What Happened in July?

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, declares its independence from Spain. Argentina is located in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of 2,780,085 km², making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world. Argentina's capital is Buenos Aires and has a 2023 reported population of 45.5 Million people. 

Peru, officially The Republic of Peru, declares its independence from Spain. Peru is a country in western South America. It is bordered to the north by Ecuador and Colombia, to the east by Brazil, to the southeast by Bolivia, to the south by Chile, and to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean. Peru has a population of over 32 million, and its capital and largest city is Lima Peru's with a metropolitan population exceeding 11 Million people.  Expand +

American geographer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft officially identifies Lake Itasca in south-eastern Clearwater County, in the Headwaters area of north-central Minnesota as the source of the Mississippi River. Schoolcraft's expedition, which included the Ojibwe guide Ozawindib, explored the Upper Mississippi River region and pinpointed the lake as the river's origin. Schoolcraft named the lake "Itasca," combining the Latin words "veritas" (truth) and "caput" (head), to signify its role as the true source. 

Enslaved Africans on the Cuban schooner Amistad, led by Joseph Cinque revolt  against the Spanish officers and crew who were their captors and gained control of the ship near the coast of Cuba. They were being transported to a sugar plantation at Puerto Principe, Cuba after been captured In February of 1839 by Portuguese slave hunters from Sierra Leone.  Expand +

The Act of Union to merge Upper Canada and Lower Canada into a single entity, called the Province of Canada, was passed by the British Parliament on July 23, 1840, with the effective date of February 10, 1841.  Expand +

Pioneer Day. Completing a treacherous thousand-mile exodus, an ill and exhausted Brigham Young and fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) arrived in Utah’s Great Salt Lake Valley. The Mormon, as they were commonly known, viewed their pioneer arrival as the founding of a Mormon homeland. hence Pioneer Day. More

Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, declares its independence. Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It has a population of around 5.5 million. More

The Seneca Falls Convention, widely recognized as the first women's rights convention in the United States begins in Seneca Falls, New York. Organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and several Quaker women, it aimed to discuss the social, civil, and religious conditions and rights of women. The convention is credited with launching the women's rights movement and the fight for woman suffrage. Lucretia Mott, and Frederick Douglass were among those who played key roles in the convention. More

Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist and a former slave, delivers his powerful speech, "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?", in Rochester, New York, at an event organized by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Sewing Society. Douglass used the occasion to remind all of the continuing enslavement of millions of people and poignantly articulated the stark contrast between the ideals of liberty and the reality of bondage for enslaved people.

American Commodore Matthew Perry arrives with four warships at the Tokyo Bay harbor, seeking to re-establish trade relations with Japan. Perry was not the first westerner to visit the islands. Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch traders engaged in regular trade with Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries, but attempts by the Europeans to convert the Japanese to Christianity and unfair trading practices led Japan to expel most foreigners in 1639.  Expand +

The Battle of Gettysburg takes place in Pennsylvania. The loss ended Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s ambitious second quest to invade the North and bring the Civil War to a swift end. With more than 50,000 estimated casualties, the three-day engagement was the bloodiest single battle of the conflict. More

Kit Carson begins his campaign against the Navajo that resulted in their removal from the Four Corners area to southeastern New Mexico. More

The "Draft Riots - New York City erupts in violence in the largest civil uprising in US history. For four days, violent groups of people wreaked havoc on the streets of New York, looting stores, setting fire to homes and businesses, attacking police, soldiers, and African American civilians. Union soldiers had to be called in from Gettysburg to put an end to the chaos. The riots were sparked by the first federal draft in U.S. history instituted by President Lincoln as the Union struggled to recruit enough soldiers. More

The U.S. Secret Service officially begins operations within the Department of the Treasury, less than three months after President Abraham Lincoln authorized the agency's creation. Chief William P. Wood was sworn in as the first Secret Service chief (now known as “director”). The initial focus of the Secret Service was to combat the widespread counterfeiting of U.S. currency. It wasn't until
1902 when the Secret Service assumed full-time responsibility for protection of the President. At that time, only two men were assigned full-time to the White House Detail. More

The New Orleans Massacre: a mob of ex-Confederates led an armed attack on a group of Louisiana Republicans and their African American supporters as they convened in the Mechanics Institute Building in New Orleans, site of a reconvened Louisiana Constitutional Convention, resulting in 38 people dead and 146 wounded. More

Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the National Day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, when the three separate colonies of the United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into a single dominion within the British Empire called Canada.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a cornerstone of civil rights, is ratified. It was passed by Congress two years earlier on June 13, 1866. South Carolina became the 28th State to ratify it on July 9, 1868 at which time the constitutionally necessary approval by three-quarters of the states (28 of 37) was reached. Secretary of State William Henry Seward certified on July 28 that the 14th Amendment had become part of the U.S. Constitution. Expand +

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed by the Senate in 1966, is officially adopted, having been ratified by the requisite number of states. The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States," including formerly enslaved people, and provided all citizens with “equal protection under the laws,” extending the provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states. More

President James A. Garfield was shot and mortally wounded by an assassin with a .44 handgun, as he entered a railway station in Washington, D.C. Garfield's doctors were unable to remove the bullet, which was lodged in the President's pancreas. He died of blood poisoning and complications from the shooting in a hospital room on September 19th. 1881. More

Sitting Bull and his people return to the United States from Canada to surrender after facing difficult conditions in Canada, Sitting Bull, along with his remaining followers, surrendered to U.S. Army officials at Fort Buford, North Dakota. This marked the end of their exile following the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877.  After surrendering, Sitting Bull and his people were relocated to the Standing Rock Agency in the Dakota Territory where he initially resisted adapting to reservation life. He joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show for a time. More