This Day In History

Nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln first declared enslaved people in the Confederacy free, the United States finally took the decisive step that ended slavery everywhere in the country. With the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865, the country closed the door on a system that had shaped—and scarred—America since its earliest days. Getting there, however, required a long, bitter, and politically complicated struggle that stretched across the final years of the Civil War.

International Volunteer Day (IVD), officially known as International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development, is celebrated every year on December 5. Its purpose is to highlight the essential role volunteers play in communities around the world and to encourage even more people to serve. While it was first observed in 1986, its origins trace back to earlier United Nations efforts to strengthen global development through volunteerism.

Music history took an unforgettable turn on December 4, 1956, when Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash all happened to end up at Sun Studios on the same day. What began as a coincidence quickly became one of the most legendary and unplanned jam sessions in American music history.

On December 3, 1818, President James Monroe signed the legislation that admitted Illinois as the 21st state in the Union. But the history of Illinois stretches far back before statehood. Long before European explorers arrived, the region was home to complex American Indian cultures whose achievements, alliances, and struggles helped shape the land that would become Illinois.

On December 3, 1818, President James Monroe signed the legislation that admitted Illinois as the 21st state in the Union. But the history of Illinois stretches far back before statehood. Long before European explorers arrived, the region was home to complex American Indian cultures whose achievements, alliances, and struggles helped shape the land that would become Illinois.

On December 2, 1980, President Jimmy Carter established Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Today the park is part of one of the world’s largest international protected areas.

On November 21, 1789, North Carolina was admitted as the 12th state of the union. It had been the first state to reject the Constitution, but finally ratified after the Bill of Rights was created.

On November 16, 1907, Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory were merged to create the state of Oklahoma. The new state emerged at a moment of rapid change, blending Native nations, frontier settlements, and booming oil discoveries into one of the most diverse and dynamic regions in early 20th-century America.

On December 7, 1941, Japanese bombers attacked American troops at Pearl Harbor, launching the US into World War II.

On December 7, 1907, the first Christmas Seals went on sale. The first stamps were created to help save a Delaware tuberculosis sanitarium, but later issues went on to support the Red Cross, National Tuberculosis Association, and American Lung Association.

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. A day that will live in infamy, the attack prompted an unusual handling of the American flag, which became known as the Flag of Liberation.

Author Willa Sibert Cather was born on December 7, 1873, in Gore, Virginia.