On March 8, 1917, the US Senate adopted the cloture rule to limit filibusters. Under Rule 22, two-thirds of Senators could vote to close debate on a given bill, thereby ending an ongoing filibuster. In 1975, that number was lowered to three-fifths of the Senate, which amounts to sixty Senators. Read a history of filibuster [...]

March 8 is International Women’s Rights and International Peace Day, better known as International Women’s Day.

On March 7, 2007, Britain’s lower house of Parliament, the House of Commons, voted to change the upper chamber, the House of Lords, to an elected body. Previously, appointments to the House of Lords were based on noble birth.

On March 7, 1965, 525 civil rights activists began a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Just outside Selma, heavily armed police and deputies broke up the march with billy clubs and tear gas, injuring 65 people and hospitalizing 17 in a melee that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” After federal court protection had been [...]

On March 6, 1857, the US Supreme Court announced its landmark decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford, holding that black people—slaves as well as free—were not and could never become citizens of the United States and that the 1820 Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. Learn more about the Dred Scott case from Washington University in St. [...]

On March 5, 1970, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty took effect after ratification by 43 countries. Read a brief history of the NPT.

On March 5, 1984, the US Supreme Court upheld a nativity scene built on public land by the City of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The Court in Lynch v. Donnelly held that the creche did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from passing any “law respecting an establishment of [...]

On March 4, 1909, the Copyright Act of 1909 became law, making infringement of a copyright a federal crime for the first time. Review a brief history of copyright in the United States.

On March 4, 1982, Bertha Wilson became the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

On March 4, 1834, the town of York in the British colony of Canada was incorporated as the City of Toronto. Learn the history of Toronto from the city’s official website.