Category Archives: State History

Tidbits of History, March 25

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International Waffle Day; not to be confused with National Waffle Day, celebrated on August 24th. International Waffle Day began in Sweden and Norway. March 25, is also the Feast of the Annunciation, upon which waffles are typically eaten. The shift from the religious celebration to Waffle Day occurred because the Swedish Vårfrudagen, meaning “Our Lady’s Day” (the Feast of the Annunciation), sounds similar to Våffeldagen (“waffle day”) in faster speech, and so over time Swedes began calling it Waffle Day and celebrating by eating waffles.

Day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, celebrating the visit of the Angel Gabriel to announce to Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus.

According to legend, Venice was founded at twelve o’clock noon on March 25, 421.

Sir Walter Raleigh was granted a patent to colonize Virginia in 1584.

The first settlers arrived in Maryland. Maryland Day, a legal holiday in Maryland celebrating the landing of the colonists sent to the New World in 1634 by Lord Baltimore under the leadership of his brother, Leonard Calvert.

Mount Etna in Sicily erupted on March 25, 1669, destroying Nicolosi, killing 20,000.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #74:The Command of the Military and Naval Forces, and the Pardoning Power of the Executive written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788. This shortest of all the papers continues the discussion of presidential powers beginning with a short mention of being Commander in Chief of the armed forces and then with the rest of the paper on the power to pardon.

1811 – Percy Bysshe Shelley was expelled from the University of Oxford for his publication of the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism.
Shelley’s definition of atheism:”

“There Is No God. This negation must be understood solely to affect a creative Deity. The hypothesis of a pervading Spirit co-eternal with the universe remains unshaken.”

Burnside CarbineA. E. Burnside patents Burnside carbine in 1856.

Mount RushmoreBirthday of Gutzon Borglum (1867), American sculptor and painter. Best known for the figures of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt on Mount Rushmore.

Birthday of Arturo Toscanini (1867), Italian musician and conductor

1965 – Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully completed their 4-day 50-mile march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. The route is memorialized as the “Selma To Montgomery Voting Rights Trail,” and is designated as a U.S. National Historic Trail.

Tidbits of History, March 21

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March 21 is National Crunchy Taco Day

J. S. Bach, born Mar 21, 1685Birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685), German composer and instrumentalist of the Baroque period. His music is revered for its depth, technique, and beauty.

1788 – A fire in New Orleans left most of the town in ruins. It destroyed 856 of the 1100 structures. Because the fire was on Good Friday, priests refused to allow church bells to be rung as a fire alarm. After six years of rebuilding, on December 8, 1794, another 212 buildings were destroyed in another fire.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #73: The Provision For The Support of the Executive, and the Veto Power written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788.

From www.gradesaver.com

This paper illustrates the principle of checks and balances on which much of the Constitution is based. The founders believed it was necessary to distribute power among multiple branches of government and ensure that none of these branches became too powerful. This paper focuses in particular on limiting the power of the legislature. Hamilton claims that, in republican societies, the legislative branch of government is always the most powerful since it directly represents the voice of the people. In order to prevent this branch from completely monopolizing the government, the other branches must have means of constitutional “self-defense.”

The Butler Act passed on March 21, 1925. It prohibits the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee public schools. The law was subsequently challenged in 1925 in the famous Scopes trial.

1933 – Construction of Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, was completed. It was built about 10 miles northwest of Munich in the state of Bavaria in southern Germany to house political prisoners, Jews, and foreign nationals. There were 32,000 documented deaths at Dachau and thousands that were undocumented. Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, and emigrants were sent to Dachau after the 1935 passage of the Nuremberg Laws which institutionalized racial discrimination. Dachau was officially liberated by the U.S. Army on 29 April, 1945.

March 21, 1947, President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9835 requiring all federal employees to have allegiance to the United States

Alcatraz, a federal penitentiary on an island in San Francisco Bay, closed in 1963.

1965 – More than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began a march from Selma to Montgomery, AL.

March 21, 2006 – Twitter was founded.

