Topic: U.S. Congress

Mar 4,

1789

U.S. Constitution Takes Effect; America’s Great Experiment in Democracy Begins

Mar 3,

1903

Anarchists Stay Out! : Restrictive Immigration Law Becomes A Model for Future Laws

Aug 17,

1915

Leo Frank Lynched – Anti-Semitism Rises

Nov 25,

1915

Cross Burned on Stone Mountain, Georgia – KKK Revived

Mar 4,

1917

Jeannette Rankin Takes Seat as the First Woman in the U.S. Congress; Votes Against U.S. Entry in Both World Wars

Apr 6,

1917

Congress Declares War – Suppression of Civil Liberties Begins

Apr 18,

1918

Dyer Anti-lynching Bill Introduced in House

Nov 10,

1919

Victor Berger Expelled From House of Representatives for Socialist, Anti-War Views

Mar 4,

1929

Rep. Oscar De Priest Takes His Seat in the House; First African-American in the 20th Century

Mar 23,

1932

Organized Labor Gains First Amendment Rights

Mar 21,

1934

Rep. Oscar De Priest Challenges Segregation at Capitol Building Restaurant

Nov 3,

1936

Dennis Chavez First Hispanic Elected to the U.S. Senate

Mar 2,

1939

Massachusetts Ratifies Bill of Rights – 148 Years Late

Feb 21,

1940

Civil Rights Leader and U.S. Representative John Lewis is Born in Troy, Alabama

Dec 28,

1942

Congress Officially Adopts Pledge of Allegiance

Jul 17,

1945

Congress Refuses to Extend Committee on Fair Employment Practices

Nov 5,

1946

Joe McCarthy Elected to Senate – “McCarthyism” Lies Ahead

Mar 12,

1947

Cold War Begins: Truman Doctrine Announced

Jul 26,

1947

President Truman Signs National Security Act – Creates CIA

Dec 14,

1947

National Security Council Issues First Covert Action Order to CIA

Feb 19,

1948

Virginia Senator Byrd Compares President Truman’s Civil Rights Plan to Hitler and Stalin

Mar 30,

1948

A. Philip Randolph Threatens to Advise Young African-American Men Not to Register for a Segregated Draft

Jun 18,

1948

CIA Gets Covert Action Authority

Sep 13,

1948

Margaret Chase Smith First Woman Elected to Serve in Both Houses of Congress

Jun 20,

1949

Congress Explicitly Grants Secrecy to the CIA

Mar 29,

1950

Lavender Scare: Senator Claims “Thousands” of Homosexuals in Federal Government

Jun 1,

1950

Senator Margaret Chase Smith Denounces Joe McCarthy – And is Punished by GOP

Jun 26,

1950

Anti-Communist Congress for Cultural Freedom Formed

Apr 23,

1952

Mississippi Rep. John Rankin Slurs Jews on the House Floor

Nov 4,

1952

National Security Agency (NSA) Begins Operation

Apr 13,

1953

CIA Launches MKULTRA – Secret Drug Experiments Project

Aug 19,

1953

CIA-engineered Coup Overthrows Government in Iran

Feb 18,

1954

Cover-up: CIA Not Required to Report Criminal Conduct

Apr 21,

1954

Danger! Comic Books!

Sep 30,

1954

Rationale for Secrecy and Lawlessness: The Cold War is “A Different Kind of War”

Dec 2,

1954

Senate Censures Joe McCarthy

Jan 4,

1956

Senate Subcommittee Investigates The New York Times for Alleged Communist Influence

Apr 11,

1956

CIA Narrowly Escapes Closer Senate Oversight

Mar 15,

1960

Julian Bond Leads Atlanta’s First Sit-In

Oct 19,

1960

Martin Luther King Arrested in Georgia – Leads to Famous JFK Phone Call

Jan 9,

1961

Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes, First African-Americans to Enroll at University of Georgia

Mar 7,

1961

Sit-In Victory: Atlanta Stores Desegregate Lunch Counters

Mar 13,

1962

Joint Chiefs Recommend Outrageous Anti-Castro Terrorist Acts

Mar 26,

1962

Legislative Apportionment a “Justiciable” Issue

Jan 14,

1963

Governor George Wallace: “Segregation Now, Segregation Tomorrow, Segregation Forever”

