This Week In American History

September 11 2001 America was attacked when an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Then,...

September 4 1886 Apache leader Geronimo surrendered to U.S. government troops. For 30 years, the Native American warrior had battled to protect his tribe’s homeland; however, by 1886 the Apaches were...

August 28 1774 Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York City. Seton taught in order to support her family and believed in free education for all children, male and female....

August 21 1858 Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois and Abraham Lincoln, a Kentucky-born lawyer and one-time U.S. representative from Illinois, began a series of famous public encounters on the issue of...

August 14   1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act, which guaranteed an income for the unemployed and retirees. FDR commended Congress for what he considered to...

August 7 1782 General George Washington, the commander in chief of the Continental Army, created the “Badge for Military Merit,” a decoration consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk,...

July 31    1876 The first Coast Guard Academy, then called the Revenue Cutter School of Instruction, was established and held aboard the two-masted topsail schooner Dobbin. The first class...

 

May 29 1848 Wisconsin entered the Union as the 30th state. In 1634, French explorer Jean Nicolet landed at Green Bay, becoming the first European to visit the lake-heavy northern...

May 22 1781 Major General Nathanael Greene and 1,000 Patriots attempted an attack on the critical village of Ninety Six in the South Carolina backcountry. After failing to seize the fortified...

May 15 1800 President John Adams ordered the federal government to pack up and leave Philadelphia and set up shop in the nation’s new capital in Washington D.C. After Congress adjourned its...

May 8 1945 Both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out...