This week in American history saw the official adoption of its National Anthem and the first sessions of the U.S. Congress, alongside the somber events of the Civil Rights Movement, such as the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma. These seven days reflect a country constantly defining its identity through law, protest, and artistic expression.
March 3
- The “Star-Spangled Banner” Becomes the National Anthem (1931): President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act making Francis Scott Key’s War of 1812 poem, set to music, the official anthem of the United States.
- Florida Becomes the 27th State (1845): Florida was admitted to the Union as a slave state, balancing the admission of Iowa as a free state later that year, illustrating the growing sectional tensions of the era.
March 4
- First Meeting of the U.S. Congress (1789): The new federal government began operations under the U.S. Constitution as the first Congress convened at Federal Hall in New York City.
- Abraham Lincoln’s First Inauguration (1861): Facing a nation on the brink of civil war, Lincoln was sworn in as the 16th President, famously pleading in his address, “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.”
March 5
- The Boston Massacre (1770): A deadly confrontation erupted between British soldiers and a crowd of colonists in Boston, resulting in five deaths and fueling the revolutionary fire that would lead to American independence.
- The Iron Curtain Speech (1946): Though delivered by Winston Churchill, this speech in Fulton, Missouri, set the stage for American Cold War foreign policy, famously stating that an “iron curtain” had descended across Europe.
March 6
- The Fall of the Alamo (1836): After a 13-day siege, Mexican forces under Santa Anna stormed the San Antonio mission. The death of nearly all its Texan defenders became a rallying cry for the Texas Revolution and later American expansion.
- The Dred Scott Decision (1857): The Supreme Court issued one of its most infamous rulings, declaring that Black Americans could not be citizens and that Congress had no power to forbid slavery in U.S. territories.
March 7
- “Bloody Sunday” in Selma (1965): Civil rights marchers led by John Lewis were brutally attacked by state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The televised violence shocked the nation and accelerated the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
- Alexander Graham Bell Receives Telephone Patent (1876): The U.S. Patent Office granted Bell the patent for “the method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically,” sparking a communications revolution.
March 8
- First U.S. Combat Troops Arrive in Vietnam (1965): The 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade landed at Da Nang, marking the beginning of the American ground war in Vietnam and a massive escalation of U.S. involvement in the conflict.
- The Commodore Perry Expedition Reaches Japan (1854): Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Edo Bay for the second time, leading to the Treaty of Kanagawa which opened Japanese ports to American trade and ended Japan’s period of isolation.
March 9
- The Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack (1862): The first battle between ironclad warships occurred at Hampton Roads, Virginia. Though the fight was a draw, it rendered wooden navies obsolete overnight.
- The Barbie Doll Debuts (1959): Ruth Handler’s creation made its first appearance at the American International Toy Fair in New York, becoming an enduring and sometimes controversial icon of American pop culture.
