January 14 is New Year’s Day according to the old, Julian Calendar. On January 14, 1514, Pope Leo X issued a papal bull against slavery. On the same date in 1639, the first written constitution to create a government, the “Fundamental Orders,” was adopted in Connecticut.
On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense.
On January 9, 1788, Connecticut became the fifth state to be admitted to the United States.
The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.
On January 8, 1790, George Washington delivered the first State of the Union address in New York, New York.
In 1835, on this date, the United States federal government achieved a zero debt for the first and only time.
In 1867, African American men were first allowed to vote in Washington, D.C.
On January 7, 1940, the Finnish 9th Division completely destroyed the much-larger Soviet forces on the Raate-Suomussalmi road, in a crucial battle during Finland’s Winter War.