Act to Authorize Purchase of Land at West Point

On January 23, 1964, this act was approved by President Lyndon B. Johnson, renaming the planned National Cultural Center to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as a “living memorial” to the slain president.

Following the assassination of President James A. Garfield by a disgruntled job seeker, Congress passed the Pendleton Act, establishing a merit-based system of selecting government officials and supervising their work. It was signed into law on January 16, 1883, by President Chester A. Arthur, who had become an ardent reformer after Garfield’s assassination.

Approved by President George Washington on January 13, 1794, this act called for the Flag of the United States to have fifteen stripes and fifteen stars, reflecting the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union. Faced with the admission of five more states in 1818, the flag design would return to the original thirteen [...]