1861 – Five Southerners resigned from the U.S. Senate, including Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. He would later become the president of the Confederacy.
1977 – President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders.
1997 – Speaker Newt Gingrich was reprimanded and fined as the House voted for the first time in history to discipline its leader for ethical misconduct.
2010 – The Supreme Court ruled on the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case which increased the power of big business and labor unions to influence government decisions by allowing them to spend money directly to sway elections for president and Congress.