Jun 9,

1964

CIA Pressures Publisher of Second-Ever Book on Agency

Sep 3,

1964

Secret CIA Funding of Private Foundations Revealed, But No Outrage Follows

Sep 2,

1966

Gov. George Wallace Signs Law Declaring Federal School Desegregation Regulations “Null and Void”

Nov 8,

1966

Edward W. Brooke First African-American Popularly Elected to U. S. Senate

Dec 5,

1966

Supreme Court Orders Georgia Legislature to Seat Julian Bond

Jan 9,

1967

Civil Rights Leader Julian Bond Sworn in as Georgia State Legislator

Jan 23,

1967

Georgia’s Jury System Declared Discriminatory

Feb 15,

1967

“Ramparts” Magazine Exposes Secret CIA Funding of U.S. Student Group

Mar 29,

1967

LBJ Bars Secret CIA Funding of Private Groups

Dec 22,

1967

CIA Delivers Second Report on Anti-War Dissent

Jan 5,

1968

CIA Sends President Johnson Third Report on Student Dissent

Apr 11,

1968

Congress Passes Anti-Riot Act

Apr 11,

1968

Congress Passes Fair Housing Act

Sep 4,

1968

CIA Delivers “Restless Youth” Report on U.S. Peace Groups

Nov 5,

1968

Shirley Chisholm First African-American Woman Elected to the House of Representatives

Dec 24,

1970

Congress Passes Family Planning Services Act

Mar 30,

1971

Congressional Black Caucus Organized

May 7,

1973

The “Family Jewels:” CIA Director Orders Full Report on CIA Misdeeds

Nov 7,

1973

Congress Overrides Nixon Veto – Passes War Powers Resolution

Jun 25,

1974

Supreme Court Rejects Taxpayer Challenge to CIA Secrecy

Dec 22,

1974

New York Times Exposes Massive CIA Spying on Americans

Dec 31,

1974

Congress Passes Federal Privacy Act

Jan 4,

1975

President Ford Appoints Rockefeller Commission to Investigate CIA Abuses

Jan 27,

1975

Senate Creates Church Committee to Investigate Abuses by Intelligence Agencies

Feb 19,

1975

House Creates Pike Committee to Investigate Abuses by the CIA, other Agencies

Apr 28,

1975

Daniel Schorr Reveals CIA Assassination Plots on National TV

Jul 18,

1975

Senator Church Calls CIA “Rogue Elephant”

Jan 29,

1976

House Suppresses Pike Committee Report on CIA Abuses

Feb 16,

1976

“The CIA Report the President Doesn’t Want You to Read”

Feb 18,

1976

Cover-up Ends: CIA Required to Report Criminal Actions By Agents to DOJ

Feb 18,

1976

President Ford Bans Assassinations by CIA

Feb 19,

1976

Daniel Schorr Faces Charges for Leaking Pike Committee Report

Sep 14,

1976

National Emergencies Act Limits Presidential Power

Jul 15,

1977

CIA Director Admits Documents on Secret Drug Experiments Were Destroyed

Sep 30,

1978

Belmont Report: Protection of Human Subjects in Research

Aug 3,

1982

Michael Hardwick Arrested in Bed for Sodomy Law Violation – Heads to Supreme Court

Jan 17,

1996

Barbara Jordan Dies; Feminist, Texas Civil Rights Advocate

Nov 7,

2000

Congress Passes “Wartime Violations of Italian-Americans Act”

Feb 2,

2001

John Ashcroft, Hostile to Civil Liberties, Becomes Attorney General

Sep 14,

2001

War on Terror: Congress Passes Joint Resolution on Use of Force

Oct 26,

2001

Congress Passes the USA PATRIOT Act – Civil Liberties Violations Follow

Jan 11,

2002

Guantanamo Bay Detention Center Opens – Abuses Follow

Jun 13,

2005

Senate Apologizes for Never Passing Anti-Lynching Law

Jun 26,

2007

Full CIA “Family Jewels” Report Released

Jan 21,

2008

John Lewis Returns to Scene of 1961 Freedom Ride Beating; Reconciles with Attacker

Jul 7,

2012

Rep. Barney Frank Marries Longtime Partner

Nov 6,

2012

Tammy Baldwin Elected First Openly Lesbian/Gay U.S. Senator

Oct 10,

2015

CIA Documents Reveal Role of Chile in 1976 Assassination on U.S Soil and CIA Role in Cover-Up

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