Roosevelt approves $1 billion in aid to WWII Allies under Lend-Lease Act

On October 30, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt approved $1 billion in wartime aid to the Allies under the Lend-Lease Act. America did not formally enter World War II until December of 1941, but the US Government nonetheless provided crucial aid to the Allied Powers from the passage of the Lend-Lease Act in March of 1941 through the end of the war. The Lend-Lease Agreement between the US and the UK was formalized the following year.

THIS DAY @ LAW

President Lincoln signs Naitonal Banking Act into law

On February 26, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the National Banking Act into law, creating the American banking charter system. The Act furthermore created the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) within the Treasury Department. The law was further intended to help raise money for the Civil War by pressing banks to buy federal as opposed to state bonds. The law was not as successful as intended in this regard and was soon replaced by the National Banking Act of 1864. Read the history of the OCC from the US Department of the Treasury.

Hitler put on trial for treason in Munich

On February 26, 1924, Adolf Hitler and several others were put on trial for treason in Munich in connection with an attempted coup. Learn more about the Munich (or "Beer Hall") Putsch and the subsequent trial of Hitler and his associates.