US Capitol Historical Society

#OTD is #history 1929 the US plunged toward depression as billions were lost & thousands bankrupted. “It came with a speed & ferocity that left men dazed” a reporter witnessed. “The animal roar that rises from the floor of the Stock Exchange…became louder, anguished, terrifying”

#OTD in #history, 1962, the #CubanMissileCrisis effectively ended. “For, in the final analysis,” #JFK later said, “our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.”

#OTD in #history, 1797, the USS Constitution was launched 3 years after #Congress commissioned her for the #USNavy. Today “Old Ironsides” is the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat, a reminder of her strength and resilience—and that of the nation she once fought for.

#OTD in #history, 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis began. #JFK’s message was clear: “Our goal is not the victory of might, but the vindication of right—not #peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere, and, we hope, around the world.”

#OnThisDay in 1814, Congress voted to keep the United States capital in Washington D.C., after the British burned almost all federal buildings a month prior. Congress met temporarily from 1815-1819 in the Old Brick Capitol, where the Supreme Court stands today.

#OTD in #history, 1774, the Continental #Congress denounced Britain’s Intolerable Acts. The petition was addressed to the King, though he did not reply. Instead, he offered the stunningly accurate assessment: “We must either master them or totally leave them to themselves.”

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was elected as the first female Hispanic Member of Congress in 1989! Read her reflections on Hispanic Heritage Month and her incredible career on our website: bit.ly/3TQlapk.

#OTD in 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as #SCOTUS’ 1st black Justice. 13 years prior, Marshall argued Brown v. Board, tolling the death knell for “separate but equal.” Thus, upon his nomination, #POTUS Johnson noted, “I believe he has already earned his place in #history.”

#OTD in #history, 1924, Jimmy Carter was born. He’d later become #POTUS. But it was his legacy outside of office that earned him the Nobel #Peace Prize “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts” & “advance #democracy & human rights”

#OTD in #history 1789, #Congress passed the Judiciary Act, creating the federal court system. Justice Marshall later argued it’s “emphatically the province…of the Judicial Dept. to say what the law is,” making it clear: “A legislative act contrary to the Constitution is not law”

#OTD in #history 1862, #AbrahamLincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. In so doing, he set #America on its righteous path toward eradicating its greatest moral inconsistency, recalibrating the Civil War from a struggle to save the Union—into one to save its soul

#OTD in #history, 1857, William H. Taft was born. As President, he felt like a “fish out of water.” When asked if he liked his job, he said he “would rather be Chief Justice.” He later received his wish, becoming the only person to serve as both #POTUS & Chief Justice of #SCOTUS.

#OTD in #history, 1858, the first of seven Lincon-Douglas debates was held in #Illinois. At the debates’ end, Sen. Douglas was reelected. But it was Lincoln who transformed into a rising national star. In other words, he lost the battle—but more consequentially—would win The War.

#OTD in #history, 1790, the Tariff Act established the #CoastGuard: at the time, the #USA’s only armed maritime force. Hamilton thus instructed the new officers to “take the oath to support the #Constitution” and to “always keep in mind that their countrymen are freemen.”

#OTD in #history, 1777, the Continental #Congress granted the Marquis de Lafayette the “rank & commission of major-general of the #UnitedStates." He came to #America one month prior because “the moment I knew she was fighting for freedom I burnt with a desire of bleeding for her”

#OTD in #history 1958, #POTUS Eisenhower signed an act of #Congress creating #NASA. 68 years on, the agency continues to strive toward its goal of expanding “human knowledge” of outer space, guided by its vision “To improve life here. To extend life to there. To find life beyond”

#OTD in 1885, Ulysses S. Grant passed away. His funeral procession was attended by 1.5 million Americans, at the time, the largest demonstration in #UShistory. It signaled that Grant’s legacy would not soon be forgotten. Because as one paper wrote: “the union is his monument.”

#OTD in #history 1861, the 1st major battle of the Civil War—Bull Run—ended in a Union defeat. But it had a rallying effect in the North: thousands of men flocked to join the #USArmy while newspapers compared the setback to #GeorgeWashington’s losses in 1776: a prelude to destiny

#OTD in #history, 1945, the Potsdam Conference began to discuss Germany’s future & Japan’s defeat. Questions remained but Truman was certain “a society of self-governing men is more powerful, more enduring…than any other kind of society, however disciplined, however centralized”

#OTD in #history 1790, the Residence Act became law, making land near the Potomac—what became #WashingtonDC —the permanent #USA capital. In time, planning would begin for #Congress’ new home on “Capitol Hill,” what the city planner described as “a pedestal waiting for a monument”