On Nov. 15, 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation.
After months of intense deliberation, the Continental Congress reached a historic decision to adopt the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. However, it would take an additional three and a half years for all thirteen states to fully ratify the agreement. The Articles of Confederation served as a vital precursor to the U.S. Constitution, laying the groundwork for the nation’s governance.
As the founders shaped the framework of a new nation, they engaged in lengthy discussions about the balance of power between a centralized government and individual states. The resulting system established a government led by a Congress and a president. Each state held equal representation in Congress, with one vote apiece. This legislative body was granted authority over foreign affairs, the maintenance of an army, and the power to declare war and peace.
Other events of November 15
In 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in present-day Colorado.
As a U.S. Army officer Pike led two expeditions through the Louisiana Purchase territory. In 1805 he was sent to reconnoiter the upper northern reaches of the Mississippi River. Almost immediately upon his return in 1806 General Wilkinson sent Pike on a second expedition to explore the southwest to the fringes of the northern Spanish-colonial settlements of New Mexico and Texas. On the second expedition, Pike sighted a mountaintop shooting up from the plains. That mountaintop would later be named Pike’s Peak.
In 1864, late in the U.S. Civil War, Union forces led by Major General William Tecumseh Sherman began their “March to the Sea.”
A week after Abraham Lincoln’s re-election as president, Union General William T. Sherman embarked on his bold campaign across Georgia. He began by setting fire to Atlanta’s industrial district and breaking away from his supply lines. Over the following six weeks, Sherman’s forces swept through the state, leaving widespread destruction in their wake. This notorious “March to the Sea” culminated in December with the capture of Savannah, Georgia, a port that was crucial to the Confederates.
In 1969, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington against the Vietnam War.
The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was a massive demonstration and teach-in across the United States against the country’s involvement in the Vietnam War. It took place on October 15, 1969, followed a month later, on November 15, 1969, by a large Moratorium March in Washington, D.C.
Americans were incensed not only by the rising number of American soldiers killed, but also by murders and atrocities committed by the American military in Vietnam. The second moratorium was galvanized by reports of the My Lai Massacre, in which American soldiers were ordered to kill unarmed women, men, and children. This was a breaking point for many Americans. By some estimates, half a million people participated in the demonstrations in Washington, D.C.
In 1988 The Palestinian Declaration of Independence formally established the State of Palestine in the minds of Yasser Arafat and his followers. It was written by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and proclaimed by Yasser Arafat, leader of the PLO terrorist organization, in Algiers, Algeria. Arafat proceeded to set up a government in exile in Algiers.
Today in History: December 20
A Look Back At Today, December 20
The Louisiana Purchase was completed.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” premiered at the Globe Theater.
The United States launched Operation Just Cause.
The United States Space Force was established.
Today in History: December 19
Today in History: December 19
In 1777, General George Washington led an army of more than 12,000 soldiers to Valley Forge.
In 1972, Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, concluding the Apollo program.
In 2011, North Korean announced the death of Kim Jong Il and proclaimed Kim Jong Un as the leader.
In 2022, the House Jan. 6 Committee urged the Justice Department to bring criminal charges against the previous president
Today in History: December 18
Today in History: December 18
In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was proclaimed in effect.
In 1892, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia; although now considered a classic, it received a generally negative reception from critics.
In 1957, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first nuclear facility to generate electricity in the United States, went on line. (It was taken out of service in 1982.)
In 2011, the last convoy of heavily armored U.S. troops left Iraq, crossing into Kuwait in darkness in the final moments of a nearly nine-year war.
Today in History: December 17
Today in History: December 17
In 1903 The Wright brothers’ flight redefined the possibilities of travel and opened the skies to human exploration.
In 1933 The first NFL championship laid the foundation for professional football’s evolution into a national pastime.
In 1989 “The Simpsons” redefined animated television, blending humor with social commentary to leave an indelible mark on entertainment.
In 1992 NAFTA reshaped North American trade, fostering economic ties while sparking debates on globalization.
In 2014 The U.S.-Cuba rapprochement signaled a pivotal moment in the post-Cold War world, rekindling hopes for reconciliation.
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