Tidbits of History, March 15

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March 15 is celebrated as National Peanut Lovers’ Day, not to be confused with National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day (March 1st)

Everything You Think is Wrong Day
Incredible Kid Day
Dumbstruck Day

“Beware the Ides of March” commemorating the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. According to William Shakespeare, Caesar had been warned by a soothsayer that he would die on the Ides of March. The word “ides” simply means “middle”, so the “Ides of March” refers to the middle of the month, the 15th day.

March 15, 1767, birth of Andrew JacksonBirthday of Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767), seventh President of the U. S. (from 1829-1837).

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #70: The Executive Department Further Considered written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788.

From www.teaparty911.com

In Federalist 70 Hamilton begins a discussion of the need for energy in the executive if one is to have good government. He defines energy in the executive as unity, duration, an adequate provision for its support and competent powers. This paper is all about unity in the executive which he defines as having a single person responsible for the execution of the presidency as opposed to any type of shared responsibility. Decision, activity, secrecy, and dispatch, are what he considers the characteristics of an effective executive, and these are more likely from a single individual “than the proceedings of a greater number, and in proportions the number is increased these qualities will be diminished”.

Maine headerMaine Admission Day 1820, twenty-third state

  • Capital: Augusta
  • Nickname: Pine Tree State
  • Animal: Moose
  • Bird: Chickadee
  • Flower: White pine cone & tassel
  • Gemstone: Tourmaline
  • Herb: Wintergreen
  • Insect: Honeybee
  • Tree: White Pine
  • Motto: I direct

See our page for the state of Maine for more interesting facts and trivia about Maine.

1869 – Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first professional baseball team

1892 – Jesse W. Reno patented the Reno Inclined Elevator. It was the first escalator.

1906 – Britons Rolls, Royce & Johnson formed Rolls Royce Ltd

President Woodrow Wilson sent 4,800 United States troops over the U.S.-Mexico border to pursue Pancho Villa on March 15, 1916.

1938 – Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia.

1940 – Hermann Goering said that 100-200 church bells were enough for Germany, smelt the rest.

My Fair Lady received its premiere performance on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in 1956. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, the Broadway musical starred Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews. See benneynlinda.com for more information.

1985 – The first Internet domain name was registered (symbolics.com).

Tidbits of History, March 4

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March 4 is National Poundcake Day

Holy Experiment Day is March 4th. The “Holy Experiment” was an attempt by the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers to establish a community for themselves in Pennsylvania. They hoped it would show to the world how well they could function on their own without any persecution or dissension.

Charter Day in Pennsylvania in commemoration of the granting by Charles II of a charter in 1681 to William Penn, founder of the colony.

Birthday of Count Casimir Pulaski (1745), Polish soldier, hero of the American Revolution, called “the father of the American cavalry”.

United States Constitution Day declared in 1789; celebrated as the anniversary of the first meeting of Congress under the Constitution

Vermont Header, admitted March 4, 1791Vermont Admission Day 1791 as the fourteenth state

  • Capital: Montpelier
  • Nickname: Green Mountain State
  • Bird: Hermit thrush
  • Flower: Red clover
  • Tree: Sugar maple
  • Motto: Freedom and unity

our page for the state of Vermont for more interesting facts and trivia about Vermont.

1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Congress.

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or Equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

Flag_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America_(1861-1863).svg
1861 – The Confederate States of America adopted the “Stars and Bars” flag.

Birthday of Knute Kenneth Rockne (March 4, 1888), American football coach.

March 4, 1924, “Happy Birthday To You” published by Claydon Sunny.

FDR elected March 4, 19331933 – Franklin Delano Roosevelt inaugurated as 32nd President, pledged to pull U.S. out of Depression and said “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

Tidbits of History, March 3

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March 3 is National Cold Cuts Day

John Pickering1803 The impeachment trial of a U.S. Judge, John Pickering. He was the first federal official to have been removed from office upon conviction by impeachment on charges of drunkenness and unlawful rulings. Pickering’s behavior on the bench was often marked with “ravings, cursings, and crazed incoherences” brought on by drink and growing mental instability. President Jefferson suggested to Congress that Pickering’s bizarre behavior amounted to an impeachable offense. There was no other way to remove a federal judge who was no longer fit to serve but who refused to resign. In March 1803 the House of Representatives voted 45-8 to impeach Judge Pickering. The Senate convicted Pickering one year later, removing him from office. This was no small matter. The Constitution limited this power to the impeachable offenses of “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Pickering may have been wholly unfit to serve on the bench, but he had not committed an impeachable offense. Some feared that if he could be removed for raving and cursing, then Congress would impeach other judges for political offenses.

