On May 30, 2008, nations agreed to ban the use of cluster bombs by signing the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The US, Russia, and China each declined to sign the treaty. Learn more about the Convention on Cluster Munitions from the treaty’s official website.
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On May 29, 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee opened public hearings into communist influence in Hollywood. Learn more about the House Un-American Activities Committee.
On May 28, 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act. The act authorized Johnson to exchange federal lands in the West for Indian lands in the American Southeast. While some tribes gave up their lands peacefully, others resisted. The “Trail of Tears” killed approximately 4,000 Cherokees in a forced march into [...]
Frederic Maitland, legal historian and co-author of the History of English Law, was born on May 28, 1850. Learn more about Frederic Maitland.
On May 27, 1627, Achsah (sometimes rendered “Alice”) Young of Windsor, Connecticut, became the first person executed in North America for witchcraft. Learn more about the legal history of witchcraft in Connecticut.
On May 27, 1999, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) indicted Slobodan Milošević for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Learn more about the trial of Slobodan Milošević from the ICTY.
On May 26, 1868, the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson ended, with the Senate falling one vote short of reaching the two-thirds majority required for impeachment. Learn more about the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson from contemporary issues of Harper’s Weekly.
On May 26, 1966, Guyana gained independence from the United Kingdom. Read the Constitutions of Guyana.
On May 25, 1925, John Scopes, a local schoolteacher, was indicted for teaching the theory of evolution, contrary to Tennessee state law. Learn more about the Scopes Monkey Trial.
On May 24, 1689, the Parliament of England promulgated the Act of Toleration, which granted religious freedom to English Protestants to the exclusion of Roman Catholics.
