Video: 'Presidential Veto Power Explained'
(Thursday, April 5, 1792) — U.S. President George Washington exercised his power to veto legislation for the first time in the nation’s history today when he refused to sign a bill designed to apportion members of the House. Continue reading George Washington casts first presidential veto in U.S. history 230 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 5 1792)
Video: 'WATERGATE AFFAIR BBC DOKUMENTATION 1994' ('Operation Gemstone' approved at 34:42)
(Thursday, March 30, 1972; during the Watergate scandal) — Former U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell, having assumed his new duties as head of the Committee to Re-elect the President on Mar. 1, 1972, allegedly approved “Operation Gemstone,” a proposed series of illegal activities to support the re-election of President Richard Nixon, including electronic surveillance (i.e. bugging telephones), during a meeting today in Key Biscayne, Florida. Continue reading Nixon re-election team approves illegal surveillance of political enemies 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 30 1972)
Video: 'PBS - American Experience - Truman (1997) 5of5' (Mar. 29, 1952, at 44:57)
(Saturday, March 29, 1952, 10:30 p.m. EST; during the 1952 Democratic Party presidential primaries) — President Harry S. Truman, president of the United States since the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on Apr. 12, 1945, dramatically announced tonight that he would not be a candidate for re-election and would not accept the nomination if he were drafted by the Democratic convention. Continue reading U.S. President Harry S. Truman announces whether he’ll seek a third term 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 29 1952)
Video: 'John C. Calhoun'
(Monday, March 18, 1782) — John C. Calhoun, the seventh vice president of the United States who served under presidents John Q. Adams (1825-1829) and Andrew Jackson (1829-1832) while adamantly defending slavery and protecting the interests of the white South, was born John Caldwell Calhoun today in Abbeville District, South Carolina. Continue reading U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun born 240 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 18 1782)
Video: 'Television & the Presidency Part 8' (Feb. 26, 1972, at 3:40)
(Saturday, February 26, 1972, morning EST; during the 1972 Democratic Party presidential primaries) — Two Saturdays before the March 7, 1972, first-in-the-nation presidential primary in New Hampshire, U.S. Senator Edmund S. Muskie, the favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972, delivered a speech today in front of the offices of the Manchester Union Leader, calling its publisher, William Loeb, a liar and lambasting him for impugning the character of Muskie’s wife, Jane. Continue reading Democratic presidential favorite Edmund Muskie appears to break down while attacking newspaper publisher 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 26 1972)
Video: 'George Washington: America’s First President & the Birth of a Nation | Full Documentary | Biography'
(Tuesday, February 22, 1732) — George Washington, an American soldier, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797, was born today at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Continue reading U.S. President George Washington born at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia 290 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 22 1732)
Video: 'History: Feb 1972 President Nixon to China (4/6) 1972/2/21' (Nixon meets with Mao at 6:29)
(Monday, February 21, 1972, 2:50-3:55 p.m. China Standard Time; during the 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China and the Cold War) — Three hours and 20 minutes after he arrived in Beijing, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon’s week-long summit conference in China quickly reached a high point today with a surprise meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong, the enshrined leader of the Communist rulers of China. Continue reading Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong hosts U.S. President Richard Nixon in Beijing 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 21 1972)
Video: 'Nixon in China: The Week that Changed the World' (Feb. 21, 1972, at 1:51)
(Monday, February 21, 1972, 11:30 a.m. China Standard Time; during the 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China and the Cold War) — President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, arrived in Beijing this morning to mark the end of a generation of hostility between the United States and China and to begin a new but still undefined relationship between the most powerful (the U.S.) and the most populous (China) of nations on Earth.. Continue reading U.S. President Richard Nixon begins historic visit to People’s Republic of China as he arrives in Beijing 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 21 1972)
Video: 'The Death of Willie Lincoln'
(Thursday, February 20, 1862, 5:00 p.m. local time; during the American Civil War) — William Wallace “Willie” Lincoln, the third son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, died today of typhoid fever at the White House in Washington, D.C. He was only 11 years old. Continue reading President Abraham Lincoln’s third son, 11-year-old Willie, dies of typhoid fever at the White House 160 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 20 1862)
Video: 'Executive Order 9066: A Shameful Moment In WW2 America | Silent Sacrifice Part 1 | Timeline
(Thursday, February 19, 1942; during the internment of Japanese Americans, part of World War II) — President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 today, authorizing the secretary of war to prescribe certain areas as military zones and clearing the way for about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of whom lived on the Pacific Coast, to be forcibly relocated and incarcerated in concentration camps in the western interior of the country. Continue reading President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes relocation and internment of Japanese Americans 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 19 1942)