Fourteen federal judges have been impeached in more than 200 years, seven of which were acquitted by the Senate and seven removed from office.

I found it interesting that the last two impeachment trials were Samuel B. Kent, Judge, U.S. district court for the Southern district of Texas who was impeached June 19, 2009, on charges of sexual assault, obstructing and impeding an official proceeding, and making false and misleading statements; and G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., Judge, U.S. district court, Eastern district of Louisiana, impeached March 11, 2010 on charges of accepting bribes and making false statements under penalty of perjury. Kent resigned and Porteous was removed from office. In both cases one of the Democratic impeachment managers was Adam Schiff of California.

In 1805 the Louisiana-Missouri Territory forms.

In 1817 the Mississippi Territory was divided into Alabama Territory & Mississippi.

The U.S. Congress passed the Missouri Compromise March 3, 1820, allowing slavery in Missouri

March 3, 1836 – the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence, officially separating from Mexico, and creating the Republic of Texas.

1837 – US President Andrew Jackson and Congress recognize Republic of Texas

Florida Everglades HeaderFlorida Admission day in 1845, becoming the 27th state

  • Capital: Tallahassee
  • Nickname: Sunshine State/Peninsula State
  • Bird: Mockingbird
  • Flower: Orange Blossom
  • Tree: Serbal palm
  • Motto: In God we trust

See our page for the state of Florida for more interesting facts and trivia about Florida.

Birthday of Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847), inventor of the telephone.

Territory of Minnesota organized in 1849.

Idaho Territory formed in 1863.

1875 – Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris where (Wikipedia) “its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalized its first audiences.”

“Carmen has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas… the “Habanera” from act 1 and the “Toreador Song” from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias.”

1921 – Toronto’s Dr Banting and Dr Best announce discovery of insulin.

1923 – TIME magazine was published for the first time.

Mount RushmoreMarch 3, 1925 – Mount Rushmore National Memorial is centered on a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture’s design and oversaw the project’s execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum. The project received Congressional approval on March 3, 1925.

Anniversary of the adoption by Congress in 1931 of The Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key as the national anthem of the United States.

Tidbits of History, March 1

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March 1 is:

National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day

Whuppity Scoorie Day, a festival in Lanark, Scotland, carrying on an ancient custom of noisemaking to drive away the evil spirits and thus protect the crops of the new season. Not to be confused with Whuppity Stoorie, a Scottish fairy tale similar to Rumpelstiltskin.

The city of Rio de Janeiro was founded on March 1, 1565.

Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba, a slave, were brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials in 1692.

1781 – The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation.

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #63: is the last one written by James Madison and the second about the Senate. Madison thought that a term of six years would be long enough to give stability to the federal government and short enough to prevent abuse of power.

Anniversary of the first United States census, begun in 1790

1792 – US Presidential Succession Act passed; it was revised in 1886 and 1947 and has been modified many times.

Birthday of Frédéric Chopin (March 1, 1810 ), Polish pianist and composer.

Ohio header Ohio (The Buckeye State) Admission Day (1803) entered the Union as the seventeenth state

  • Capital: Columbus
  • Nickname: Buckeye State
  • Bird: Cardinal
  • Flower: Scarlet Carnation
  • Tree: Buckeye
  • Motto: With God All things are possible

See our page for the state of Ohio for more interesting facts and trivia about Ohio.

1815 – Napoleon returned to France from his banishment on Elba.

A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convened in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico in 1836.
Washington on the Brazos Historic Site is located approximately 1-1/2 hours northwest of Houston, and less than two hours from Austin.

1845 – President John Tyler signed a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.

