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 religion".