Facts: It gave America ‘The Star Spangled Banner The day after the Senate followed the House of Representatives in voting to declare war against Great Britain, President James Madison signs the declaration into law–and the War of 1812 begins, Jun 18, 1812 . The American war declaration, opposed by a sizable minority in Congress, had been called in response to the British economic blockade of France, the induction of American seaman into the British Royal Navy against their will, and the British support of hostile Indian tribes along the Great Lakes frontier. A faction of Congress known as the “War Hawks” had been advocating war with Britain for several years…

(CNN) — 40 years later, remembering Watergate scandal’s ‘Deep Throat’ By the CNN Wire Staff updated 8:13 PM EDT, Fri June 15, 2012Forty years ago this Sunday, the Watergate break-in began the downward spiral of the Richard M. Nixon administration, ending with the disgraced president’s resignation a little more than two years later. On the night of June 17, 1972, the Washington hotel served as a base for an illegal break-in by operatives of the Nixon re-election campaign at the offices of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate office building next door. Five burglars were arrested. Rookie Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein used leaked information…

The Magna Carta display in the Crypt of the United States Capitol features a replica of the English document whose principles underlie much of the Constitution of the United States. Magna Carta (Latin for “Great Charter”) was sealed by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor Castle, on June 15, 1215, after the king was forced by his barons to agree to the charter’s contents. Dissatisfied with the king’s capricious rule, the noblemen had united to limit his powers. Magna Carta forbade arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, established the rights to a fair trial and to security of property, and guaranteed that the nation’s government was itself subject to the…

Chief Justice Earl Warren (1891–1974) wrote the majority opinion in the case of Ernesto Arturo Miranda against the state of Arizona, decided on June 13, 1966, and which was one of a group of four similar cases. The majority decision established that before a defendant’s statement to police could be admitted as evidence, the prosecution had to prove that the defendant was informed of his right to counsel and against self-incrimination, now referred to as “Miranda Rights.” Earl Warren. Notes concerning the Miranda Decision. Miranda v. Arizona. 1966. Manuscript. Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (124.01.02) [Digital ID # us0124_01p2] The exact wording of the “Miranda Rights” statement is not specified…