Nebraska header Nebraska Admission Day (1867) as the thirty-seventh state

  • Capital: Lincoln
  • Nickname: Cornhusker State
  • Bird: Western meadowlark
  • Flower: Goldenrod
  • Tree: Cottonwood
  • Motto: Equality before the law

See our page for the state of Nebraska for more interesting facts and trivia about Nebraska.

March 1, 1872 – Yellowstone National Park became the world’s first national park.

1913 – Federal income tax took effect (16th amendment)

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

In 1913, the top tax rate was 7% on incomes above $500,000. A total of $28.3 million was collected.

1932 – The 20-month-old son of Charles Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, was kidnapped. His body was found May 12th. Public outrage led the U.S. Congress to pass the Federal Kidnapping Act (known as the Lindbergh Law) on June 22, 1932—the day that would have been Charles’s second birthday. The Lindbergh Law made kidnapping across state lines a federal crime and stipulated that such an offense could be punished by death. On October 8, 1934, Bruno Hauptmann was indicted for the kidnapping and murder. After more than five weeks of testimony and 11 hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict on February 13, 1935, and Hauptmann was sentenced to death. A series of appeals, ultimately reaching the Supreme Court in December 1935, were unsuccessful, and a clemency bid was rejected on March 30, 1936. Hauptmann, denying until the end any involvement in the crime, was executed by electric chair on April 3, 1936.

March 1, 1936 – The Hoover Dam was completed.

1953 – Joseph Stalin died March 1, 1953Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suffered a stroke and collapsed; he died four days later. It is believed that Stalin’s regime was responsible for 9 million deaths, with 6 million of these being deliberate killings.

The Peace Corps was established in 1961 by President John Kennedy.

1962 – K-Mart opened. The company was incorporated in 1899 as S. S. Kresge Corporation and renamed Kmart Corporation in 1977. The first store with the Kmart name opened in 1962 in Garden City, Michigan. At its peak in 1994, Kmart operated 2,486 stores globally, including 2,323 discount stores and Super Kmart Center locations in the United States. As of April 16, 2022, that number was down to nine, including just three in the continental United States.

Tidbits of History, February 14

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February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

Quote from Ayn Rand:

Love is the expression of one’s values, the greatest reward you can earn for the moral qualities you have achieved in your character and person, the emotional price paid by one man for the joy he receives from the virtues of another.

Read more at brainyquote.com

 

National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day
Feast Day of Saint Valentine, patron saint of lovers; invoked against epilepsy, plague, and fainting diseases

Language of Flowers

Many flowers express love in some way or other. They are popular for Valentine’s Day, but may be better for your budget than a dozen roses. Here is a partial list:

State flower of New York: RoseRoses: The red rose is the universal symbol of romantic love.

State Flower of Alaska: Alpine forget-me-notForget-Me-Not – These perennial flowers are a song of love or friendship. Pretty blue flowers are irresistible.

love in a mistLove-In-A-Mist – When you are in love, you’re on Cloud Nine.

cyclamensCyclamen – This popular Valentine’s Day gift has heart-shaped leaves. The most popular are varieties are those with red flowers.

February 14, 1779 – James Cook was killed by local people in the Hawaiian Islands.

1849 – In New York City, James Knox Polk became the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.

Oregon Crater LakeOregon Statehood Day, on February 14, 1859 Oregon became the thirty-third state

  • Capital: Salem
  • Nickname: Beaver State
  • Bird: Western Meadowlark
  • Flower: Oregon Grape
  • Tree: Douglas Fir
  • Motto: The Union

See our page on Oregon for more interesting facts and trivia about Oregon

On this day in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray.

Arizona Grand CanyonAdmission Day in Arizona , the forty-eighth state; admitted in 1912

  • Capital: Phoenix
  • Nickname: Grand Canyon State
  • Bird: Cactus Wren
  • Flower: Saguaro cactus blossom
  • Tree: Paloverde
  • Motto: God Enriches

See our page on the state of Arizona for more interesting facts and trivia about Arizona.

In 1924 the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).

The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone’s gang, were murdered in Chicago, Illinois.

Tidbits of History, February 6

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February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

Quote from Ayn Rand:

Rights are not a matter of numbers – and there can be no such thing, in law or in morality, as actions forbidden to an individual, but permitted to a mob.

