One of our greatest presidents: Dwight D. (“Ike”) Eisenhower - born this day in 1890. The 34th president, he served 1953-61 (more) 2/
Eisenhower was a Republican when that meant putting country first. The GOP platform when he won re-election in 1956:
1. Provide aid to low-income communities
2. expand social security
3. asylum for refugees
4. make it easier for workers to join a union
5. raise minimum wage

Construction began on the White House this day in 1792 - with the laying of its cornerstone. The oldest federal building in Washington, it was first known as the “Presidential Palace,” and later the “Executive Mansion,” until Theodore Roosevelt changed it to “White House” in 1901 /2
The White House was the first public building to be erected in Washington. In 1790, Commissioners of the District of Columbia offered a $500 prize for the best design. Hundreds of proposals were submitted, including one from Thomas Jefferson, who submitted his anonymously

A short thread on the #EspionageAct, now linked to the court-approved search warrant of former President Trump's Florida home: 2/
The espionage act goes back more than a century to World War One — it’s a sweeping, very broad statute that’s aimed at individuals who, the government claims, undermine the government by disclosing secrets that could harm national security

Mini-Thread: Were it not for two events that are marking major anniversaries this weekend, our world, our place in it, and much that we take for granted, might be quite different: 2/
It's the 80th anniversary of one of the most momentous naval battles in history - certainly in U.S. history - one that turned the tide of the Pacific War: Midway. In one day, the United States got swift revenge for Pearl Harbor, sinking four Japanese aircraft carriers (more)

Min-Thread:
There is always confusion about energy prices, so if you'll indulge WWR for a moment, he (Paul) will try and clear up a few common (and understandable) misconceptions: 1) The United States does not import and export energy. Private sector companies do, with prices set by the free market. Producers (drillers and frackers) sell to the highest bidder - and often the highest bidder is overseas (more)

Thread
Putin has called the fall of the Soviet Union the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. Not World War II, when tens of millions of Soviets citizens were killed. Not the horrors of Soviet totalitarianism (thanks to his hero Stalin) that killed millions more 2/
Not the Holocaust, which began in force on Soviet territory itself. No, Putin said, the greatest catastrophe was the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet empire, which gave tens of millions their first exposure to true freedom That, he thinks, is the real tragedy

Dodging a Baltimore assassination plot, president-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived in Washington in secrecy - this day 1861. As Lincoln prepared to take office, seven states had already left the Union, and civil war was imminent (more) 2/
Allen Pinkerton, a private detective, had uncovered a plot to kill Lincoln as his train passed through Baltimore. Lincoln did not want to appear cowardly, but felt the threats were serious, and agreed to the secret arrival

Rebellion:
This day in 1794, President Washington led troops into battle in western Pennsylvania - to put down a rebellion by farmers who refused to pay a tax on whiskey. It showed the power and ability of the new federal government to suppress violent resistance to its laws Lincoln - this day 1858 - two weeks before his final debate with Stephen Douglas (Calvin Jackson/Library of Congress)

The death of American soldiers in an operation gone wrong is hardly grounds for a president to resign or be impeached. If it was, dozens of chief executives would have been in trouble. This day in 1862, the second Battle of Bull Run was a disaster for President Lincoln (more) 2/
Union forces suffered twice as many casualties as Confederate forces, and the defeat (the Union also lost the first Battle of Bull Run) left Washington wide open for an invasion by Robert E. Lee's troops

Lyndon Johnson was born this day in 1908. The 36th president, he was sworn in on AF1 two hours after John F. Kennedy's murder on Nov. 22, 1963. In the middle of the night, 12 hours later, the new president was nearly shot himself, outside his Washington home (4040 52nd St. NW) A 2021 survey of historians (including WWR's Paul Brandus) by @cspan ranked Johnson the 11th greatest president. His best quality: "Relations with Congress" (#2); his worst: "International Relations" (39th)

This Day, 1865 At President Grant’s urging, Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act - this day in 1871. The KKK Act allowed the president to use federal troops and suspend the writ of habeas corpus to ensure that civil rights were upheld

