Civil War
Army & Navy Issue
On December 15, 1936, the first of 10 stamps in the Army/Navy Set was issued. The stamps honor 18 military leaders from the Revolutionary War to Spanish-American War.
Birth of Joel Chandler Harris
Author Joel Chandler Harris was born on December 9, 1848, in Eatonton, Georgia.
Birth of Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney was born on December 8, 1765, in Westborough, Province of Massachusetts Bay.
Founding of the National Grange
On December 4, 1867, Oliver Hudson Kelley established the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. The Grange organized America’s farmers into a powerful political and economic group that lobbied for “Granger Laws.”
Statue of Freedom Completed
On December 2, 1863, the Statue of Freedom was placed atop the US Capitol to a 35-gun salute. The ceremony was held in the midst of the Civil War – President Lincoln had insisted the Capitol be completed as a symbol of American unity.
Washington & Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Celebrations
On November 26, 1789, the nation celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time under a presidential proclamation. Decades later, President Lincoln issued a similar proclamation that made the holiday permanent.
Founding of the American Turners
On November 21, 1848, the first American Turners gymnastic union was established in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Happy Birthday, President Garfield
The last of the “log cabin presidents,” James A. Garfield was born November 19, 1831, near Cleveland, Ohio, to impoverished farmers.
Birth of Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Suffragist and abolitionist Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born on November 12, 1815, in Johnstown, New York.