Read more at brainyquote.com

 
National Chopsticks Day

Massachusetts Salem-MaritimeMassachusetts Ratification Day. In 1788 Massachusetts became the sixth state.

  • Capital: Boston
  • Nickname: Bay State/Old Colony
  • Motto: By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty
  • Artist – Norman Rockwell
  • Beverage – cranberry juice
  • Bird: Chickadee
  • Building and Monument Stone – granite
  • Cookie – chocolate chip cookie
  • Dessert – Boston cream pie
  • Flower: Mayflower
  • Gem – rhodonite
  • Historical Rock – Plymouth rock
  • Inventor – Ben Franklin
  • Sport – basketball
  • Tree: American Elm

See our page on the state of Massachusetts for more interesting facts and trivia about the state of Massachusetts

Babe Ruth, born February 6Birthday of George Herman (Babe) Ruth (February 6, 1895), American baseball player.

Birth of Ronald Reagan, February 6, 1911Birthday of Ronald Reagan (February 6, 1911), 40th president of the United States.

1918 Per The Fact Site In the United Kingdom, women over the age of 30 were granted the right to vote.

91st Birthday of my sister, a very good reason to celebrate this day!

February 6, 1952 – Queen Elizabeth II, February 6, 1952Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom became Queen upon the death of her father, King George VI, (Albert Frederick Arthur George) Per BBC.co.uk:

King George VIThe King had suffered a coronary thrombosis – a fatal blood clot to the heart – soon after falling asleep. He was also revealed to have been suffering from lung cancer.

He had always been a frail, nervous man, and had not expected to become King: but he was catapulted onto the throne by the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII.

Three years later, he was leading the country through the Second World War. His steadfastness won him the hearts of the people, most notably when he and his wife, Elizabeth, (who became the Queen Mother on his death), insisted on sharing the dangers of the Battle of Britain with the people of London.

However, the stressful nature of his accession to the throne, and the particularly traumatic times through which he led the country left him physically exhausted, and are thought to have contributed to his failing health and his early death.

Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, to become the longest-lived British monarch on 21 December 2007. She died Sept 8, 2022 and was succeeded by her son, Charles.

2012- The U.N. General Assembly announces February 6 as the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation. Senator Rand Paul talked at length about the ills of genital mutilation, saying it “is recognized internationally as a violation of international human rights,” and drew a comparison between that and gender confirmation surgeries.

January 29

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January 29 is:

National Puzzle Day

National Corn-chip Day

Birthday of Thomas Paine (January 29, 1737), American Revolutionary, author of “Common Sense”, “The Rights of Man”, and “The Age of Reason”

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #46: The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared written by James Madison in 1788. Madison writes of the advantages that State governments have over the Federal government in popular support and in resisting encroachments. He claims that the hypothetical conflicts put forward by the Anti-Federalists are “chimerical” or highly improbably, illusory. He points out that the ultimate control of both state and federal governments resides with the people. On the subject of a possible military takeover by the federal government, Madison proposes that the standing Army of the United States should be no more than 1% of the population (In 1790 the population was about 3 million so he proposed an Army of 30,000); or no more than 4% of the number able to bear arms; and that state militias would have about 500,000 men. The force of the federal government encroaching on the people could not stand up to the might of an armed citizenry.

Britain’s King George III died at Windsor Castle on January 29, 1820. He is believed to have been insane at the time of his death.

President McKinley shot, September 6, 1901Birthday of William McKinley (January 29, 1843), twenty-fifth president of the United States.

He was shot September 6, 1901 and died a week later. He was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.
Assassination of William McKinley

The Raven was published in the New York Evening Mirror on this date in 1845; the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.

Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door—
“‘Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”

Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.

Anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross in 1856 to reward individual acts of bravery.

Header-KansasKansas Day, on this day in 1861 Kansas became the thirty-fourth state.

  • Capital: Topeka
  • Nickname: Sunflower State
  • Motto: To the stars through difficulties
  • Amphibian – barred tiger salamander
  • Animal – American buffalo (bison)
  • Bird: Western meadowlark
  • Flower: Sunflower
  • Grass – little bluestem
  • Insect – honeybee
  • Language – English
  • Reptile – ornate box turtle
  • Soil – Harney silt loam
  • Kansas State Song – “Home on the Range” by Dr. Brewster Higley and Dan Kelly
  • Tree: Cottonwood

See our page for the state of Kansas for more interesting facts and trivia about Kansas.

