Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States and provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to [...]

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.

In this secret message of January 18, 1803, President Jefferson asked Congress for $2,500 to explore the West–all the way to the Pacific Ocean. At the time, the territory did not belong to the United States. Congress agreed to fund the expedition that would be led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

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 [...]

Facing severe shortages in the fight against Nazi Germany, Great Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill appealed to President Franklin Roosevelt to find a way for the United States to continue to aid Britain. Introduced with the patrioric bill number "1776" on January 10, 1941, Congress passed this act following two months of debate and it [...]