Video: 'British North America Act creates the Dominion of Canada'
(Friday, March 29, 1867) — Britain’s Parliament passed, and Queen Victoria signed, the British North America Act today, creating the Dominion of Canada, which came into being July 1, 1867. Continue reading British North America Act creates the Dominion of Canada 150 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 29 1867)
Video: 'Nebraska 150 Sesquicentennial'
(Friday, March 1, 1867) — Nebraska, which lies in both the Great Plains and the Midwestern United States, became the 37th state today as President Andrew Johnson reluctantly signed a proclamation. Continue reading Nebraska becomes 37th state 150 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 1 1867)
(Tuesday, January 8, 1867; during the Reconstruction Era) — The U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate today in overriding President Andrew Johnson’s veto of the District of Columbia Suffrage Bill, giving African-American men in the nation’s capital the right to vote.
It was the first law in U.S. history that extended the ballot to African-American men.
Video: 'The End of the Civil War (August 20) | This Day in History #20'
(Monday, August 20, 1866; during the Reconstruction Era) — Months after fighting in the American Civil War had ended, President Andrew Johnson today issued Proclamation 157, which declared that “peace, order, tranquility, and civil authority now exist in and throughout the whole of the United States of America.” Continue reading President Andrew Johnson formally declares American Civil War over 150 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 20 1866)
(Tuesday, July 24, 1866; during the Reconstruction Era) — Tennessee today became the first state to be readmitted to the Union after the Civil War, six days after ratifying the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed citizenship rights to former slaves.
Video: 'Memphis Riot of 1866 Digital Story'
(Tuesday, May 1, 1866, at about 4:00 p.m. local time; during the Reconstruction Era) — Three days of race-related rioting erupted today in Memphis, Tennessee, as white mobs targeted blacks, 46 of whom were killed, along with two whites. Continue reading Three days of race-related rioting erupts in Memphis 150 years ago today (May 1 1866)
Video: 'Henry Bergh and the Founding of ASPCA'
(Tuesday, April 10, 1866) — Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) today in New York City on the belief that animals are entitled to kind and respectful treatment at the hands of humans, and must be protected under the law.
Video: 'Ku Klux Klan - A Secret History' (Dec. 24, 1865, at 10:22)
(Sunday, December 24, 1865, Christmas Eve) — Six veterans of the Confederate Army formed a private social club today in Pulaski, Tennessee, that was the original version of the Ku Klux Klan.
Video: 'The 13th Amendment Explained: The Constitution for Dummies'
(Monday, December 18, 1865) — The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect today by Secretary of State William H. Seward, having been ratified by three-quarters of the states (including those in secession) as of Dec. 6, 1865.
Slavery is legally outlawed in the last two slave states of Kentucky and Delaware and the remaining 45,000 slaves are freed.
Video: 'Schubert: Unfinished Symphony No.8'
(Sunday, December 17, 1865) — Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8, known as the “Unfinished” because only two movements had been completed, was first performed publicly today in Vienna, 37 years after the composer’s death.
