This Day in Political History

There were a few events on this day in political history. In 1992, President Bush (the first one) pardoned former Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger & 5 other people for their part in the Iran Contra scandal. That was the scandal where the United States sold weapons to Iran in exchange for money to fund the Nicaraguan contra rebels. At the time, the rebels were fighting a war with the Sandinista government. Another offshoot of this action was that the arms also helped the United States secure freedom for hostages who were being held by certain Islamic groups.


There were two reasons why this operation was illegal. The first is that Congress passed a law barring the United States from supporting any covert operations with the Contras. The second is that there was a trade embargo against Iran. Neither of those issues stopped the operation. Members of the government just used the National Security Council to run the mission.

Eventually, the operation was uncovered by newspapers overseas. Congress called hearings. People all the way up to President Reagan were implicated. In the end, a few people were convicted, although two of them (the most famous being Colonel Oliver North) were overturned due to immunity agreements that had been made with the Senate in exchange for their testimony.

Another event that happened on this day was that the domestic terrorist group, the Ku Klux Klan, was first formed in 1865. It was formed as a club for Confederate veterans in Pulaski Tennessee. The Reconstruction & Jim Crow eras were when the group was at its height.

The third event that happened on this day was the signing of the treaty of Ghent. In 1814, the United States & Great Britain ended the War of 1812 with this treaty. For those people who say that the United States never lost a war until Vietnam, you would be wrong. The United States got its collective butts handed to it, including having Washington DC invaded & famously burned. The two main battles that the war is most famous for are the Battle of Ft. McHenry (the inspiration for the Star Spangled Banner) & the Battle of New Orleans, which actually happened after the treaty to end the war had been signed & made a hero out of General & eventual President Andrew Jackson.

Also on this day in 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, saying that they were upholding the 1978 Afghan – Soviet Friendship treaty. It began a 10 year war against the Mujahidin resistance movement. The United States boycotted the 1980 summer Olympics over this matter. Not only that but the United States also helped the rebel groups by supplying arms. This group is the same group that eventually turned against America & had at that time a fighter by the name of Osama Bin Laden.