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Important July milestones in US History
July 1, 1862
-
President
Abraham Lincoln
signed the first income tax bill, levying a 3% income tax on
annual incomes of $600-$10,000 and a 5% tax on incomes over
$10,000. Also on this day, the Bureau of Internal Revenue was
established by an Act of Congress.
July 1, 1863
- Beginning of the
Battle of Gettysburg
during the American
Civil War.
July 2, 1964
- President
Lyndon B. Johnson
signed the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race in
public accommodations, publicly owned or operated facilities,
employment and union membership and in voter registration. The
Act allowed for cutoff of Federal funds in places where
discrimination remained.
July 2, 1776
- The Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the following
resolution, originally introduced on June 7, by
Richard Henry Lee
of Virginia: "Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of
right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are
absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all
political connection between them and the State of Great Britain
is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. That it is expedient
forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming
foreign Alliances. That a plan of confederation be prepared and
transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration
and approbation."
July 2, 1788
- Congress announced the
United States Constitution
had been ratified by the required nine states and that a
committee had been appointed to make preparations for the new
American government.
July 3, 1775
- During the
American Revolution,
George Washington
took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
July 4, 1776
- The
Declaration of Independence
was approved by the Continental Congress.
July 4, 1863-
Vicksburg,
the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River,
surrendered to General Grant and the Army of the West after a
six week siege. With the Union in control of the Mississippi,
the Confederacy was effectively split in two, cut off from its
western allies.
July 8, 1776
- The first public reading of the
Declaration of Independence
occurred as Colonel John Nixon read it to an assembled crowd in
Philadelphia.
July 9, 1868
- The 14th
Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The Amendment defined
U.S. citizenship and prohibited individual States from abridging
the rights of any American citizen without due process and equal
protection under the law. The Amendment also barred individuals
involved in rebellion against the U.S. from holding public
office.
July 13, 1787
- Congress enacted the
Northwest Ordinance
establishing formal procedures for transforming territories into
states. It provided for the eventual establishment of three to
five states in the area north of the Ohio River, to be
considered equal with the original 13. The Ordinance included a
Bill of Rights that guaranteed freedom of religion, the right to
trial by jury, public education and a ban on slavery in the
Northwest.
July 16, 1945
- The experimental Atomic bomb "Fat Boy" was set off at 5:30
a.m. in the desert of New Mexico desert, creating a mushroom
cloud rising 41,000 ft. The bomb emitted heat three times the
temperature of the interior of the sun and wiped out all plant
and animal life within a mile.
July 18, 1947
- President
Harry Truman
signed an Executive Order determining the line of succession if
the president becomes incapacitated or dies in office. Following
the vice president, the speaker of the house and president of
the Senate are next in succession. This became the 25th
Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on February 10, 1967.
July 19-20, 1848
- A women's rights convention was held at Seneca Falls, New
York. Topics discussed included voting rights, property rights
and divorce. The convention marked the beginning of an organized
women's rights movement in the U.S.
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