37th President Richard Nixon is born in Yorba Linda, California. Nixon, the only President to resign, represented California in the House of Representatives and Senate before being elected Vice President alongside Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. Nixon started detente with the Soviet Union and helped end the Vietnam War, but being embroiled in the Watergate scandal ended his presidency.
Cadets from The Citadel fire upon the Star of the West, a civilian steamer sent to Charleston Harbor to resupply Fort Sumter. Following South Carolina's secession, Major Robert Anderson, the commander at Fort Sumter, requested military supplies to defend the fort if necessary. Following the warning shots, the steamer left Charleston Harbor.
Connecticut enters the Union as the fifth state. Nicknamed "The Constitution State", its Fundamental Orders were first adopted between 1638 and 1639, defining the structure of its colonial governance.
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