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Made for the 250thOn this day › October 20
What happened on October 20 in American history
October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (the 294th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 6 stories from October 20 spanning 1774 to 1973. Among them: in 1774, Congress bans British trade; twelve colonies sign the Continental Association; and in 1803, the Senate votes 24 to 7: Louisiana is bought.
1774
Congress bans British trade; twelve colonies sign the Continental Association
Tea goes first, then nearly everything else Britain ships across the Atlantic.
1803
The Senate votes 24 to 7: Louisiana is bought
Jefferson gets his treaty through a chamber where Federalists warned the Constitution had no room for it.
1818Member story · 1776 Club
A ruler-straight line settles the border: the 49th parallel runs to the Rockies
Britain gives up land south of the line and the US gives up a sliver near the Milk River, leaving the plains with an easy boundary to survey.
1944Member story · 1776 Club
MacArthur wades ashore at Leyte, and the Philippines campaign begins
Two and a half years after fleeing by PT boat, the general makes good on three words he never stopped repeating.
1947Member story · 1776 Club
Congress investigates communist influence in Hollywood
Nine days of hearings ended careers, though no film was ever proven subversive.
1973
Two Justice Department chiefs quit in one night rather than fire the Watergate prosecutor
Nixon finally finds a third official willing to do it: Solicitor General Robert Bork.
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