Politics

After more than eight years of fighting, the American Revolutionary War came to and end on September 3, 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was passed, granting women’s suffrage. The amendment says: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” More than just a victory for women, it was, as the Kansas City Star proclaimed, “a victory for democracy and the principle of equality upon which the nation was founded.”

On August 10, 1821, President James Monroe signed legislation adding Missouri to the Union as our 24th state. When the U.S. took ownership of Missouri, most of the land had already been explored. Many communities had already been founded, and farming and mineral industries had been developed. Missouri was made a part of Upper Louisiana; then, in 1812, the Missouri Territory was organized.

Barack Hussein Obama II was born August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Obama won the 2008 presidential election over Republican John McCain with 52.9% of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes, making him the United States’ first African American President.

On August 1, 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant signed legislation admitting Colorado to the Union as the Centennial State (it was admitted 28 days after the 100th anniversary of the United States).

Esteemed statesman Henry Clay died on June 29, 1852, after nearly 50 years in politics.

Robert F. (Bobby) Kennedy was shot by an assassin on June 5, 1968, and died from his wounds early the next day.

Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America, was born on June 3, 1808, in Fairview, Kentucky.

America’s first First Lady was born Martha Dandridge on June 2, 1731 (by the Old Style calendar), on her parents’ Chestnut Grove Plantation near Williamsburg, Virginia.