The shot heard 'round the world: the opening salvos of the battles of Lexington and Concord - this day in 1775 - which began the American Revolutionary War This Day, 1809:
The father of the Constitution - President James Madison - purchased a slave to work in the White House. The seller: the father of the Declaration of Independence, former President Thomas Jefferson. Even more ironic was the name of the slave: John Freeman

An overjoyed Abraham Lincoln learned - this day in 1865 - that the South had surrendered, bringing the Civil War to a close. The Civil War remains by far the bloodiest war in U.S. history: 750,000 Americans were killed—the equivalent of 7.7 million Americans today (more) 2/
Robert E. Lee's surrender to Ulysses S. Grant is captured wonderfully in this painting by Gen. L.M.D. Guillaume. Occurred at McLean House Appomattox, VA - this day in 1865. America's worst war, mercifully, was over

One of the worst scandals in American history: This day in 1922, Warren Harding’s Interior Secretary, Albert Fall, leased government oil reserves -in Teapot Dome, WY- to companies at low rates with no competitive bidding. Fall was convicted of accepting bribes and went to prison

Two presidents died on March 8. Millard Fillmore in 1874 was the first. The 13th president (1850-53) and sixth in nine years, he was the last Whig POTUS, and regarded as one of the worst for his failure to heal the deepening north-south divide over the issue of slavery (more) 2/
Fillmore earned his fate as one of the worst presidents for his support of the Fugitive Slave Act (1850), which required that all escaped slaves, if captured, be returned to their masters—and that officials and citizens of free states had to cooperate with this law (more)

Mini-Thread
March 6th played a big role in the decades-long buildup to the Civil War. This day in 1820, James Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise, which admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state, but Maine and part of Massachusetts as a free state (more) 2/
The bill banned slavery in territories north of a line drawn at Missouri’s southern boundary—except in Missouri itself. It was also an attempt to equalize the number of slave-holding states and free states in the country (more)

James Monroe was inaugurated for his second term as the fifth president - this day 1821 (not Mar. 4, which was a Sunday) Zachary Taylor was inaugurated as the 12th president - this day 1849. He would die after just a year and a half in office (perhaps because of the bad White House water supply)

A close call for President Tyler, this day in 1844. As he president hosted a pleasure cruise along the Potomac River on the U.S.S. Princeton, a cannon exploded during a demonstration, killing eight people, including the Secretary of State and Secretary of the Navy (more) 2/
The daughter of one victim later became Tyler’s wife. Julia Gardiner was 34 years younger than the 54-year old president. Tyler’s first wife Letitia, had died in 1842

Leadership:
Abraham Lincoln’s Cooper Union address - this day in 1860 - outlined the platform of the Republican Party, notably its no-compromise stance on slavery. The speech vaulted Lincoln into the frontrunner’s position for the Republican presidential nomination (more) 2/
Of course, it's hardly necessary to note that the Republican party that attracted the likes of great men like Lincoln, (Theodore) Roosevelt and Eisenhower hasn't existed for quite sometime. Quite blasphemous for those who call themselves "Republicans" today

A livid Woodrow Wilson learned of the Zimmermann telegram this day in 1917. It was an attempt by Germany to form a Mexican-German alliance against the United States in World War I. Germany promised Mexico it would get land back from the U.S. (more) When WWI began in 1914, the U.S. had been neutral. But German submarine attacks on American ships wore Wilson's patience down, and the Zimmermann telegram was the final straw. The president would soon ask for a declaration of war

Thread
Today's expected release of the intelligence report concerning the 2018 murder, by Saudi Arabia, of Washington Post columnist - and former Saudi "royal insider" - Khashoggi is just one part of what the Biden administration calls a "reset" of ties with Riyadh 2/
Biden thinks Saudi Arabia -a ruthlessly oppressive nation that beheads its own for "crimes" like homosexuality -is a pariah state; you'll recall it was home to 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11. Here: Riyadh's "Chop chop square" (officially Deera Square) where beheadings occur