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Made for the 250thOn this day › July 2
What happened on July 2 in American history
July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (the 184th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 7 stories from July 2 spanning 1776 to 1964. Among them: in 1776, Congress votes: these colonies are free and independent states; and in 1863, Out of ammunition, Chamberlain orders the bayonet; the 20th Maine sweeps Little Round Top.
1776
Congress votes: these colonies are free and independent states
New York abstains, lacking instructions; twelve delegations say yes, and John Adams is certain the date will be remembered forever.
1863
Out of ammunition, Chamberlain orders the bayonet; the 20th Maine sweeps Little Round Top
The Union left had no plan to hold the hill; Oates's 15th Alabama breaks when the Maine men charge downhill, and a portion of the regiment is taken.
1881Member story · 1776 Club
Guiteau shoots Garfield twice from behind; the president is carried from the Baltimore and Potomac station
An office seeker with a .44 revolver stalked the president for weeks; Garfield had no bodyguard when he entered the station this morning.
1890Member story · 1776 Club
Congress outlaws trusts; the Sherman Act clears both chambers without a single dissenting vote
Oil, steel, railroads, and sugar are now subject to federal prosecution; injured competitors may sue for triple damages.
1921Member story · 1776 Club
Harding signs the peace; America's war with Germany ends in a New Jersey parlor
The Knox-Porter Resolution closes the conflict by congressional act alone, two and a half years after the armistice and with no League membership attached.
1937Member story · 1776 Club
Earhart and Noonan vanish; last words place them on a line of position, nowhere near Howland
At 7:58 a.m. she cannot hear the Itasca and asks for voice signals; a final transmission comes in, then silence over 2,556 miles of open Pacific.
1964
Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act; King watches as a year's promise becomes law
The bill survived 72 days of Senate delay to pass 73 to 27, outlawing discrimination by race, sex, religion, and national origin in schools, workplaces, and public accommodations.
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