Birthday of W.C. Fields (January 29, 1880), American comedian

The American League, consisting of eight baseball teams, was organized in Philadelphia on this day in 1900.

Anniversary of the establishment of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. The first five honorees were Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, and Babe Ruth.

On January 29, 1963, poet Robert Frost died in Boston.

January 26

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January 26 is:

Spouse’s Day

National Peanut Brittle Day

1564 – The Council of Trent issued its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. It is considered to be one of the Church’s most important councils. It specified Catholic doctrine on salvation, the sacraments, and the Biblical canon. The precepts agreed to have been affirmed by recent Popes.

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #45: The Alleged Danger From the Powers of the Union to the State Governments Considered written by James Madison in 1788. Madison declares that the Primary Purpose of government is the happiness of the people. He shows that states will “retain extensive portion of active sovereignty”. The federal government will be involved in war, peace, immigration, taxation, and trade. The states retain all other powers. Madison fortells the 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights which states that the federal government has only those powers delegated to it; all remaining powers are reserved for the states or the people. He refers to “Achaean League” and “Lycian Confederation” which were associations of Greek city-states which enjoyed “home rule”.

From Turkish Coalition of America:

In summary, the Lycian confederacy made three contributions to the American Constitution. First, it was a model of a federal union the strength of whose parts in the national councils is proportionate to their size. Second, it showed the possibility of popular government that was representative. Third, it offered the example of a strong national government with its own strong officers and the power to make laws that applied directly to individual citizens.

Madison never viewed a national government which would be involved in social issues (abortion, drinking and drug use, gay rights, etc.), education, minimum wages, fuel efficiency, global warming, light bulbs, seat belts, and all the other issues currently discussed at a federal level.

born January 26Birthday of Julia Grant (1826), wife of Ulysses S Grant; First Lady 1869-1877. Per Wikipedia:

As First Lady it was suggested to her that she have an operation to correct her crossed eyes, but President Grant said that he liked her that way.

Header-Michigan-Isle RoyaleMichigan Day On Jan 26, 1837 Michigan became the twenty-sixth state.

  • Capital: Lansing
  • Nickname: Great Lakes State/Wolverine State/Water Wonderland
  • Motto: If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.
  • Bird: Robin
  • Fish – brook trout
  • Flower: Apple blossom
  • Fossil – mastodon
  • Game Mammal – white-tailed deer
  • Gem – Isle Royal greenstone
  • Reptile – painted turtle
  • Stone – Petoskey stone
  • Tree: White Pine
  • Wildflower – dwarf lake iris

See our page for the state of Michigan for more interesting facts and trivia about Michigan.

Tennessee enacted the first prohibition law in the United States on Jan 26, 1838.

1855 – Point No Point Treaty was signed in Washington Territory. Point No Point is on the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula. The treaty was with the S’Klallam, the Chimakum, and the Skokomish tribes which ceded ownership of their land in exchange for a small reservation and payment of $60,000 from the federal government. The land is now owned jointly by the U. S. Coast Guard and a private landowner and is one of the best birdwatching sites in the state of Washington.

On January 26, 1870, the state of Virginia rejoined the Union.

On Jan. 26, 1880, Douglas MacArthur, the American general who achieved acclaim as a grand strategist in World War II and in Korea, was born.

The Rocky Mountain National Park was established by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1915.

1920 – Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launched the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.

Actor Paul Newman was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio on January 26, 1925. He died Sept 26, 2008 in Westport, Connecticut. As well as acting and directing, Paul Newman was a professional race car driver and enthusiast and co-founder of Newman’s Own, a food company from which all profits are donated to charity.

1956 – At Decca Records’ Nashville studios, Buddy Holly‘s first official recording session took place. “Blue Days, Black Nights” was recorded and became his debut single.

1988 The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Phantom of the Opera,” the longest-running show in Broadway history, opened at the Majestic Theater in New York.