Brian of PizzaspotzTop 10 Historical Documents List
While not a pizza list because I didn’t want to turn this into a a Top 10 Historical Documents to read while eating pizza type of list, I’m making this a straight top 10 list This list of Top 10 Historical Documents comes from the public domain. It was created by the U.S. Government which makes it in the Public Domain upon publication. You can see the original here. Now onto our list:
Top Ten Historical Documents from the United States
10. Social Security Act (1935)
On August 14, 1935, the Social Security Act established a system of old-age benefits for workers, benefits for victims of industrial accidents, unemployment insurance, aid for dependent mothers and children, the blind, and the physically handicapped.
9. Civil Rights Act (1964)
This act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. This document was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.
8. Gettysburg Address (1863)
Perhaps the most famous battle of the Civil War took place at Gettysburg, PA, July 1 to July 3, 1863. At the end of the battle, the Union’s Army of the Potomac had successfully repelled the second invasion of the North by the Confederacy’s Army of Northern Virginia. Several months later, President Lincoln went to Gettysburg to speak at the dedication of the cemetery for the Union war dead. Speaking of a “new birth of freedom,” he delivered one of the most memorable speeches in U.S. history.
7. 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865)
Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
6. 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women’s Right to Vote (1920)
Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote.
5. Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, announcing, “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious areas “are, and henceforward shall be free.”
4. Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803)
In this transaction with France, signed on April 30, 1803, the United States purchased 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. For roughly 4 cents an acre, the United States doubled its size, expanding the nation westward.
3. Bill of Rights (1791)
Although 12 amendments were originally proposed, the 10 that were ratified became the Bill of Rights in 1791. They defined citizens’ rights in relation to the newly established government under the Constitution.
2. Constitution of the United States (1787)
Drafted in secret by delegates to the Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1787, this four-page document, signed on September 17, 1787, established the government of the United States.
And at the top of our Top 10 Historical Documents List is:
1. The Declaration of Independence (1776)
The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It was engrossed on parchment and on August 2, 1776, delegates began signing it.