March 3, 1776 - The first amphibious landing made by American naval forces occurs in the Bahamas, as they seek ordnance and gunpowder for the Revolutionary War.

March 3, 1820 - In an attempt to avert a Civil War, U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise, allowing Missouri to become a state without slavery restrictions in exchange for admitting Maine as a free state.

March 3, 1847 - Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, is born.

March 3, 1859 - Pierce Butler attempts to pay off his gambling debts by selling 400 of his slaves, the largest recorded slave auction in American history.

March 3, 1863 - America's first wartime draft is passed by Congress during the Civil War. All males between the ages of 20 and 45 are included, but it was possible to buy an exemption for $300 or find another to take your place.

March 3, 1865 - The Freedman's Bureau begins work to help blacks make the transition from slavery to freedom. It worked to provide them with relief, medical care, education, and land.

March 3, 1873 - It becomes illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" material through the mail with the passage of the Comstock act.

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March 3, 1887 - At the age of six, Helen Keller is introduced to her new tutor, Anne Sullivan.

March 3, 1903 - The U.S. Congress attempts to reduce the number of immigrants by passing a bill that introduced a two dollar head tax on aliens arriving in U.S. ports.

March 3, 1913 - Woman suffrage supporters are attacked during a march in Washington, D.C. Two hundred people are injured.

March 3, 1931 - "The Star-Spangled Banner" becomes the official national anthem. It was written by Francis Scott Key.

March 3, 1952 - New York is allowed to prevent communists from teaching in public school based on a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.

March 3, 1991 - Riots occur in Los Angeles when a videotape of white police officers beating Rodney King, an African American man is released to the public.
 

"America is a tune.  It must be sung together." - Gerald Stanley Lee