This Day in History November 3, 1964

I did not even know about the 23rd amendment, did you?  It just so happens on this date in 1964, residents of Washington D.C. got to vote in the presidential election for the first time!  Washington D.C. is not a state, and it was originally founded in 1791, as federal district housing for the capital.  But the residents were not allowed to vote!  It took this amendment to make this happen.  Residents are still not represented in Congress, and due to the heavy democratic climate of the area, that will probably never happen.  Thus, "taxation without representation" is a popular motto in the area.

For more information:
http://famousdaily.com/history/washington-dc-residents-vote-in-elections.html
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dc-residents-cast-first-presidential-votes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_voting_rights

This Day in History October 9, 1888

By AgnosticPreachersKid (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

I have never had a chance to see this Washington Monument in person, but whenever I see a picture of it, I find it breathtaking.  It is a 555-foot tall obelisk that honors President Washington's military victories.  The idea began while Washington was president, but one hundred years after his birth, there was enough money to begin this fantastic creation.  In 1848, construction was begun, but in 1854, Congress ran out of funds.  Then came the Civil War, and there was concern that this would ever be completed.  Thankfully, the monument was completed on December 6, 1884, and it was dedicated on Washington's birthday February 22, 1885.  And it opened to the general public on this date October 9, 1888.  One interesting note.  Why the change in color?  The was caused by the delay in construction.

For more information, please check out:

http://www.examiner.com/article/on-this-day-the-washington-monument-officially-opened

http://famousdaily.com/history/washington-monument-opens.html