Posted by
Defend America on Sunday, August 02, 2009 6:00:10 AM
August 2,
1776
Delegates sign Declaration of Independence
On this day in 1776, members of Congress affix their signatures to an enlarged copy of the Declaration of Independence.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=50678
August 2, 1861
First income tax is passed
The
United States Congress passes the first income tax to raise revenues
for the war effort. Although never enacted, it was an important fiscal
innovation that paved the way for growth of the government in the 20th
century.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=2270
August 2,
1923
Harding dies before scandals break
In
a hotel in San Francisco, President Warren G. Harding dies of a stroke
at the age of 58. Harding was returning from a presidential tour of
Alaska and the West Coast, a journey some believed he had embarked on
to escape the rumors circulating in Washington of corruption in his
administration.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=5226
1939 - U.S. President Roosevelt signed the Hatch Act. The act prohibited
civil service employees from taking an active part in political
campaigns.
1939 - Albert Einstein signed a letter to President Roosevelt urging
the U.S. to have an atomic weapons research program.
August 2,
1945
Potsdam Conference concludes
The
last wartime conference of the "Big Three"--the Soviet Union, the
United States, and Great Britain--concludes after two weeks of intense
and sometimes acrimonious debate. The conference failed to settle most
of the important issues at hand and thus helped set the stage for the
Cold War that would begin shortly after World War II came to an end.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=2747
1974 - John Dean was sentenced to 1-4 years in prison for his
involvement in the Watergate cover-up.