US Senate adopts cloture rule

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 and cloture from the archives of the US Senate.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Amsterdam Treaty signed, broadening scope of EU

On October 2, 1997, European Union delegates signed the Amsterdam Treaty, which broadened the scope of the international organization. It amended previous EU treaties to expand the power of the EU Parliament, start the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and prepare for the influx of post-Communist countries in Eastern Europe.

Thurgood Marshall becomes first African-American Supreme Court justice

On October 2, 1967, civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African-American Supreme Court justice Learn more about Marshall and his career from the Library of Congress.