25 Years Ago

January 25-26, 1978 A Midwest blizzard kills 100 people; on February 5-7 a New England blizzard kills 60 more.

March 25, 1978 The nation’s coal miners end a 110-day strike, their longest ever.

50 Years Ago

January 2, 1953 A Senate subcommittee reports that some of Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s anti-Communist activities have been “motivated by self-interest.”

January 21, 1953 A federal jury convicts 13 Communist leaders of conspiring to advocate the overthrow of the U.S. government.

100 Years Ago

February 14, 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt signs an act of Congress creating the Department of Commerce and Labor. In 1913 it will be split into two departments.

March 22, 1903 The Anthracite Coal Commission, appointed by President Roosevelt in October, recommends shorter hours, a wage increase, and an end to restrictions on union membership.

125 Years Ago

January 10, 1878 A constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote is introduced in Congress. It will be reintroduced every session until it passes in 1919 and is ratified in 1920 with the wording unchanged.

200 Years Ago

February 24, 1803 In Marbury v. Madison , the U.S. Supreme Court declares an act of Congress void for the first time.

225 Years Ago

February 6, 1778 French and American diplomats sign a pair of treaties cementing their alliance against Great Britain.

February 14, 1778 The French ship Admiral La Motte Picquet fires a salute to the Continental Navy’s Ranger. It is the first foreign ship to salute the Stars and Stripes.