin made primarily of nickel, giving rise to one of the most familiar pieces of American currency. The coin was small, practical, and durable, but its creation reflected something larger than a…
Read More
On April 2, 1917, Woodrow Wilson stood before Congress to deliver one of the most significant speeches of his presidency. With solemn determination and unwavering conviction, the president, who promised to keep the United States out of the war in Europe, urged Congress to…
Read More
On April 1, 1789, in New York City, the newly formed United States House of Representatives reached a milestone that had eluded it for weeks: a quorum. With enough members finally present to conduct official business, the House moved swiftly to organize itself, electing…
Read More
January 28, 1915, marked a pivotal moment in American maritime history when an act of Congress formally created the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces—quietly reshaping how the nation would protect its shores, commerce, and citizens at…
Read More
On December 26, 1799, just ten days after the death of George Washington, the United States Congress convened in solemn session to honor the man whose life had become inseparable from the nation’s founding. It was there that Henry Lee III—Revolutionary War cavalry commander,…
Read More
On December 7, 1941, the United States was thrust into global war when aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a sudden and meticulously coordinated attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The assault began early on a quiet Sunday morning,…
Read More
