The Compromise was actually a series of bills passed mainly to address issues related to slavery. The bills provided for slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty in the admission of new states, prohibited the slave trade in the District of Columbia, settled a Texas boundary dispute, and established a stricter fugitive slave act. This [...]

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 [...]

On August 1, 1868, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia with this check for $7.2 million. For less than 2 cents an acre, the United States acquired nearly 600,000 square miles. On January 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th state.