Primary Source Spotlight: Second Amendment & Gun Control

Primary Source Spotlight: Second Amendment & Gun Control

Bill of Rights Political cartoons Solution to Nothing Herb Block March 2, 1954 Sportsmen! Kids! Maniacs! Herb Block November 27, 1963 (source record) You Don’t Even Need to Limit Yourself to a Few People Herb Block December 29, 1964 (source record) Don’t Point That Thing at Me! Herb Block March 10, 1965 (source record) It’s like the gun lobby guys…

Today in History: Fourteenth Amendment

Today in History: Fourteenth Amendment

Today in History–July 28–the Library of Congress features the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. On this date in 1868, Secretary of State William Seward issued a proclamation certifying the ratification of the amendment. The 14th amendment granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States”, including former slaves freed…

Guided Primary Source Analysis: The Constitutional Amendment

Guided Primary Source Analysis: The Constitutional Amendment

What is the purpose of this poster? What emotions does this poster tap into? Use specific evidence from the source to support your responses. Who is the audience for this primary source? How do you know? What more do you learn from the source record? Do  you think this poster was effective with its target…

Today in History: Tax Day

Today in History: Tax Day

Today in History–April 15–the Library of Congress features tax day, the day on which income taxes are usually due each year. Although the United States raised revenue through taxes from the beginning—early taxes were levied on whiskey and tobacco—income tax was first levied from 1862-1872. It was again instituted in 1894 for a year before the Supreme…

Today in History: Congress Approves 19th Amendment

Today in History: Congress Approves 19th Amendment

Today in History–June 4–the Library of Congress features U.S. Congressional approval of the the woman’s suffrage amendment on this day in 1919. But victory was still a ways off, It took over a year for the necessary three quarters of the 48 states (Alaska and Hawaii were not admitted into the Union until 1959) to ratify the 19th…

Today in History: Susan B. Anthony

Today in History: Susan B. Anthony

Today in History–March 8–the Library of Congress features Susan B. Anthony, who addressed Congress on the right of women to vote on this day in 1884. It was the sixteenth time woman suffrage supporters appeared before Congress but it would take decades more until women finally earned the constitutional right to vote. Learn more by visiting the Today in…

Today in History: 24th Amendment Ends Poll Tax

Today in History: 24th Amendment Ends Poll Tax

Today in History–January 23–the Library of Congress features the 24th amendment, ratified on this day in 1964. This constitutional amendment barred the poll tax which, up until this time, required voters in Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, and Virginia to pay in order to vote in a national election. Learn more by visiting the Today in History section and clicking the links to related…

Today in History: The Bill of Rights

Today in History: The Bill of Rights

Today in History–December 15–the Library of Congress features the Bill of Rights, ratified on this day in 1791. Did you know that, originally, 12 amendments were proposed? The original first amendment dealt with the number of people each congressional district should have and the second with congressional pay; neither was ratified but the latter did become…

Today in History: Temperance & Prohibition

Today in History: Temperance & Prohibition

Today in History–October 28–the Library of Congress features temperance and prohibition. On this day in 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act which allowed for enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Lauded by temperance societies and referred to as the Prohibition Amendment, the Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” in the…