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This Week in HistoryOn March 9, 1841...The Supreme Court ruled that the slaves who rebelled and killed their owners aboard the Spanish schooner La Amistad were in fact "unlawfully kidnapped, and forcibly and wrongfully carried on board". The decision freed the slaves who were on trial for murder. The main finding of the court was that the ownership of the slaves was in question. Since they were not "owned" yet by a slave owner, that means they were individuals who had basic rights violated. The 35 free Africans went back to Africa the following year. Former President John Quincy Adams co-represented the Africans, giving an 8 and a half hour speech to the Court. On March 9, 1862... The first titanic showdown of the ironclads in the Civil War occurred in the Battle of Hampton Roads. The USS Monitor fought for the Union, while the Confederates had the CSS Virginia which was built using the hulk from the USS Merrimack. The battle didn't have a conclusive winner between the two ironclads, however, the Virginia did not succeed in its mission to disrupt the Union blockade. The two ironclads would continue to square off, creating a new style of naval warfare. On March 8, 1796... Oliver Ellsworth was appointed to the Supreme Court by President George Washington On March 8, 1874... Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States, died from the after-effects of a stroke. He is buried in his hometown of Buffalo, NY. On March 8, 1930... President William Taft died from illness. He had just retired from being Chief Justice, due to failing health, the previous month. Taft was the first President buried in Arlington National Cemetery. On March 8, 1965... 3,500 United States Marines were deployed to South Vietnam. This marked the beginning of the American ground war in the Vietnam War. These troops were dispatched in order to provide ground support to U.S. Air Force bases, which were conducting air strikes. The number of U.S. military increased to 200,000 by the year's end. On March 7, 1876... Alexander Graham Bell, at age 29, received a patent for his newest invention, the telephone. On March 6, 1836... Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna recaptured the Alamo after a thirteen-day siege; the Mexican army suffered an estimated 600 casualties. The Alamo was armed with 187 men defending against an invading force of 6,000 men under Santa Anna's control. On March 5, 1770... British troops killed five people in a brawl between troops and civilians, which led the troops to firing their musket into the rioting crowd. This event, called the Boston Massacre, was a powerful spark that led to the Revolutionary War. On March 4, 1789... The United States officially replaced the Articles of Confederation with the new United States Constitution. The Articles of Confederation had governed the U.S. from 1781 to 1789. The Constitution was actually completed in 1787, however, it took time for sufficient states to ratify it, as well as to plan the transition. On March 4, 1874... Morrison Remick Waite was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ulysses S. Grant On March 4, 1893... Howell Edmunds Jackson was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Benjamin Harrison On March 4, 1791... Vermont was added to the Union On March 3, 1845... Florida was added to the Union On March 3, 1931... "The Star Spangled Banner", developed from a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, was made the official national anthem by a Congressional Resolution. On March 3, 1847... Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone and many other inventions, was born. |
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