Categories
Today

Texas independence declaration, Civil War draft law passes, Manila recaptured from Japan

On March 3, 1836, Texans signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, officially breaking from Mexico to establish the Republic of Texas.

On March 3, 1863, the U.S. Congress passed the Civil War conscription act, the first wartime draft of U.S. citizens in American history. The act required registration of all males between 20 and 45 years of age. Exemptions could be purchased for $300 or by finding a substitute. Only 18 percent of those registered and drafted actually entered the Union army. The law was fiercely opposed. Protests of the draft law in New York City led to bloody riots, in which estimates of deaths range from 120 to 2,000 and 2,000 to 8,000 people injured.

On March 3, 1945, American and Filipino troops recaptured Manila in the Philippines from the Empire of Japan.

Categories
Today

Congress ends importation of slaves

On March 2, 1807, the U.S. Congress passed an act to “prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States…from any foreign kingdom, place, or country.”

Categories
Today

Hammerin’ Hank becomes highest-​paid, Tutu arrested in Cape Town

On Feb. 29, 1972, Hank Aaron signed a three-​year deal with the Atlanta Braves that paid him $200,000 per year, making him the highest-​paid player in Major League Baseball at the time. Two years later, Aaron became baseball’s career home run king when he broke Babe Ruth’s long-​standing record.

On Feb. 29, 1988, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu was arrested along with 100 clergymen during a five-​day anti-​apartheid demonstration in Cape Town.

Categories
Today

ATF’s Waco raid, GOP organized

On Feb. 28, 1993, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, with media in tow, raided the Waco, Texas, compound of the Branch Davidian religious group, prompting a gun battle in which four agents and six Davidians were killed. The federal agents were attempting to arrest the leader of the Branch Davidians, David Koresh, on information that the religious sect was stockpiling weapons. A nearly two-​month standoff after the unsuccessful raid ended with an assault on the compound on April 19, 1993, and a fire that burned the compound to the ground killing 76 Davidians, including Koresh and 20 children.

On Feb. 27, 1854, the Republican Party of the United States was organized in Ripon, Wisconsin.

Categories
Today

Yellow Revolution 1986 Philippines

On Feb. 25, 1986, President Ferdinand Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of repressively ruling the nation and Corazon Aquino became the Philippines’ first woman president in a peaceful revolution sometimes called the “Yellow Revolution” because of the yellow ribbons used during street demonstrations.

Categories
Today

Marbury v Madison, Johnson impeached

On Feb. 24, 1803, the Supreme Court decided the landmark case of William Marbury vs. James Madison, Secretary of State of the United States, confirming the legal principle of judicial review — the ability of the Supreme Court to limit congressional power by declaring legislation unconstitutional.

On Feb. 24, 1868, Andrew Johnson became the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. Later, he was acquitted by the Senate.