On August 29, 1632, the political philosopher John Locke was born in Wrington, England. His political philosophy and social contract theory would heavily influence the American and French Revolutions as well as the democratic governments set up following those revolutions. Read works by John Locke from Project Gutenberg.

On August 29, 1957, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first federal civil rights legislation since 1875. The legislation set up the US Commission on Civil Rights and the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice.