Today in History, December 18th
On December 18, 1865, the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery officially became part of the Constitution. Plus Verdun's end and a World Cup final.
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December 18 is best known as the day in 1865 when the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States, officially became part of the Constitution. The date also marks the end of the Battle of Verdun in 1916 and Argentina’s dramatic World Cup win in 2022.
The big story: The 13th Amendment Becomes Law (1865)
The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed enslaved people only in the Confederate states still in rebellion, and as a war measure it could be challenged once the fighting stopped. Abolishing slavery for good took a change to the Constitution itself. The Senate passed the 13th Amendment in April 1864. The House held out until January 31, 1865, when it approved the measure 119 to 56, and President Abraham Lincoln signed off the next day. Lincoln did not live to see the rest. Ratification by the states continued through 1865, and on December 6 the needed three-fourths of states had approved it. On December 18, 1865, the amendment was officially declared part of the Constitution. Its first section is short: neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime, may exist anywhere in the United States. With it, slavery was outlawed everywhere in the country.
More events on December 18
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1912 | The “Piltdown man” fossils were announced at a meeting of the Geological Society of London. A reexamination in 1953 and 1954 showed they were a hoax built from a human skull and an orangutan jaw. |
| 1915 | President Woodrow Wilson, a widower since 1914, married Edith Bolling Galt at her home in Washington, D.C. |
| 1916 | The Battle of Verdun ended after nearly ten months. French and German casualties together came close to a million. |
| 1932 | Deep snow pushed the NFL’s first playoff game indoors to Chicago Stadium, where the Bears beat the Portsmouth Spartans 9 to 0 on a 60-yard field. |
| 1941 | Japanese troops landed in Hong Kong under artillery cover. The British colony surrendered on Christmas Day. |
| 1972 | President Richard Nixon announced Operation Linebacker II, the “Christmas Bombing” of Hanoi and Haiphong in North Vietnam, after peace talks broke down. |
| 2019 | The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. He was the third president to be impeached. |
| 2022 | Argentina beat France on penalties after a 3-3 draw in the World Cup final in Qatar, giving Lionel Messi his first World Cup title. |
Born on December 18
- 1879: Paul Klee, Swiss-born painter known for playful, colorful abstract works.
- 1886: Ty Cobb, Georgia-born baseball star and one of the game’s greatest hitters.
- 1946: Steven Spielberg, film director born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sources
- Slavery abolished in America with adoption of the 13th Amendment, History.com
- 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865), National Archives
- Piltdown man, Britannica
- Woodrow Wilson marries Edith Bolling Galt, History.com
- Battle of Verdun ends, History.com
- First NFL playoff game is played indoors, History.com
- Japan invades Hong Kong, History.com
- Nixon announces start of “Christmas Bombing” of North Vietnam, History.com
- President Trump impeached by House of Representatives, History.com
- Argentina wins the World Cup, Messi’s first, History.com
wow amazing stuff, murder people get life in prison rob people of their life savings and defraud millions and get only 3 years, in jail. wow, talk about injustice. bet he didn’t have to give any of that money back, by the way the 13th amendment may say no slavery or involuntary servitude those in power do not follow the constitution so the words mean nothing. most people are under involuntary servitude, (based on invisible contracts I have been told). I guess if you pretend there is a contract it is not longer involuntary but voluntary complusion. I guess that is how those in power sleep at night.
来踩了，挺好的，加油