Video: 'Thomas Jefferson - Mini Biography'

(Tuesday, July 4, 1826, 12:30 p.m. local time) — Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States (1801–1809), an American Founding Father who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, died today at his plantation estate Monticello near Charlottesville, Virginia, of diarrhea, toxemia from a kidney infection, uremia from kidney damage and pneumonia. Continue reading Former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson dies near Charlottesville, Virginia 190 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (July 4 1826) →

Video: 'Bill Moyers Essay: The Freedom of Information Act'

(Monday, July 4 1966) — President Lyndon B. Johnson today signed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government, which went into effect the following year.

Video: 'Liberty Weekend July 3 1986 Pt 1' (Reagan spoke at 9:28 p.m. and 11:04 p.m.; the torch was lit at 11:08 p.m.)

(Thursday, July 3, 1986, evening EDT; during Liberty Weekend) — With the eyes of America on its most cherished symbol of freedom, the city and the nation rededicated the Statue of Liberty in a blaze of light tonight, marking its centennial as a beacon of hope in New York Harbor. Continue reading Nation rekindles Statue of Liberty as beacon of hope 30 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (July 3 1986) →

(Thursday, June 29, 1876) — Governor Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana was almost unanimously nominated vice president today on the first ballot at the 1876 Democratic National Convention meeting at the Merchants Exchange Building in St. Louis. Continue reading Democrats nominate Thomas A. Hendricks for vice president 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (June 29 1876) →

(Wednesday, June 28, 1876) — Governor Samuel J. Tilden of New York was unanimously nominated president on the second ballot today at the 1876 Democratic National Convention meeting at the Merchants Exchange Building in St. Louis. Continue reading Democrats nominate Samuel J. Tilden for president 140 years ago today (June 28 1876) →

Video: '#04 James Madison'

(Tuesday, June 28, 1836, 6:00 a.m. local time) — James Madison, the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817), hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, died today at his plantation estate Montpelier near Orange, Virginia, of heart failure. Madison was 85.

Video: 'Democratic Convention 1936'

(Saturday, June 27, 1936, 10:00 p.m. EDT) — Under a cloud-veiled moon, in skies suddenly cleared of rain, to a mass of more than 100,000 people gathered in the stadium of the University of Pennsylvania, and by radio to unnumbered millions all over the nation and world, Franklin Delano Roosevelt tonight accepted the renomination of the Democratic party for President of the United States and, avoiding personalities of any description, defined the issue of this campaign as it appears to him (click here for full audio and a transcript of FDR’s speech). Continue reading FDR accepts Democratic nomination for a second term 80 years ago this hour (June 27 1936) →

Video: 'Scenes from the 1936 Democratic Party National Convention in Philadelphia HD Stock Footage'

(Saturday, June 27, 1936, 12:42 a.m. EDT) — President Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York was nominated for a second term by acclamation this morning at the 1936 Republican National Convention meeting at Convention Hall in Philadelphia. Continue reading Democrats nominate FDR for a second term 80 years ago this hour (June 27 1936) →

Video: 'Fred M. Vinson Sworn In'

(Monday, June 24, 1946) — Fred M. Vinson, retiring Secretary of the Treasury, was sworn in as thirteenth Chief Justice of the United States today (succeeding the late Harlan F. Stone) at an unusual ceremony on the South Portico of the White House, where President Harry S. Truman said that the traditional respect of Americans for the courts would be enhanced by Vinson’s service on the bench.

Video: 'Documentary American Experience JFK Like No Other Part I' (June 18, 1946, at 43:50)

(Tuesday, June 18, 1946) — John F. Kennedy, seeking his first public office, won today’s Democratic primary for the 11th Congressional seat in Massachusetts, out polling his nearest rival Mike Neville 19,426 votes to 10,875 votes to face Republican Lester Bowen in the general election.