February 3 is one of those “good days/bad days” dates:
- Nice: 1783 – Spain recognized United States independence.
- Not-so-nice: 1787 – Militia led by General Benjamin Lincoln crushed the remnants of Shays’ Rebellion in Petersham, Massachusetts.
- Great: 1870 – The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing voting rights to citizens regardless of race.
- Horrible: 1913 – The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect an income tax.
- But we can celebrate birthdays of two worthies: Walter Bagehot, famed editor of The Economist and author of Lombard Street, was born in 1826, while economist Greg Mankiw was born on this date in 1958.