1789

Today in History 11/20 (US Bill of Rights)

Copy of the Bill of Rights (© Aaron Haupt/Getty Images)(1789) New Jersey becomes first state to ratify the Bill of Rights
New Jersey ratifies the Bill of Rights, a collection of amendments written by James Madison to ease concerns that the US Constitution had invested the federal government with too much power. New Jersey does, however, reject one of the original 12 amendments: Article II, which regulated congressional pay raises.
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the oftentimes bitter 1787–88 battle over ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and crafted to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists, the Bill of Rights amendments add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically delegated to Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. The concepts codified in these amendments are built upon those found in several earlier documents, including the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the English Bill of Rights 1689, along with earlier documents such as Magna Carta. In practice, the amendments had little impact on judgements by the courts for the first 150 years after ratification.
The Bill of Rights, twelve articles of amendment to the to the United States Constitution proposed in 1789, ten of which, Articles three through twelve, became part of the United States Constitution in 1791. Note that the First Amendment is actually
The Bill of Rights, twelve articles of amendment to the to the United States Constitution proposed in 1789, ten of which, Articles three through twelve, became part of the United States Constitution in 1791. Note that the First Amendment is actually “Article the third” on the document, Second Amendment is “Article the fourth”, and so on. “Article the second” is now the 27th Amendment. “Article the first” has not been ratified.
wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights
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(1789) New Jersey becomes first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
Also on this day,

1820 | Sperm whale sinks whaling ship
An 80-ton sperm whale rams and sinks a whaleship, the Essex, from Massachusetts. Twenty crewmembers escape in open boats, but only five will survive the harrowing three months adrift; three others will be rescued off an island. Herman Melville will base his novel ‘Moby-Dick’ on this true-life tale.
1945 | Nazi leaders go on trial for World War II atrocities as Nuremburg Trials begin
Judges from the US, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union preside over the military tribunals in Nuremburg opening today to try Nazi officials for crimes against humanity, among other charges. Twelve Nazi leaders will be sentenced to death. Adolf Hitler won’t be among them, having already shot himself.
1995 | Princess Diana admits she had an affair
Britain’s Princess Diana speaks candidly about her troubled marriage with Prince Charles in a widely watched BBC interview. Diana admits to infidelity and talks about her struggles with depression and bulimia. She also predicts she will never be queen of England, but hopes to be “queen of people’s hearts.”

Today in History 11/20/17

Hans Frank, standing, makes his final plea to the court at the International Military Tribunals in Nuremberg, Germany in 1946 (© War Department/AP)(1945) Nazi leaders go on trial for World War II atrocities
Judges from the US, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union preside over the military tribunals in Nuremburg opening today to try Nazi officials for crimes against humanity, among other charges. Twelve Nazi leaders will be sentenced to death. Adolf Hitler won't be among them, having already shot himself.
The Nuremberg trials were a series of military tribunals held by the Allied forces under international law and the laws of war after World War II. The trials were most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, judicial and economic leadership of Nazi Germany, who planned, carried out, or otherwise participated in the Holocaust and other war crimes. The trials were held in the city of Nuremberg, Germany, and their decisions marked a turning point between classical and contemporary international law.
Start date: Nov 20, 1945
End date: Oct 01, 1946

Jackson Nuremberg
Chief American prosecutor Robert H. Jackson addresses the Nuremberg court. 20 November 1945.

wiki/Nuremberg_trials
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Today in History 09/25 (Little Rock Nine)

Federal troops escort black students as they arrive at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, September 1957 (© AP)(1957) It takes an army to integrate an Arkansas school
Battling racial prejudice in an almost literal way, the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division escorts nine African American students into classes at Little Rock, Arkansas’ Central High School. President Eisenhower called out the troops after the governor blocked court-mandated integration.
The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Movies: Nine from Little Rock

Operation Arkansas
Operation Arkansas: A Different Kind of Deployment Photo by Courtesy of the National Archives September 20, 2007 Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division escort the Little Rock Nine students into the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Ark.
wiki/Little_Rock_Nine
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(1957) It takes an army to integrate an Arkansas school.
Also on this day,

1789 | Bill of Rights adopted as amendments aim to form a more perfect union
The US Congress passes 12 amendments to the nation’s constitution, ensuring protections for individual liberties, including the freedom of speech and the press, the right to assembly, and the right to exercise religion. Ten of the amendments, comprising the Bill of Rights, will be ratified by the states.
1970 | ‘The Partridge Family’ says hello, world
‘The Partridge Family’ introduces America to the fictional family band and their groovy tour bus. The show will run for four seasons, launching the careers of Danny Bonaduce, Susan Dey, and teen idol David Cassidy, as well as producing a few hit records.
1983 | Massive Maze prison break in Northern Ireland
Thirty-eight armed prisoners bolt from Northern Ireland’s infamous, and supposedly “escape-proof,” Maze Prison in the biggest jailbreak in Britain’s history. Primarily housing IRA members, the Irish rebels will dub the large breakout the ‘Great Escape’ and consider it a victory for their cause.

Today in History 09/25/17

An original manuscript of the Bill of Rights on display in New Jersey (© Mel Evans/AP)(1789) Amendments aim to form a more perfect union
The US Congress passes 12 amendments to the nation's constitution, ensuring protections for individual liberties, including the freedom of speech and the press, the right to assembly, and the right to exercise religion. Ten of the amendments, comprising the Bill of Rights, will be ratified by the states.

The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the oftentimes bitter 1787–88 battle over ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and crafted to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists, the Bill of Rights amendments add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically delegated to Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. The concepts codified in these amendments are built upon those found in several earlier documents, including the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the English Bill of Rights 1689, along with earlier documents such as Magna Carta (1215). In practice, the amendments had little impact on judgements by the courts for the first 150 years after ratification.

On June 8, 1789, Representative James Madison introduced nine amendments to the constitution in the House of Representatives. Among his recommendations Madison proposed opening up the Constitution and inserting specific rights limiting the power of Congress in Article One, Section 9. Seven of these limitations would become part of the ten ratified Bill of Rights amendments. Ultimately, on September 25, 1789, Congress approved twelve articles of amendment to the Constitution, each consisting of one one-sentence paragraph, and submitted them to the states for ratification. Contrary to Madison's original proposal that the articles be incorporated into the main body of the Constitution, they were proposed as supplemental additions (codicils) to it. Articles Three through Twelve were ratified as additions to the Constitution on December 15, 1791, and became Amendments One through Ten of the Constitution. Article Two became part of the Constitution on May 5, 1992, as the Twenty-seventh Amendment. Article One is technically still pending before the states.

Although Madison's proposed amendments included a provision to extend the protection of some of the Bill of Rights to the states, the amendments that were finally submitted for ratification applied only to the federal government. The door for their application upon state governments was opened in the 1860s, following ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. Since the early 20th century both federal and state courts have used the Fourteenth Amendment to apply portions of the Bill of Rights to state and local governments. The process is known as incorporation.

There are several original engrossed copies of the Bill of Rights still in existence. One of these is on permanent public display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.


Bill of Rights Pg1of1 AC
The Bill of Rights, twelve articles of amendment to the to the United States Constitution proposed in 1789, ten of which, Articles three through twelve, became part of the United States Constitution in 1791. Note that the First Amendment is actually "Article the third" on the document, Second Amendment is "Article the fourth", and so on. "Article the second" is now the 27th Amendment. "Article the first" has not been ratified

wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights
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